Challenging the Evidence for Prehistoric Wetland Maize Agriculture at Fort Center, Florida

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Thompson ◽  
Kristen J. Gremillion ◽  
Thomas J. Pluckhahn
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Pollen Data ◽  
Historic Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Eastern Woodlands ◽  
Work Site ◽  
Maize Agriculture ◽  
Early Evidence

AbstractThe early evidence (2400 ± 105 B.P.) for wetland maize agriculture at the archaeological site of Fort Center, a large earth-work site in South Florida, USA, is frequently cited in discussions of the emergence of agriculture in the Eastern Woodlands of North America. The evidence for maize, however, rests on controversial pollen data; some researchers accept it, others remain skeptical of its identification or chronological placement. We present microbotanical data (pollen and phytoliths), macrobotanical data, and radiocarbon dates from recent excavations from this site. We argue that maize agriculture did not occur until the historic period at this site and that the identification of maize in earlier deposits is likely a result of contamination.

Evaluating the Old Wood Problem in a Temperate Climate: A Fort Ancient Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (04) ◽  
pp. 763-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Cook ◽  
Aaron R. Comstock
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Wood Charcoal ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Eastern Woodlands ◽  
Fort Ancient

Abstract Schiffer (1986) first identified the old wood problem for wood charcoal-based dates from archaeological contexts in the American Southwest. The potential for dates to be skewed toward excessively old calendar ages in this region has recently generated reticence in part of the archaeological community towards including wood charcoal dates in general. Some scholars have even begun to cleanse the radiocarbon databases of regions throughout North America, partly with this presumed limitation in mind. However, the issues that contribute to the old wood problem have not been closely examined outside the arid climate of the American Southwest, resulting in some studies excluding hundreds of radiocarbon dates. The present study fills that void by examining the radiocarbon record from four well-dated Fort Ancient sites in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana. Specifically, we test whether or not there are significant differences between wood charcoal and non-wood charcoal assays. Our findings suggest that wood charcoal dates should not be excluded. We explore reasons for this difference in the Eastern Woodlands and propose an ideal dating regime.

9000 years of salmon fishing on the Columbia River, North America

2004 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia L Butler ◽  
Jim E O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Native People ◽  
Anthropogenic Source ◽  
Columbia Basin ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
Hydrologic Conditions

A large assemblage of salmon bones excavated 50 yr ago from an ∼10,000-yr-old archaeological site near The Dalles, Oregon, USA, has been the primary evidence that early native people along the Columbia River subsisted on salmon. Recent debate about the human role in creating the deposit prompted excavation of additional deposits and analysis of archaeologic, geologic, and hydrologic conditions at the site. Results indicate an anthropogenic source for most of the salmonid remains, which have associated radiocarbon dates indicating that the site was occupied as long ago as 9300 cal yr B.P. The abundance of salmon bone indicates that salmon was a major food item and suggests that migratory salmonids had well-established spawning populations in some parts of the Columbia Basin by 9300–8200 yr ago.

Excavation of an Early Historic Palisaded Enclosure at Titwood, Mearnskirk, East Renfrewshire

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Johnson ◽  
Alastair Rees ◽  
Ian Ralston ◽  
T. Ballin ◽  
M. Cressey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Historic Period ◽  
Historic Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Early Historic

Summary A palisaded enclosure and associated features were excavated by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in advance of the construction of the proposed Glasgow Southern Orbital Road. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the palisade and at least some of the internal features date to the Early Historic period, between the 8th and 10th centuries cal. AD. The Titwood palisade is currently the only site of this date to have been excavated in western mainland Scotland, as well as being one of the few known Early Historic palisaded sites in Scotland. Evidence of Neolithic activity on the site was also established. The work was commissioned by ASH Consulting Group on behalf of East Renfrewshire Council.

scholarly journals Melite Civitas Romana in 3D: Virtualization Project of the Archaeological Park and Museum of the Domus Romana of Rabat, Malta

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-83
Author(s):  
Davide Tanasi ◽  
Stephan Hassam ◽  
Kaitlyn Kingsland ◽  
Paolo Trapani ◽  
Matthew King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Structured Light ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Virtual Museum ◽  
Current State ◽  
Structured Light Scanning ◽  
The University ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

Abstract The archaeological site of the Domus Romana in Rabat, Malta was excavated almost 100 years ago yielding artefacts from the various phases of the site. The Melite Civitas Romana project was designed to investigate the domus, which may have been the home of a Roman Senator, and its many phases of use. Pending planned archaeological excavations designed to investigate the various phases of the site, a team from the Institute for Digital Exploration from the University of South Florida carried out a digitization campaign in the summer of 2019 using terrestrial laser scanning and aerial digital photogrammetry to document the current state of the site to provide a baseline of documentation and plan the coming excavations. In parallel, structured light scanning and photogrammetry were used to digitize 128 artefacts in the museum of the Domus Romana to aid in off-site research and create a virtual museum platform for global dissemination.

Reconstructing the Chronology of the House XVII-XVIII Complex at Umm el-Jimal, East Jordan: Radiocarbon Dates of Organic Inclusions of Architectural Mortars

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Al-Bashaireh
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Lime Mortars ◽  
Byzantine Period

This article presents accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of organic inclusions of cement materials from the House XVII-XVIII Complex located in the Umm el-Jimal archaeological site, east Jordan, aiming at refining the unclear chronology of the house. Fine straws and small fragments of charcoal uncovered from preserved architectural lime mortars and plasters were dated without carrying out extensive excavations. The results indicate that the house most probably was initially plastered or built during the middle of the Byzantine period. The results agree with the historical and archaeological data indicating that Umm el-Jimal flourished during this period; therefore, it is probable that the house was established during this time to meet the housing demand for the increased number of its population.

Present and postglacial rates of uplift for glaciated northern and eastern North America derived from postglacial uplift curves

1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 703-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Andrews
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
High Cell ◽  
Uplift Rate ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Current Maximum ◽  
A Current

Average rates of postglacial uplift reach a maximum value of nearly 4 m 100 y−1 over southeastern Hudson Bay, and another high cell, with rates of about 2.5 m 100 y−1, lies between Bathurst Inlet and Southampton Island. Current rates of uplift are underestimated if exponential curves are fitted solely to dated raised marine deposits without considering the amount of future recovery. Rates of rebound are, instead, derived from A/t where A is uplift in the first 1000 y since deglaciation, and t is time since deglaciation. For the northwest margin of the former ice sheet coefficients of determination for rate of uplift, at specific times, as a function of distance are [Formula: see text]. Maps of rates of uplift for northern and eastern North America are presented for 8000 y B.P., 6000 y B.P. and the present day. They reveal the existence of three uplift centers and show that rates of uplift declined from a maximum of 10 to 12 m 100 y−1, immediately following deglaciation, to a current maximum of about 1.3 m 100 y−1. Agreement is satisfactory when calculated rates of uplift are compared with those derived from geological observations, radiocarbon dates, and from water-level records. A final map shows isochrones on the uplift rate of ~1 m 100 y−1. The rate dropped to this value about 10 000 y ago on the outer northwest and southeast coasts, whereas the value might not be reached for another 2000 y in southeastern Hudson Bay.

Eastern Woodlands of North America

Antiquity ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (298) ◽  
pp. 847-853
Author(s):  
Dean R. Snow
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Eastern Woodlands

Radiocarbon dates from Fazzan, southern Libya

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mattingly ◽  
David Edwards ◽  
John Dore
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
Historic Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Full List ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Early Islamic

AbstractThis short paper presents a full list of the currently available radiocarbon dates from the work of Charles Daniels in the 1960s-1970s and the Fazzan Project (1997-2001). The dates can be grouped into several categories, by site or area, and demonstrate the potential of radiocarbon dating being applied to historic-period archaeology in the Sahara. This complements earlier Italian work on later prehistory. One of the most important conclusions to emerge is that the construction of castle-like buildings in Fazzan began within the Garamantian period and that some of the numerous well-preserved mudbrick fortified sites are thus rather earlier than has previously been envisaged. A second important conclusion is that the use of AMS dating can help to identify and confirm activity of the post-Garamantian and early Islamic phases, which has hitherto been elusive.

scholarly journals First Report of Tomato spotted wilt virus in Blackberry Lily in North America

Plant Disease ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Adkins ◽  
L. Breman ◽  
C. A. Baker ◽  
S. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
South Florida ◽  
N Gene ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
First Report ◽  
Tomato Spotted Wilt ◽  
Wilt Virus

Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC.) is an herbaceous perennial in the Iridaceae characterized by purple-spotted orange flowers followed by persistent clusters of black fruit. In July 2002, virus-like symptoms including chlorotic ringspots and ring patterns were observed on blackberry lily leaves on 2 of 10 plants in a south Florida ornamental demonstration garden. Inclusion body morphology suggested the presence of a Tospovirus. Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was specifically identified by serological testing using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Agdia, Elkhart, IN). Sequence analysis of a nucleocapsid (N) protein gene fragment amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers TSWV723 and TSWV722 (1) from total RNA confirmed the diagnosis. Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a 579 base pair region of the RT-PCR product were 95 to 99% and 95 to 100% identical, respectively, to TSWV N-gene sequences in GenBank. Since these 2-year-old plants were grown on-site from seed, they were likely inoculated by thrips from a nearby source. Together with a previous observation of TSWV in north Florida nursery stock (L. Breman, unpublished), this represents, to our knowledge, the first report of TSWV infection of blackberry lily in North America although TSWV was observed in plants of this species in Japan 25 years ago (2). References: (1) S. Adkins, and E. N. Rosskopf. Plant Dis. 86:1310, 2002. (2) T. Yamamoto and K.-I. Ohata. Bull. Shikoku Agric. Exp. Stn. 30:39, 1977.

New optical and radiocarbon dates from Ngarrabullgan Cave, a Pleistocene archaeological site in Australia: implications for the comparability of time clocks and for the human colonization of Australia

Antiquity ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (271) ◽  
pp. 183-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno David ◽  
Richard Roberts ◽  
Claudio Tuniz ◽  
Rhys Jones ◽  
John Head
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Optically Stimulated Luminescence ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Rock Shelter ◽  
Human Colonization

The human settlement of Australia falls into that period where dating is hard because it is near or beyond the reliable limit of radiocarbon study; instead a range of luminescence methods are being turned to (such as thermoluminescence at Jinmium: December 1996 ANTIQUITY). Ngarrabullgan Cave, a rock-shelter in Queensland, now offers a good suite of radiocarbon determinations which match well a pair of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates — encouraging sign that OSL determinations can be relied on.

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