AMS Radiocarbon Dating of the Type Plainview and Firstview (Paleoindian) Assemblages: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Abstract

Plainview and Firstview are two of the principal post-Folsom Paleoindian artifact assemblages on the Great Plains, but good radiometric age control for these artifact styles is relatively poor, due in part to lack of reliable age control on the type collections. This study reports the results of AMS-radiocarbon dating of specific amino acids from Bison antiquus bone associated with the type Plainview and Firstview assemblages from the Plainview and Olsen-Chubbuck sites, respectively. Seven samples of bone and teeth from Plainview produced a surprisingly wide array of ages. As a result, the age of the bone bed and the type Plainview collection remain uncertain, but it is most likely ≥ 10,000 B.P. (but late or post-Folsom) given the dating and stratigraphic relationships at Plainview and other sites. Seven samples of bone from Olsen-Chubbuck yielded a tight cluster of ages averaging ca 9400 B.P., fitting well with other dated Firstview features on the Southern Plains. These results show that much better age control from more sites is needed in order to understand the Paleoindian record. AMS-radiocarbon dating of specific amino acids from bone has revolutionized such issues of chronology in archaeology, but like any other method, it can provide confusing results and must be used in conjunction with other chronometric data.

Paleoindian subsistence strategies and late Pleistocene paleoenvironments in the northeastern and southwestern United States: a tooth wear analysis

“…It was more recently dated from 8380 AE 100 to 11,440 AE 80 years BP by the AMS-radiocarbon method (Holliday et al, 1999). Together with the bison remains, 19 projectile points and 8 other artifacts (scrapers) were found.…”

The Nelson Site, a Cody Occupation in Northeastern Colorado

“…Although only one test unit has been excavated at the site, the distribution and analysis of bison bone and chipped stone found on the erosional surface of a small drainage suggests that a bison bone bed with at least five animals is present. It is premature to label the Nelson site either a bison kill, bison procurement, or bison processing location 60 100 1991), although others give it a wider berth (Holliday et al 1999;Stanford 1999), and if the Alberta is included in the complex the beginning would be closer to 9800 B.P. (Frison 1991;Stanford 1999).…”

Early Holocene Paleoindian deposits at Nall Playa, Oklahoma Panhandle, U.S.A.

“…First, if the Plainview materials in that collection date to the same period as sites to the south on the Llano Estacado, 10,000 ϩ 500 yr B.P. (Holliday et al, 1999;Holliday, 2000b:Table VIIB), then the lower paleosol (the Nall soil or Stratum 2) and the contact with the eolian red sand represent potential surfaces for Plainview artifacts.…”