The Phosphate Mineralogy of Et-Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

P. S. Goldberg and Y. Nathan
Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Geochemistry Division, Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem

Summary: Phosphates introduced into the et-Tabun cave as a result of human habitation, mainly as bone material, were partly dissolved by slightly acid solutions (organic acids derived from human or other animal activity). From these solutions, dahllite precipitated when the solutions came into contact with calcite. In the more weathered parts of the section, where little or no calcite occurs, the phosphate minerals formed are montgomeryite and crandallite.

Mineralogical Magazine; September 1975 v. 40; no. 311; p. 253-258; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1975.040.311.06
© 1975, The Mineralogical Society
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