The Sulphur Spring Stage and its Place in New World Prehistory

1986 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Waters

Radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites in Whitewater Draw, Arizona, place the Sulphur Spring stage of the Cochise Culture between 8000 and 10,000 yr B.P., and possibly back to 10,400 yr B.P. Geoarchaeological investigations of Whitewater Draw do not substantiate an earlier claim that Sulphur Spring stage ground stone artifacts are associated with extinct megafauna, nor the hypothesis that Sulphur Spring stage artifacts are specialized plant processing tools of the Clovis Culture.

Radiocarbon ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Ono ◽  
Hiroyuki Sato ◽  
Takashi Tsutsumi ◽  
Yuichiro Kudo

We discuss the radiocarbon chronology of Late Pleistocene archaeology in the Japanese islands. In sum, 429 samples from more than 100 archaeological sites were compiled and then divided into three periods and four stages. The Early Upper Paleolithic, characterized by Trapezoid industries, lasted during approximately 34-26 ka. The Late Upper Paleolithic period includes both the backed-blade stage and point-tool stage, the latter appearing chronologically later than the former. This stage covers ~25–15 ka. The Final Upper Paleolithic and Incipient Jomon are distinguished by the appearance of microblade industries and the emergence of pottery at the end of this period. This period covers approximately 14-12 ka. The microblade tradition, in the broadest sense, is strongly connected to the background of peopling of the New World. New data on the transitional stage from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic are also discussed in regards to three archaeological sites. Issues on the application of the 14C calibration to the whole Japanese Upper Paleolithic are critically evaluated.


2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey M. Smith ◽  
Pat Barker ◽  
Eugene M. Hattori ◽  
Anan Raymond ◽  
Ted Goebel

AbstractTypological cross-dating is the primary means by which archaeological sites are placed into chronological frameworks. This approach relies on the assumption that artifacts at undated sites—usually projectile points—are coeval with similar artifacts found at Other, dated sites. While typological cross-dating is necessary in regions dominated by open-air lithic scatters, the approach can be problematic when undated and dated sites are separated by significant distances. Here, we present radiocarbon dates on projectile points with organic hafting material still attached or found within organic storage bags. Our results provide unequivocal ages for various morphological projectile point types at several Great Basin locales and should be useful to researchers seeking local age estimates for those point types, which often involves relying on chronological data from more distant sites. The results also highlight potential issues with uncritically applying typological cross-dating using typologies based on metric attributes, and in two cases, suggest the need to revise the age ranges for certain point styles in the western Great Basin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Ernar A. Estemesov

Purpose. The article describes the history and analysis of the main issues in the study of archaeological sites of the Saka period in Semirechye. They are presented by three main types on this territory: burial and memorial complexes, settlements and hoards. The first type of monuments includes numerous burial mounds, where the elite burials of “royal” type and ordinary burials are located. Both social groups are combined by the unity of funeral rites, and the main differences are the complexity of architecture, memorial practices, and richness of burial equipment in the “royal” type burial mounds. The second category of monuments is presented by the settlements that are mostly small in size. The constructions like half dugouts were discovered on them, which gave a rich ceramic material. The third type of monuments of the Saka period in Semirechye includes numerous hoards of bronze items. Some of them are represented by the cult objects (sacrificial tables, lamps and cauldrons) that mark the places of worship. A significant percentage of the hoards contain items of weapons, horse equipment and household purposes and, apparently, serve as offerings to the spirits. However, despite the considerable progress in the study of the Saka monuments of the Semirechye Region, the main problem is their cultural attribution at this time. Some researchers suggest that the independent Saka archaeological culture was formed and developed on the territory of Semirechye in the Early Iron Age, while others believe that the Saka monuments of this region belong to the broader historical and cultural community that also covers the neighboring regions of Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang. Results Another important issue in the study of the Saka sites of Semirechye is to clarify the chronology of burial and memorial complexes. Up to now, the significant database of radiocarbon dates has been accumulated, which allows us to consider the chronological positions of a wide range of monuments in a new way. It was of great importance to obtain such dates from several burials of Karatuma necropolis, which showed that it belonged to the Saka period, since burial monuments of this appearance are traditionally dated back to the Wusun period. Conclusion. The necessity of solution of these problems is an urgent task for further research of burial and settlement objects of the Saka period in this region.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Kenechukwu Chidiogo Daniel ◽  
Anselm Maduabuchi Ibeanu ◽  
Jacinta Uchenna Ikegwu ◽  
Emuobosa Akpo Orijemie

ABSTRACT This paper presents new results of radiocarbon (14C) ages from archaeological sites in northern Igboland. The study was designed to shed more light on early human occupation and activities in the study area based on sediments from cave and iron-smelting sites. The approach consisted of ethnographic, archaeological, palynological, and slag analyses; these were complemented with 14C dates. The technology adopted as well as the paleoenvironmental conditions that prevailed during the period of human settlement in both sites was revealed. These data, complemented by 14C dates, highlight the human behavioral and subsistence patterns within the region and are comparable to those from similar sites in southeastern Nigeria.


1964 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Weyer

AbstractA desire to increase efficiency in the description and typological study of stone artifacts led to a conference of ten archaeologists in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This conference concentrated on the delineation of attributes of specimens rather than on the creation of a typological system. It attempted to meet the requirements of this phase of archaeology on a continental rather than a regional scale. Considerable attention was given to the various sorts of punched cards and to data-processing equipment. A glossary of definitions and an attribute form sheet for recording specimens were compiled and issued to the attending members for use in pilot studies of regional collections. The form sheets were laid out with a view to transferring the data to standard IBM cards and determining significant clusters of attributes. The testing of the definitions of attributes and the form sheet through actual use is intended to reveal possible improvements and to evaluate the practicality of rapid-processing methods in typological studies of this nature.


1972 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. G. Sutton

This article is a follow-up to that of Mr D. W. Phillipson published in this Journal in 1970, and to the six earlier lists compiled for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa by Dr B. M. Fagan. I have endeavoured to include here all radiocarbon dates for archaeological sites of the Iron Age and most of those of the end of the Stone Age in the eastern and southern part of Africa—that is from Ethiopia, the Upper Nile and the Congo Basin southward—which have been published or made available since the preparation of the former articles. Some of these dates are already included in recent numbers of the Journal Radiocarbon, or have been mentioned in publications elsewhere, as indicated in the footnotes. A large proportion of these new dates, however, have not yet been published, and are included here through the agreement of the various individual archaeologists and research bodies, all of whom I wish to thank for their cooperation. In particular, I am indebted to Mr David Phillipson for his willing assistance in providing a number of contacts and relaying information from southern Africa.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Maher ◽  
E.B. Banning ◽  
Michael Chazan

Few prehistoric developments have received as much attention as the origins of agriculture and its associated societal implications in the Near East. A great deal of this research has focused on correlating the timing of various cultural transformations leading up to farming and village life with dramatic climatic events. Using rigorously selected radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites and palaeoenvironmental datasets, we test the predominate models for culture change from the early Epipalaeolithic to the Pottery Neolithic (c. 23,000–8000 cal. bp) to explore how well they actually fit with well-documented and dated palaeoclimatic events, such as the Bølling-Allerød, Younger Dryas, Preboreal and 8.2 ka event. Our results demonstrate that these correlations are not always as clear or as consistent as some authors suggest. Rather, any relationships between climate change and culture change are more complicated than existing models allow. The lack of fit between these sources of data highlight our need for further and more precise chronological data from archaeological sites, additional localized palaeoclimatic data sets, and more nuanced models for integrating palaeoenvironmental data and prehistoric people's behaviours.


Antiquity ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 35 (140) ◽  
pp. 286-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Bushnell

It is a commonplace of current archaeology that the publication of radiocarbon dates is revolutionizing our ideas of the past. Dr G. H. S. Bushnell, Curator of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in the University of Cambridge, England, has already published in ANTIQUITY and elsewhere some of his views on the impact of radiocarbon dating on New World chronology. Here he studies the whole problem in detail. He adopts the useful convention of referring to a date already fully published in the Radiocarbon Supplement to the American Journal of Science simply by its laboratory designation and number {thus K-554 is reading no. 554 of the Copenhagen Laboratory), but in some cases, where the date is not fully published, he gives fuller information.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 77-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd L. VanPool ◽  
Kenneth W. Kircher ◽  
Christine S. VanPool ◽  
Gordon F.M. Rakita

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