Two Clocks: A Comparison of Ceramic and Radiocarbon Dates at Macapainara, East Timor

Abstract

Radiocarbon analysis and ceramic typology assessment are commonly used to date late Holocene archaeological sites in Island Southeast Asia. We apply both methods to date the site of Macapainara in East Timor, and they produce substantially different age ranges for this site. The radiocarbon dates are consistently later in time than ceramic typology dates from the same or adjacent stratigraphic levels. We assess the various sources of error for the two dating techniques that could produce this discrepancy, and conclude that the ceramic typology age ranges are misleadingly old due to concerted curation of fine ceramics by the site occupants. We discuss the implications of this for dating sites in East Timor and elsewhere within Island Southeast Asia.

Imported tradeware ceramics and their relevance for dating socio‑political developments in South Sulawesi, with special reference to the Allangkanangnge ri Latanete site

“…However, there are two reasons why this 12th-century dating should not be taken terra australis 48 at face value. First, small tradeware sherds can be difficult to identify; second, tradewares may have remained in use long after the time of their manufacture (Fenner and Bulbeck 2013). 5 The c. 13th-century basal dating for a substantial number of Allangkanangnge tradewares (Table 16.1) agrees with the site's earliest radiometric dates, pointing to initial occupation during that century.…”

The fortified settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor‑Leste

“…However, caution should be exercised when interpreting the accuracy of the tradeware dates, as they are consistently earlier than radiocarbon dates from the same level, by 57 to 178 years. The reason for this is argued to be careful handling and curation of the exotic wares, giving them a long use life before their final deposition as broken sherds at Macapainara (Fenner and Bulbeck 2013). Certainly, the tradeware identifications would be inconsistent with occupation at Macapainara any earlier than the sixteenth century, and indeed would be consistent with a seventeenth-century onset of habitation.…”

“…In 2008, excavations were carried out within the walls in order to assess the nature and chronology of occupation. The phenomenon of fort building and its chronology in Timor-Leste have been examined elsewhere (Fenner and Bulbeck 2013;O'Connor et al 2012). Here we focus on describing the excavated cultural assemblage.…”

Excavations at the site of Vasino, Lautem District, Timor-Leste

“…Essentially it combines the probability distributions of all calibrated radiocarbon dates and then uses this distribution to estimate the site occupation probabilities. The method is discussed elsewhere (Fenner and Bulbeck 2013); in this analysis all Bayesian estimates are performed using the BCal online Bayesian radiocarbon analysis tool (Buck et al 1999). Using the Bayesian approach results in an estimate of a 91 per cent probability that Vasino dates to later than AD 1300, a 75 per cent probability that it is later than AD 1350, a 50 per cent probability that it is later than AD 1375, a 20 per cent probability that it is later than AD 1400, and a 0 per cent probability that it is later than AD 1425 ( Figure 4.11).…”