Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Zeidler ◽  
Caitlin E. Buck ◽  
Clifford D. Litton
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Approach ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Phase Information ◽  
Calendar Dates ◽  
Specific Sequences ◽  
Radiocarbon Calibration

Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relating the successive archaeological phases is established, based on prior knowledge of the stratigraphy and ceramic seriation from key archaeological sites throughout the valley. A Bayesian statistical approach is then employed to calibrate 37 radiocarbon determinations for the purpose of estimating calendar dates for the limits of these phases. Apart from its contribution to the prehistory of a poorly studied area, the analysis illustrates the value of a probabilistic Bayesian approach to radiocarbon calibration, especially when the determinations relate to archaeologically predefined phases. It also demonstrates the dangers of uncritically applying generalized periodization schemes to specific sequences of historical development and highlights the need for reassessing Ecuadorian chronology through more precise interregional correlations.

scholarly journals THE LAND BEHIND THE LAND BEHIND BAGHDAD: ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES OF THE UPPER DIYALA (SIRWAN) RIVER VALLEY

Iraq ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Casana ◽  
Claudia Glatz
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The North ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Regional Project ◽  
The Rich

While the Diyala (Kurdish Sirwan) River Valley is storied in Near Eastern archaeology as home to the Oriental Institute's excavations in the 1930s as well as to Robert McC. Adams’ pioneering archaeological survey, The Land Behind Baghdad, the upper reaches of the river valley remain almost unknown to modern scholarship. Yet this region, at the interface between irrigated lowland Mesopotamia and the Zagros highlands to the north and east, has long been hypothesized as central to the origins and development of complex societies. It was hotly contested by Bronze Age imperial powers, and offered one of the principle access routes connecting Mespotamia to the Iranian Plateau and beyond. This paper presents an interim report of the Sirwan Regional Project, a regional archaeological survey undertaken from 2013–2015 in a 4000 square kilometre area between the modern city of Darbandikhan and the plains south of Kalar. Encompassing a wide range of environments, from the rugged uplands of the Zagros front ranges to the rich irrigated basins of the Middle Diyala, the project has already discovered a wealth of previously unknown archaeological sites ranging in date from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic through the modern period. Following an overview of the physical geography of the Upper Diyala/Sirwan, this paper highlights key findings that are beginning to transform our understanding of this historically important but poorly known region.

A Statistical Approach to Mapping Flood Susceptibility in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 7603-7618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Giovannettone ◽  
Tom Copenhaver ◽  
Margot Burns ◽  
Scott Choquette
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Approach ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Connecticut River ◽  
Flood Susceptibility ◽  
Connecticut River Valley

An Archaeological Survey of the Lower Catchment of the Ayiofarango Valley

1977 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 13-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blackman ◽  
Keith Branigan
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Construction Work ◽  
South West

This report describes and discusses the archaeological sites explored by the writers in an intensive survey of the lower catchment of the river valley which reaches from just south-west of Pigaidakhia to the mouth of the Ayiofarango just west of Kaloi Limenes (Fig. 1). This area was chosen because it was known to be of considerable archaeological importance, yet in recent years it had been subjected more to the depredations of tomb-robbers than to the exploration of archaeologists. In addition, there was the possibility that a road would be cut through the valley from the Mesara to Kaloi Limenes. A survey in advance of such work would enable sites of archaeological importance to be recorded and either investigated or safeguarded before any construction work took place.

4D archaeology

Antiquity ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (293) ◽  
pp. 784-787
Author(s):  
Patrick Ashmore
Keyword(s):  
Tree Rings ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Abundant Evidence ◽  
Main Period ◽  
Calendar Dates

IntroductionBy far the commonest absolute date estimates come from radiocarbon ages converted to dates by comparing them with the ages of tree rings of known date. There are still many problems with the technique. The quoted errors attached to most of the dates obtained between 1950 and around 1982 have to be increased by factors between 1.4 and 4 (Baillie 1990; Ashmore et al. 2000). There are plateaux in the calibration curve which mean that some ages correspond to an unacceptably wide range of calendar dates. Many archaeological sites contain pieces of charcoal much older than the main period of activity on them. Many charcoal dates obtained before about 1999 were from bulk samples and some demonstrably reflect mixing of charcoal of very different age, providing a meaningless date somewhere in between (Ashmore 1999a). There is now fairly abundant evidence that dates from poorly preserved bone, whether buried or cremated, can be centuries out. The marine effect, which has been assumed to make all Scottish shell dates 405 years too old, may fluctuate (Harkness 1983; Cook & Dugmore pers. comm.). The bones of people who ate food from marine sources show the marine effect and calculation of the required change to an age measured by a laboratory depends on a measurement of the strength of the marine effect at the time the person lived (Barrett et al. 2000). Some dates from residues on pots seem to represent accurately the time they formed; others for unknown reasons do not.

scholarly journals Santal Community in Bangladesh: A Socio-historical Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Md. Shamsuddoha ◽  
Ms. Rifat Jahan
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Historical Legacy ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Features

The Santals are one of the most ancient indigenous communities in Bangladesh. Many historians denote them as the earliest settlers in greater Bengal. They mainly belong to Austro-Asiatic group of pre-Aryan settlers. Being the indigenous community of the country, they should have been more influential and developed. But the reality is different. Santals are deprived of stately rights and privileges in many aspects. It has a historical legacy of isolation and clash. As Santals live isolated from mainland people, proper attention was never given to them. Rather they were tortured and oppressed both by colonial and post-colonial rulers, which led them to launch many resistances. But ultimately those resistances could not completely stop the deprivation. In spite of all these challenges, Santals are still struggling to uphold their socio-cultural tradition. The absence of written document in Santal society created a paucity of information in the reconstruction of their history. Therefore, secondary source was mainly used in this research. This study tries to explore the social customs, livelihood and cultural features of Santal community keeping a special focus on the historical development. It indicates that they have historically been deprived in many ways, but they are still able to uphold their distinct cultural features in most of the cases.  

scholarly journals Archaeological Sites of the Middle Kiya River: History of Discoveries and Study Prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 648-663
Author(s):  
A. S. Savelieva ◽  
P. V. German ◽  
I. A. Plats ◽  
L. Yu. Bobrova
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
South Siberia ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
The City

The article introduces some information about the expeditionary studies on the archaeological sites located on the banks of the Middle Kiya River valley. The authors believe that the Kiya is one of the main rivers for such important historical and cultural area of South Siberia as the Kiya – Chulym interfluve. The expeditionary studies have been conducted here since the late XIX century; however, professional archaeological studies began as late as in the 1950s. The paper describes the excavations conducted by A. I. Martynov, G. S. Martynova, I. I. Baukhnik, A. M. Kilemzin, A. V. Tsirkin, A. P. Okladnikov, V. I. Molodin, V. V. Bobrov, A. S. Vasyutin, V. N. Zharonkin, P. V. German, A. V. Fribus, and P. G. Sokolov. It focuses on the carefully planned excavations conducted on the banks of the middle forest-steppe part of the Kiya River valley. Seven expeditions discovered eighty previously unknown archaeological sites. While performing the historiographic mapping of archaeological sites, the authors took into account the type of artifact and the type of archaeological study. The authors analyzed the localization of the archeological sites near the villages of Shestakovo and Chumay and the city of Mariinsk published by A. M. Kulemzin and I. I. Baukhnik and compared them with the results of the mapping. They defined the territory as a single Middle-Kiya archaeological microdistrict that includes the archaeological complexes of Shestakovo, Chumay, and Archekas (Mariinsk). The article also includes some preliminary ideas about the types of archaeological studies, as well as typological and chronological description of the monuments.

Pergamum

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clyde E. Fant ◽  
Mitchell G. Reddish
Keyword(s):  
Aegean Sea ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Way

Pergamum is unquestionably one of the most impressive archaeological sites in all of Turkey. Pergamum’s attractions are hard to surpass—the breathtaking view from its theater carved out of the side of the acropolis, the magnificent restored Temple of Trajan, the foundations of the Great Altar of Zeus, the ancient healing center of Asclepius, the Temple of Serapis (the Red Hall), and the archaeological museum. A visit to Pergamum should not be rushed. There is much here to reward the patient visitor who will explore the riches of this ancient city. The site of ancient Pergamum is scattered in and around the modern town of Bergama, located in the western part of Turkey, approximately 65 miles north of Izmir. According to ancient mythology, Pergamum was founded by Telephus, king of Asia Minor and the son of Hercules (and thus the grandson of Zeus). Archaeological evidence indicates that Pergamum was settled as early as the 8th century B.C.E. Xenophon, the Greek historian who was involved in a mercenary expedition against the Persians, mentions that in 399 B.C.E. he and his soldiers spent some time at Pergamum. Little is known about Pergamum until the Hellenistic period, when Pergamum and all of Asia Minor came under the control of Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander in 323 B.C.E., Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s generals (the Diadochoi) involved in the struggle for Alexander’s kingdom, eventually gained control of all of Asia Minor. He deposited a considerable amount of wealth in the treasury of Pergamum and placed one of his officers, Philetaerus, in charge. Philetaerus eventually turned against Lysimachus. After Lysimachus’ death, Philetaerus (r. 281–263 B.C.E.) used the money to establish a principality, with Pergamum as its capital. Unmarried (and supposedly a eunuch due to an accident), Philetaerus adopted his nephew Eumenes I as his successor. Eumenes I (r. 263–241 B.C.E.) was successful in defeating the Seleucid king Antiochus I at Sardis and expanding the rule of Pergamum throughout the Caicus River valley and all the way to the Aegean Sea. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his adopted son Attalus I Soter (r. 241–197 B.C.E.).

New approaches to radiocarbon calibration arising from statistical developments in IntCal20

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bronk Ramsey ◽  
Timothy Heaton ◽  
Maarten Blaauw ◽  
Paul Blackwell ◽  
Paula Reimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Probability Distribution Function ◽  
Isotope Ratio ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Standard Uncertainty ◽  
Calibration Curves ◽  
Calibration Methods ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Radiocarbon Calibration

<p>Calibration is a key element of the radiocarbon dating methodology and the underlying Bayesian statistical approach taken, and algorithms used, are well established and used in calibration software and associated analysis packages.  These calibration methods are based on a calibration curve which provides a mean estimate for the radiocarbon isotope ratio (fractionation corrected) expected in samples, and the associated standard uncertainty, both as a function of time (or calendar age).  The measured samples also have their radiocarbon isotope ratio reported in the same form and so the calibration process involves comparison of the sample radiocarbon measurements with the calibration curve at different points on the calendar age scale.  This then yields a probability distribution function, with associated highest probability density ranges, for the sample calendar age.  We discuss here how improvements in the construction of the IntCal20 curve offer new opportunities, enabling users to obtain more from the calibration curve than previously possible and address some of the limitations of previous calibration approaches.</p><p>Previous approaches to calibration assumed that the values of the calibration curves at any time were normally distributed around their estimated mean. However, there are time periods where the distribution of these curves are not well represented by such a normal distribution. This is potentially significant even for calibrations of single samples. The new IntCal20 curve generates multiple possible calibration curves, providing us with the opportunity to identify and adapt to such non-normality.  A second limitation of previous approaches to calibration arises when multiple determinations are used within a broader chronological model. In such cases the usual assumption is that the calibrated uncertainties are independent.  This is certainly not the case if all the samples are the same age (which is currently addressed by combination before calibration) but also is potentially wrong if the samples are close enough in age for there to be correlated uncertainty in the calibration curve.  Again, using the collection of possible curves provided in the construction of IntCal20, rather than just the summary curve, we look at possible solutions to this challenge.  The implications for high-precision chronologies are also discussed.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document