The Contribution of Radiocarbon Dating to New World Archaeology

Abstract

When introduced almost five decades ago, radiocarbon (14C) dating provided New World archaeologists with a common chronometric scale that transcended the countless site-specific and regional schemes that had been developed by four generations of field researchers employing a wide array of criteria for distinguishing relative chronological phases. A topic of long standing interest in New World studies where 14C values have played an especially critical role is the temporal framework for the initial peopling of the New World. Other important issues where 14C results have been of particular importance include the origins and development of New World agriculture and the determination of the relationship between the western and Mayan calendars. It has been suggested that the great success of 14C was an important factor in redirecting the focus of American archaeological scholarship in the 1960s from chronology building to theory building, led to a noticeable improvement in US archaeological field methods, and provided a major catalyst that moved American archaeologists increasingly to direct attention to analytical and statistical approaches in the manipulation and evaluation of archaeological data.

Biomass Energy Heat Provision for Cooking and Heating in Developing Countries

“…Prehistoric hearths provide evidence of cooking and social life to archeologists, and there is evidence dating such activity as far back as 780,000 years [34]. Carbon remaining in the hearth as charcoal is often used to carbon date the sites that are much more recent such as in the ongoing debate on the earliest dates of human activity in the New World [35].…”

Rapid seismic reflection imaging at the Clovis period Gault site in central Texas

“…Clovis represents the first well-documented and widespread culture in North America (Meltzer, 2004). Evidence for Clovis occupation has been found from southern Canada to northern Mexico, with Clovis sites ranging in age from 11 500 to 10 900 14 C yr BP (Taylor, 2000). Clovis occupations are characterized by distinctive lanceolate fluted projectile points (Marrow and Marrow, 1999), and tend to occur in riparian settings, especially those associated with small streams and springs and near sources of high-quality lithic materials.…”

Contemplating the history and future of radiocarbon dating in the American Southeast

“…What is clear to us is that for southeastern archaeologists to begin to turn the tide on uncertainty, we must collectively acknowledge our shortcomings in past and present practices when it comes to radiocarbon dating and to define a path forward. We are not the first to offer such observations either on regional practices or with issues regarding radiocarbon as a whole (Bayliss 2009;Taylor 2000a;Wood 2015). In fact, we suggest that, in addition to this paper, readers should consult the following papers, as these are critical readings pertaining to the radiocarbon literature: Aitken (1990), Bayliss (2015), Bowman (1990), Buck and Meson (2015), Cook et al (2015), Guilderson et al (2005), and Taylor and BarYosef (2014).…”