Georgette Délibrias

Georgette Délibrias (15 August 1924 – 29 April 2015) was a French physicist. She pioneered and publicized the new technique of radiocarbon dating and contributed to French nuclear research through the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA). She had a related interest in archaeology which led to her applying radiocarbon dating in Brazil to demonstrate that the country was populated some 32,000 years ago, rather than only 13,000 as previously believed.

Early life and education Délibrias was born in the 14th arrondissement of Paris on 15 August 1924. She studied at the École Polytechnique Féminine (EPF) in Paris, where she graduated as a physicist in 1946.

Career Following her graduation, she was recruited by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) where she made her career. While working on the divergence testing of Zoé, France's first nuclear reactor in 1948, she developed neutron detectors that were constructed using boron trifluoride. She moved on from looking at alpha aerosols with to gain an early interest in the ability of using carbon 14 to achieve the dating of ancient objects. They achieved the first published example of radiocarbon dating at the CEA. She coordinated the dating of over 8,000 samples in her laboratory, covering her research into geology, oceanography and archaeology. In connection with the dating of variations in sea level dating, she developed small counters able to date steps recorded in marine cores from the last deglaciation by measuring the biological carbonate fraction.

Selected publications Georgette Délibras published widely. Significant publications include: Premières datations absolues de trois gisements néolithiques cambodgiens Elements de chronologie des éruptions de la Chaîne des Puys La grotte de la Baume de Gonvillars La grotte de la Tuilerie à Gondenans-les Montby (1976) IXè Conférence Internationale du Radiocarbone et correction des dates 14. in collaboration with Jacques Évin, Jean Thommeret, Yolande Thommeret La lithostratigraphie des sediments hemipelagiques du delta profond du fleuve Congo et ses indications sur les paleoclimats de la fin du Quaternaire Gif Natural Radiocarbon Measurements IX Paléoenvironnements du Sahara: lacs holocènes à Taoudenni, Mali La préhistoire dans le monde Radiocarbon dating on Echo Micadas, LSCE, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France: New and Updated Chemical Procedures