Two long series of samples from Tikal, Petén, Guatemala, have been dated by the radiocarbon method for the purpose of limiting the range of possible correlations of the Maya calendar with the Christian. These samples from lintel and vault beams were selected from latest-growth portions of the beams which were presumably cut at times corresponding to Maya dates carved on lintels of two temples. Christian dates for dedicatory Maya dates of the lintels are calculated according to five correlation hypotheses, and are compared with radiocarbon dates for ten beams from Temple IV and six from Temple I. These new radiocarbon dates are shown to be closely related to “absolute” ages by means of radiocarbon counts of tree-ring-dated samples of the same period. The radiocarbon results support the 11-16 (Goodman-Thompson-Martinez) correlation. Attention is given to previous radiocarbon tests by other laboratories of beams removed from Tikal many years ago which seemed to favor the 12-9 correlation in Spinden or Makemson variants. With the aid of new radiocarbon dates for similar samples, reasons for the differences in results are discussed.
A new and interesting archaeological site was discovered in the Wyoming Basin, just west of the Continental Divide, by Mr. O. M. Finley of Eden, Wyoming, in 1940. It represents a Yuma camp site associated with bison bones.In the spring of 1940, Mr. Finley discovered seven stone points or fragments on the surface among sand dunes, ahout four miles southeast of Eden. They were concentrated in an area about five by twenty meters at the base of a dune, and the presence of decalcified bone led Mr. Finley to the conclusion that they had weathered out of a Yuma site nearby. A slight amount of excavation produced additional points, in place, along with decalcified bison bone fragments. A Folsom point with the tip gone had been picked up by Mr. Finley in a blow-out about six hundred and fifty meters to the north, which added interest to the site.
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