scholarly journals THREE GENERATIONS UNDER ONE ROOF? BAYESIAN MODELING OF RADIOCARBON DATA FROM NUNALLEQ, YUKON-KUSKOKWIM DELTA, ALASKA

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Ledger ◽  
Véronique Forbes ◽  
Edouard Masson-Maclean ◽  
Charlotta Hillerdal ◽  
W. Derek Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
The North ◽  
North American Arctic ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Bayesian Statistical Modeling

This article presents the results of a program of radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modeling from the precontact Yup'ik site of Nunalleq (GDN-248) in subarctic southwestern Alaska. Nunalleq is deeply stratified, presenting a robust relative chronological framework of well-defined individual house floors abundant in ecofacts suitable for radiocarbon dating. Capitalizing on this potential, we present the results of one of the first applications of Bayesian statistical modeling of radiocarbon data from an archaeological site in the North American Arctic. Using these methods, we demonstrate that it is possible to generate robust, high-resolution chronological models from Arctic archaeology. Radiocarbon dates, procured prior to the program of dating and modeling presented here, suggested an approximately three-century duration of occupation at the site. The results of Bayesian modeling nuance this interpretation. While it is possible that there may have been activity for almost three centuries (beginning in the late fourteenth century), occupation of the dwelling complex, which dominates the site, was more likely to have endured for no more than a century. The results presented here suggest that the occupation of Nunalleq likely encompassed three generations beginning cal AD 1570–1630 before being curtailed by conflict around cal AD 1645–1675.

High-resolution chronology for the Mesoamerican urban center of Teotihuacan derived from Bayesian statistics of radiocarbon and archaeological data

2009 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E. Beramendi-Orosco ◽  
Galia Gonzalez-Hernandez ◽  
Jaime Urrutia-Fucugauchi ◽  
Linda R. Manzanilla ◽  
Ana M. Soler-Arechalde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
Bayesian Statistics ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Bayesian Model ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Radiocarbon Data

AbstractA high-resolution 14C chronology for the Teopancazco archaeological site in the Teotihuacan urban center of Mesoamerica was generated by Bayesian analysis of 33 radiocarbon dates and detailed archaeological information related to occupation stratigraphy, pottery and archaeomagnetic dates. The calibrated intervals obtained using the Bayesian model are up to ca. 70% shorter than those obtained with individual calibrations. For some samples, this is a consequence of plateaus in the part of the calibration curve covered by the sample dates (2500 to 1450 14C yr BP). Effects of outliers are explored by comparing the results from a Bayesian model that incorporates radiocarbon data for two outlier samples with the same model excluding them. The effect of outliers was more significant than expected. Inclusion of radiocarbon dates from two altered contexts, 500 14C yr earlier than those for the first occupational phase, results in ages calculated by the model earlier than the archaeological records. The Bayesian chronology excluding these outliers separates the first two Teopancazco occupational phases and suggests that ending of the Xolalpan phase was around cal AD 550, 100 yr earlier than previously estimated and in accordance with previously reported archaeomagnetic dates from lime plasters for the same site.

An Archaeomagnetic Study of Hangi Stones in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rimpy Kinger
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
Sw Pacific ◽  
Archaeomagnetic Dating ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Temperature Spectra

<p>Burnt or fired archaeological artefacts often retain a record of the magnetic field in which they were last heated and cooled. Over the past four years we have collected oriented hangi stones from 10 archaeological sites spread across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The stones vary in lithology from andesites, originating from the central North Island volcanoes, favoured by Maori for their durability and with remanent magnetization up to 30 A/m, to sandstones and schists from the main axial ranges, with magnetizations as weak as 10-4 A/m. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments retrieved from amongst the stones indicates that the sites span from ca. 1400 AD to the present.  In all cases, we have independently oriented and retrieved several stones, and we have made several samples from each stone, either by drilling (standard cylindrical samples) or sawing (pseudo-cubes) in the laboratory. We have calculated site mean palaeomagnetic directions (Dec between 1.5o and 19.6o and Inc between -52.2o and -68.3o) from principal component analysis of thermal demagnetization and alternating field demagnetization data, discarding the data of stones that show evidence of disturbance after cooling. The directions are in good agreement with recently published palaeosecular variation records from lake sediments. We have carried out palaeointensity experiments using the Coe/Thellier method with pTRM and tail checks, and with selection criteria modified to the situation. Palaeointensities range from 50μT to 77μT. Rock magnetic experiments contribute to our understanding of the mineralogy, domain state and blocking temperature spectra.  We compare our data with predictions of the global field models ARCH3k and gufm1, and suggest that the addition of our new data will improve these models for the SW Pacific region for the most recent time period. Archaeomagnetic measurements are also used to date hangi sites by matching the palaeo-direction to an established archaeomagnetic dating model, NZPSV1k. Archaeomagnetic dating is used to resolve ambiguities in the calibration of radiocarbon dates, and shows up inconsistencies due to unreliable source material for radiocarbon dating. Archaeomagnetic dating and radiocarbon dating results are combined to give the best estimates of the best age of the hangi sites.</p>

scholarly journals The origins of agriculture in Iberia: a computational model

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Pardo Gordó ◽  
Joan Bernabeu Aubán ◽  
Oreto García Puchol ◽  
Michael Barton ◽  
Sean M. Bergin
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Origins Of Agriculture ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Modelling Environment ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Late Mesolithic

Here we discuss the importance of using the rich and growing database of high-precision, audited radiocarbon dates for high-resolution bottom-up modelling to focus on problems concerning the spread of the Neolithic in the Iberia. We also compare the spread of the Late Mesolithic (so-called Geometric) and the Early Neolithic using our modelling environment. Our results suggest that the source of radiocarbon data used to evaluate alternative hypotheses plays an important role in the results and open up new lines of research for the future.

An Archaeomagnetic Study of Hangi Stones in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rimpy Kinger
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
Sw Pacific ◽  
Archaeomagnetic Dating ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Temperature Spectra

<p>Burnt or fired archaeological artefacts often retain a record of the magnetic field in which they were last heated and cooled. Over the past four years we have collected oriented hangi stones from 10 archaeological sites spread across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The stones vary in lithology from andesites, originating from the central North Island volcanoes, favoured by Maori for their durability and with remanent magnetization up to 30 A/m, to sandstones and schists from the main axial ranges, with magnetizations as weak as 10-4 A/m. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments retrieved from amongst the stones indicates that the sites span from ca. 1400 AD to the present.  In all cases, we have independently oriented and retrieved several stones, and we have made several samples from each stone, either by drilling (standard cylindrical samples) or sawing (pseudo-cubes) in the laboratory. We have calculated site mean palaeomagnetic directions (Dec between 1.5o and 19.6o and Inc between -52.2o and -68.3o) from principal component analysis of thermal demagnetization and alternating field demagnetization data, discarding the data of stones that show evidence of disturbance after cooling. The directions are in good agreement with recently published palaeosecular variation records from lake sediments. We have carried out palaeointensity experiments using the Coe/Thellier method with pTRM and tail checks, and with selection criteria modified to the situation. Palaeointensities range from 50μT to 77μT. Rock magnetic experiments contribute to our understanding of the mineralogy, domain state and blocking temperature spectra.  We compare our data with predictions of the global field models ARCH3k and gufm1, and suggest that the addition of our new data will improve these models for the SW Pacific region for the most recent time period. Archaeomagnetic measurements are also used to date hangi sites by matching the palaeo-direction to an established archaeomagnetic dating model, NZPSV1k. Archaeomagnetic dating is used to resolve ambiguities in the calibration of radiocarbon dates, and shows up inconsistencies due to unreliable source material for radiocarbon dating. Archaeomagnetic dating and radiocarbon dating results are combined to give the best estimates of the best age of the hangi sites.</p>

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dates and Bayesian modeling support maritime diffusion model for megaliths in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 3460-3465 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Schulz Paulsson
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Model ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
The Mediterranean

There are two competing hypotheses for the origin of megaliths in Europe. The conventional view from the late 19th and early 20th centuries was of a single-source diffusion of megaliths in Europe from the Near East through the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast. Following early radiocarbon dating in the 1970s, an alternative hypothesis arose of regional independent developments in Europe. This model has dominated megalith research until today. We applied a Bayesian statistical approach to 2,410 currently available radiocarbon results from megalithic, partly premegalithic, and contemporaneous nonmegalithic contexts in Europe to resolve this long-standing debate. The radiocarbon results suggest that megalithic graves emerged within a brief time interval of 200 y to 300 y in the second half of the fifth millennium calibrated years BC in northwest France, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic coast of Iberia. We found decisive support for the spread of megaliths along the sea route in three main phases. Thus, a maritime diffusion model is the most likely explanation of their expansion.

scholarly journals University of Waikato Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G Hogg ◽  
David J Lowe ◽  
Chris H Hendy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Scintillation Counting ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
The North ◽  
National University ◽  
Vacuum Systems

The radiocarbon dating laboratory at Waikato was established in 1975, primarily as a research tool in the fields of geomorphology, volcanology, tephrostratigraphy, coastal studies, and paleolimnology, to cope with the increasing supply of late Quaternary lake sediment, wood, peat, and shell samples submitted by University staff and postgraduate students undertaking research in the North Island of New Zealand. The method employed is scintillation counting of benzene using the procedures and vacuum systems designed by H A Polach for the Australian National University (ANU) Radiocarbon Dating Research Laboratory (Hogg, 1982). This date list reports on samples submitted by University of Waikato researchers and assayed in the Waikato laboratory mainly between 1979 and 1985. Other dates on material submitted by individuals working in other organizations in New Zealand, and overseas, are to be reported later.

scholarly journals Trial excavation of a terrace-edge enclosure at North Mains, Strathallan, Perthshire

1991 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
Gordon J Barclay ◽  
Myra Tolan-Smith ◽  
Coralie Mills ◽  
J Barber
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc

A small part of the terrace edge enclosure at North Mains was excavated to test the hypothesis that it was contemporary with one or other of the Neolithic/Early Bronze Age ceremonial monuments immediately to the north. Two cropmark ditches and an entrance through them were confirmed by excavation. The inner ditch was very steep sided; postholes were found on the inner edge of both ditches. Possible postholes were also noted on the outer edge of the outer ditch. Traces of a number of structures were located in the interior, including what may be the slight wall-trench of a circular house. The results of radiocarbon dating may suggest that the ditch was dug in the second millennium bc, while at least one of the structures in the interior was in use in the late first millennium bc. A comment on the radiocarbon dates is provided by John Barber (50--1). An appendix gives details of the `Identification of charcoal from North Mains' by Coralie Mills (52--3). Au

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating of the Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Arano, Verona, Northern Italy

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 483-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erio Valzolgher ◽  
John Meadows ◽  
Paola Salzani ◽  
Luciano Salzani
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
The North

Seventeen of the 73 individuals buried in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) cemetery at Arano di Cellore di Illasi, near Verona, northern Italy, were radiocarbon dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Bayesian modeling of the calibrated dates suggests that the cemetery was probably used over several generations mainly within the first 2 centuries of the 2nd millennium cal BC. Burial activity was therefore mainly restricted to within the EBA I B/EBA I C of the north Italian Bronze Age chronology. An isolated burial, found ∼90 m northwest of the cemetery, may date to the same period.

Living at the margin of the retreating Fennoscandian Ice Sheet: The early Mesolithic sites at Aareavaara, northernmost Sweden

The Holocene ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Möller ◽  
Olof Östlund ◽  
Lena Barnekow ◽  
Per Sandgren ◽  
Frida Palmbo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Transitional Zone ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
The North ◽  
Ancylus Lake

During an archaeological survey in Pajala parish, northernmost Sweden, clusters of quartz waste from knapping and burnt bone were discovered on a glaciofluvial gravel plateau close to Aareavaara village in the Muonio River valley. Sampled materials from a larger area and small-scale excavations (in total 6 m2) are interpreted as resulting from short-stay hunter-gatherer camps. Radiocarbon dating on burnt bones suggest an age of occupancy at ~10,700 cal. yr BP, which is more or less contemporary with ‘Komsa Phase’ sites on the north coast of Norway (~300–360 km northwards). The Aareavaara site should thus be the oldest known archaeological site to date in northern Sweden. A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, based on pollen analysis of sediment cores from two nearby lakes and radiocarbon dating of macrofossils for construction of time/depth sedimentation curves, suggests a deglaciation age of the area corresponding to occupation by early man (~10,700 cal. yr BP). Aareavaara was at the time of deglaciation situated in a transitional zone between subaqueous and subaerial ice-margin retreat from the northeast towards the southwest, with higher hills and plateaux forming an archipelago in the Ancylus Lake with highest shorelines formed at ~170 m a.s.l. The hunter-gatherer camp sites at Aareavaara were thus, both in time and space, located in close proximity to the retreating ice sheet margin, but also in a waterfront location, in fact on an island in the Ancylus Lake. Our pollen data suggest a subarctic birch woodland tundra landscape characterized by open vegetation, including occasional birch trees and an abundance of willow and dwarf birch.

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