scholarly journals ASSESSING THE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY OF EL MIRÓN CAVE, CANTABRIAN SPAIN

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Rachel J A Hopkins ◽  
Lawrence Guy Straus ◽  
Manuel R González Morales
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Stratigraphic Record ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Taphonomic Processes

ABSTRACT El Mirón is an important archaeological cave site in Cantabria (Spain) with a stratigraphy covering the late Middle Paleolithic to the Modern Period. The Magdalenian levels are especially rich in artifacts, faunal remains, and features, and included the burial of an adult female (“the Red Lady”), as well as other scattered human remains, while the Neolithic levels contained the oldest combined evidence of ceramics, domesticated grain and livestock in the region. However, in the absence of diagnostic artifacts in many levels that would always provide a traditional cultural chronology, radiocarbon dating has been essential in understanding the temporal framework for human activity at the site. Over the duration of more than two decades, the El Mirón Project has therefore obtained 93 radiocarbon dates, which cover the entire stratigraphic record as found in several different excavation areas. In light of the considerable methodological advances that radiocarbon dating has seen since 1996 we aim to evaluate the reliability of the published 14C record for El Mirón Cave, and to improve the accuracy of the radiocarbon based chronostratigraphy through Bayesian modeling. The results shed light on which dates may be used for future research and where dating discrepancies reflect taphonomic processes, thereby advancing intra-site and regional archaeological comparisons.

Radiocarbon Dating the Iroquoian Occupation of Northern New York

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 748-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Abel ◽  
Jessica L. Vavrasek ◽  
John P. Hart
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates

The results of Bayesian analysis using 43 new high-precision AMS radiocarbon dates on maize, faunal remains, and ceramic residues from 18 precontact Iroquoian village sites in Northern New York are presented. Once thought to span AD 1350–1500, the period of occupation suggested by the modeling is approximately AD 1450–1510. This late placement now makes clear that Iroquoians arrived in the region approximately 100 years later than previously thought. This result halves the time in which population growth and significant changes in settlement occurred. The new chronology allows us to better match these events within a broader Northeast temporal framework.

scholarly journals THREE GENERATIONS UNDER ONE ROOF? BAYESIAN MODELING OF RADIOCARBON DATA FROM NUNALLEQ, YUKON-KUSKOKWIM DELTA, ALASKA

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Ledger ◽  
Véronique Forbes ◽  
Edouard Masson-Maclean ◽  
Charlotta Hillerdal ◽  
W. Derek Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
The North ◽  
North American Arctic ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Bayesian Statistical Modeling

This article presents the results of a program of radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modeling from the precontact Yup'ik site of Nunalleq (GDN-248) in subarctic southwestern Alaska. Nunalleq is deeply stratified, presenting a robust relative chronological framework of well-defined individual house floors abundant in ecofacts suitable for radiocarbon dating. Capitalizing on this potential, we present the results of one of the first applications of Bayesian statistical modeling of radiocarbon data from an archaeological site in the North American Arctic. Using these methods, we demonstrate that it is possible to generate robust, high-resolution chronological models from Arctic archaeology. Radiocarbon dates, procured prior to the program of dating and modeling presented here, suggested an approximately three-century duration of occupation at the site. The results of Bayesian modeling nuance this interpretation. While it is possible that there may have been activity for almost three centuries (beginning in the late fourteenth century), occupation of the dwelling complex, which dominates the site, was more likely to have endured for no more than a century. The results presented here suggest that the occupation of Nunalleq likely encompassed three generations beginning cal AD 1570–1630 before being curtailed by conflict around cal AD 1645–1675.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dates and Bayesian modeling support maritime diffusion model for megaliths in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 3460-3465 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Schulz Paulsson
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Model ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
The Mediterranean

There are two competing hypotheses for the origin of megaliths in Europe. The conventional view from the late 19th and early 20th centuries was of a single-source diffusion of megaliths in Europe from the Near East through the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast. Following early radiocarbon dating in the 1970s, an alternative hypothesis arose of regional independent developments in Europe. This model has dominated megalith research until today. We applied a Bayesian statistical approach to 2,410 currently available radiocarbon results from megalithic, partly premegalithic, and contemporaneous nonmegalithic contexts in Europe to resolve this long-standing debate. The radiocarbon results suggest that megalithic graves emerged within a brief time interval of 200 y to 300 y in the second half of the fifth millennium calibrated years BC in northwest France, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic coast of Iberia. We found decisive support for the spread of megaliths along the sea route in three main phases. Thus, a maritime diffusion model is the most likely explanation of their expansion.

Radiocarbon Dating in Eastern Arctic Archaeology: A Flexible Approach

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Hanford Arundale
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Flexible Approach ◽  
Arctic Archaeology ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

Radiocarbon dates from marine mammal tissue present Arctic archaeologists with some difficult interpretive problems. These problems are so serious that McGhee and Tuck have even advocated omitting all sea mammal dates from the Eastern Arctic radiocarbon chronology. A flexible approach to interpreting sea mammal dates will allow researchers to use existing dates more effectively and to make future dates more reliable. Solving the problems with sea mammal dates requires: (1) abandoning the assumption that radiocarbon assays are quasi-absolute chronological indicators; (2) recognizing and understanding the sources of variability that affect these dates; (3) correcting for these sources of variability; and (4) developing a more flexible strategy for interpreting the resulting date sequence. A large table of radiocarbon dates from the Eastern Arctic provides the basis for demonstrating how these four steps can be accomplished. Applying this flexible approach also suggests directions and guidelines for future research.

Rethinking “Village” at Mogollon Village (LA 11568): Formal Chronological Modeling of a Persistent Place

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Lori Barkwill Love
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
A Site ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The U.S

In the U.S. Southwest, large pithouse sites are often referred to as “villages,” implying a continuous settlement of contemporary households. But determining pithouse contemporaneity at these sites is challenging, even when relying on radiocarbon dates. Using a Bayesian chronological framework, I examine the overall chronology and occupational histories of individual pithouses at Mogollon Village (LA 11568), a large pithouse site in western New Mexico. The results presented here suggest Mogollon Village occupation began at least by cal AD 5–130 and ended around cal AD 895–990. The modeled dates suggest only a few pithouses were inhabited at any given time throughout the site's occupation. Given these findings, Mogollon Village is best understood as a persistent place—a place of repeated, transient occupation—rather than a village. This study demonstrates that Bayesian modeling can be used to reassess an existing chronological framework, shed light on the contemporaneity of structures at a site, and change our understanding of a site's nature.

Interpreting Radiocarbon Dates from the Paleolithic Layers of Theopetra Cave in Thessaly, Greece

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1432-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yorgos Facorellis ◽  
Panagiotis Karkanas ◽  
Thomas Higham ◽  
Fiona Brock ◽  
Maria Ntinou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
Weizmann Institute ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cosmogenic Isotopes ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Age Limits

Theopetra Cave is a unique prehistoric site for Greece, as the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods are present here, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene. During the more than 20 yr of excavation campaigns, charcoal samples from hearths suitable for 14C dating were collected from all anthropogenic layers, including the Paleolithic ones. Most of the samples were initially dated using the ABA chemical pretreatment protocol in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos, Greece, and the Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. The 14C results, which were not always consistent versus depth, showed that the earliest limit of human presence is ∼50,000 yr BP, thus reaching the age limits of the 14C dating method. However, 10 TL-dated burnt flint specimens unearthed from the lower part of the Middle Paleolithic sequence of the cave gave ages ranging between ∼110 and 135 kyr ago. These results are in disagreement with the 14C dates, as they support a much later date for these layers. In order to clarify the situation further, charcoal samples originating from hearths were conventionally dated in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos using the ABA pretreatment. Additionally, hand-picked charcoal fragments also underwent 14C dating by AMS in the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit using the acid-base wet oxidation (ABOX-SC) pretreatment protocol. The 14C dates from the cave's Paleolithic layers obtained by both pretreatment protocols suggest a probable charcoal diagenesis affecting the 14C results of these very old samples. However, the dates obtained with ABOX-SC pretreatment are considered more reliable and in the younger stratigraphic part produced consistent results with the TL dating.

AMS Radiocarbon Dates for Pleistocene Fauna from the American Northeast

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew T Boulanger ◽  
Gregory D Lattanzi ◽  
David C Parris ◽  
Michael J O'Brien ◽  
R Lee Lyman
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Carbon Contamination ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Botanical Remains ◽  
Ams Dates

Northeastern North America has produced an incredible number of late Pleistocene faunal remains; however, many of these were discovered and excavated prior to the development of radiocarbon dating. Moreover, many of the 14C dates that do exist for such specimens were assayed prior to the development of purified collagen extraction methods, were performed on botanical remains of unspecified association with the faunal remains, or were accepted without concerns of young-carbon contamination from museum preservatives. Here, we present a set of high-precision accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates obtained on Pleistocene faunal specimens from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Our data contain both newly discovered specimens and specimens that have resided in museum collections for over a century.

scholarly journals Application of Biomimetics to Architectural and Urban Design: A Review across Scales

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Uchiyama ◽  
Eduardo Blanco ◽  
Ryo Kohsaka
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Shed Light

Application of biomimetics has expanded progressively to other fields in recent years, including urban and architectural design, scaling up from materials to a larger scale. Besides its contribution to design and functionality through a long evolutionary process, the philosophy of biomimetics contributes to a sustainable society at the conceptual level. The aim of this review is to shed light on trends in the application of biomimetics to architectural and urban design, in order to identify potential issues and successes resulting from implementation. In the application of biomimetics to architectural design, parts of individual “organisms”, including their form and surface structure, are frequently mimicked, whereas in urban design, on a larger scale, biomimetics is applied to mimic whole ecosystems. The overall trends of the reviewed research indicate future research necessity in the field of on biomimetic application in architectural and urban design, including Biophilia and Material. As for the scale of the applications, the urban-scale research is limited and it is a promising research which can facilitate the social implementation of biomimetics. As for facilitating methods of applications, it is instrumental to utilize different types of knowledge, such as traditional knowledge, and providing scientific clarification of functions and systems based on reviews. Thus, interdisciplinary research is required additionally to reach such goals.

Calibrated Radiocarbon Dating at Keatley Creek: The Chronology of Occupation at a Complex Hunter-Gatherer Village

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Prentiss ◽  
Michael Lenert ◽  
Thomas A. Foor ◽  
Nathan B. Goodale ◽  
Trinity Schlegel
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Population Aggregation ◽  
Selective Environment

This paper provides an analysis of radiocarbon dates acquired during earlier and recent field seasons at the Keatley Creek site, southern British Columbia. Results indicate that early occupations predating 1900 cal. B.P. occurred, but were not likely associated with population aggregation and large housepits. The aggregated village appears to have emerged by approximately 1700 cal. B.P. and was abandoned at approximately 800 cal. B.P. A break in the occupational sequence is recognized at 1450-1350 cal. B.P. and one other short break may have occurred shortly after 1250 cal. B.P. Peak socioeconomic complexity appears to have been achieved between 1350 and 800 cal B.P. Climatic warming may have provided a selective environment favoring population aggregation and intensification during this time. The final abandonment of the Keatley Creek village appears to have been part of a regional phenomenon suggesting the possibility that climatic factors were important in this case as well.

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