A radiocarbon chronology for Sāmoan prehistory

The corpus of radiocarbon dates for Sāmoan archaeology has grown exponentially since the pioneering work of Green and Davidson in the 1960s, enabling us to re-analyze the archipelago's cultural chronology. A reliable and valid radiocarbon chronology forms the basis for describing and explaining cultural variability and change in the central Pacific. Towards that end, in this paper we compile the available radiocarbon dates from published and unpublished (“grey literature”) sources. We critically evaluate 236 radiocarbon dates following a chronometric hygiene protocol to identify the most secure and reliable age estimates. We accept 147 dates (62.3%) as a means of addressing two significant issues for Sāmoan prehistory: (1) the chronology of settlement and human expansion across the archipelago pre-2000 cal BP, which relates to issues of Lapita colonization, and the effect of island geomorphology on settlement; and (2) analysis of the so-called “Dark Ages” (ca. 1500–1000 cal BP), a period relevant to issues of social complexity and East Polynesian settlement. Our research highlights the need for a rigorous sampling protocol for radiocarbon dating.     

Dating of the Reo site (Island of Saaremaa, Estonia) with silicate and iron microspherules points to an exact age of the fall of the Kaali meteorite

Pollen analyses and radiocarbon dates from the bottom sediments in the Kaali main crater suggested that the crater group is at least 4000?C5000 years old. Investigations of silicate impact micro-spherules in surrounding mires (Raukas et al. 1995) put the age about 7500?C7600 yr BP. Recently we found both silicate and iron microspherules from organic sediments below well-dated beach ridge in Reo site what supports the conclusions that the most realistic age of the Kaali craters is 7600±50 ¹⁴C BP (8335?C8537 cal BP) and the meteorite fall was from SSE to NNW.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.     

A multi-layered prehistoric settlement structure (tell?) at Niederröblingen,Germany and its implications

At least 15 settlement layers, deposited above each other from the early Neolithic (ca. 5300 cal BC) until Roman Imperial Times (ca. 400 cal AD), have been discovered at Niederröblingen, Germany. Constituting the longest duration of prehistoric settlement in central Europe so far known (ca. 4000 yrs), the site is thought to represent the first multi-layered settlement mound (tell?) north of the Alps. This implicates that the occurrence of settlement mound is not limited to the circum-Mediterranean area. The detailed chronology, based on archaeological, radiocarbon and OSL dating and supporting a Bayesian model, shows one clear occupational gap (early Neolithic) and a possible hiatus (Roman Times). Erosion phases of the settlement mound and the deposition of alluvial sediments (since Roman Imperial Times) in the surroundings resulted in an almost complete disappearance of the mound from the recent scenery. Being difficult to detect, similar sites might be present, undetected, in central Europe. Their discovery and study would enable the precise reconstruction of the settlement history as well as of the prehistoric man–environmental interactions at a high resolution.     

Holocene hyrax dung deposits in the afroalpine belt of the Bale Mountains (Ethiopia) and their palaeoclimatic implication

Abstract

The results of pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating are presented for two hyrax dung deposits from rock shelters found in the Afroalpine zone of the Bale Mountains (South-Central Ethiopia). Deposits accumulated from about 15,000 to 1500 (cal) years BP and from 7000 (cal) years BP till nowadays, respectively. Pollen spectra of the initial stages of deposit development (up to 15,000 (cal) years BP) correlate with unfavourable conditions in the Late Glacial Maximum. The African Humid Period (AHP) (15,000–5000 (cal) years BP) is registered in this palaeoecological record as well as the Younger Dryas event (about 12,500 (cal) years BP). Upward shift of Afromontane forest belt and expansion of ericoid communities at high altitudes were characteristic of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (about 10,000 (cal) years BP). The AHP which continues around 10,000 (cal) years BP after Younger Dryas, was interrupted by a dry episode around 8200 (cal) years BP. Principal aridisation trend during the last 5000 years was observed. Presumably the first traces of human activities in this area can be shown for up about 2500 (cal) years BP.     

THE CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORY OF MOUNT TAYLOR PERIOD (CA. 7400–4600 CAL B.P.) SHELL SITES ON THE MIDDLE ST. JOHNS RIVER,FLORIDA

Abstract

Mount Taylor period (ca. 7400–4600 cal. B.P.) shell mounds on the St. Johns River in northeast Florida were some of the first Archaic freshwater shell sites to be documented in the Southeast. However, there is much that remains unknown about their chronology, history, and changing significance through time. This paper presents a regional chronology ofMount Taylor shell sites based on radiocarbon assays from well-documented contexts. Three major changes in the distribution, arrangement, and use of shell sites are identified which correspond with significant shifts in social interaction and environmental change. An examination of the contexts of shell deposition demonstrates that shell sites were frequently established as places to dwell and were subsequently transformed into places of commemorative ceremony or mortuary ritual. The history of Mount Taylor shell sites has implications for the broader debate on whether shell sites were middens or monuments.     

Chinook Salmon,Late Holocene Climate Change,and the Occupational History of Kettle Falls,a Columbia River Fishing Station

ABSTRACT

Kettle Falls, located 1125?km from the mouth of the Columbia River in present-day Washington State (USA), was the second-most important salmon fishing and trading locus on that river in the early historic era. We encapsulate the late Holocene history of the fishery by deriving a summed probability distribution function (SPDF) from 50 radiocarbon ages from 13 archaeological sites within 2?km of the falls. When compared to an SPDF from 307 sites from elsewhere on the Columbia Plateau, and a null model, the Kettle Falls SPDF exhibits two phases of elevated activity at 1700–1300?cal BP and 800–500?cal BP, and an intervening lull. These phases are not related to the excavation history or differential exposure of sites to taphonomic processes, but they are concordant with episodes of glacial advance in the local mountains, which reflect hemispheric-scale changes in climate. Modern returns of summer-run Chinook salmon to the Columbia River are inversely correlated with sea-surface temperature regimes in the northeast Pacific Ocean, and we propose that the occupational history of the Kettle Falls fishery echoes long-term variations in the returns of salmon to the upper Columbia River linked to climate change.     

Late Holocene Human Expansion into Near and Remote Oceania: A Bayesian Model of the Chronologies of the Mariana Islands and Bismarck Archipelago

Since the investigations of Spoehr in the 1950s, most researchers have accepted a date of ～3500 BP/1500 BC for the initial human settlement of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. The relationship of this early expansion beyond Island Southeast Asia, characterized by Lapita-like pottery, to the appearance of Lapita in Near Oceania, generally was either given little thought or largely ignored. The Lapita settlement of Near Oceania is almost universally regarded as the initial expansion of Austronesian speakers into the Pacific, followed a few centuries later by a rapid migration to the east into Remote Oceania. More recently, however, radiocarbon evidence from several sites suggests that initial late Holocene expansion into the Pacific occurred in the Mariana Islands. This hypothesis needs critical evaluation. To this end, we created site- and region-level Bayesian calibration models. Results estimate that initial Lapita occupation of the Mussau Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago occurred between 3535 and 3234 cal BP (95% probability), which is 50–385 years (95% probability) earlier than the initial settlement of the Mariana Islands, dated to 3230–3085 cal BP (95% probability). Additionally, settlement of the Mariana Islands was either coeval or later (?66 to 254 years [95% probability]) than Lapita expansion out of Mussau into the greater Bismarck archipelago between 3397 and 3115 cal BP (95% probability). Radiocarbon datasets from these regions are hampered by problematic samples, and we anticipate that additional reliable radiocarbon dates will refine these estimates.     

Towards a Chronology of the Jerzmanowician—a New Series of Radiocarbon Dates from Nietoperzowa Cave (Poland)

The period around 50 000–35 000 years ago constitutes one of the most debated research issues in European archaeology of the Palaeolithic. In this time period, the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic took place. Locally, in different areas of Europe, this shift is recorded in so‐called transitional assemblages. The eastern fringe of these transitional assemblages is represented by the Jerzmanowician, the unit described on the basis of a lithic assemblage from Nietoperzowa Cave (Poland). The unit is a part of a European transitional complex called the Lincombian–Ranisian–Jerzmanowician. Up to now, the radiocarbon dates presented in the literature have only allowed us to set the age of the Jerzmanowician at c.40 000–45 000 ka cal bp . In this study, we present 42 new radiocarbon dates. We attempt to set the archaeological record of the Jerzmanowician from Nietoperzowa Cave in an accurate chronological framework, based on Bayesian statistical processing of radiocarbon dates. We conclude that the lower boundary of layer 6 in Nietoperzowa Cave can be statistically located in the range 44 000–42 000 cal bp and the upper limit for the Jerzmanowician is estimated to c.31 000 cal bp . New data raises a question on the correlation with upper layer 4. In the light of the new chronology, the attribution of the archaeological inventory from layer 4 to the Jerzmanowician seems questionable.     

“The good,the bad,the weird”: Stone Age and Early Metal Period radiocarbon dates and chronology from the Karelian Isthmus,North-West Russia

In this paper all the Stone Age and Early Metal Period (ca. 8600 cal BC — 300 AD) radiocarbon dates from the Karelian Isthmus, Russia, are compiled and their archaeological usability assessed using a set of evaluation principles. The quality of radiometric dates from such a large area has rarely been methodologically examined in Finnish or North-West Russian archaeology, and is applied here for the first time on the present material. Special attention is given to the discussion on the deficiencies and limitations of the current data. Based on the 81 dates evaluated as useful, a tentative radiocarbon chronology is presented for the study area. This is generally in sequence with the chronologies of the nearby areas, but suggests some differences especially towards the end of Stone Age, as well as the presence of biases caused by taphonomic and research-related factors.     

Radiocarbon dating of prehistoric hearths in alpine northern Sweden: problems and possibilities

The chronology of prehistoric Sami settlement sites has previously been established by conventional radiocarbon dating of bulk charcoal samples associated with hearths from sunken hut floors (stállo-foundations). Here we present results of a comprehensive dating exercise of stállo-foundations in the alpine area of northern Scandinavia using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of charcoal. Over a 3 km² study area, AMS calibrated ages of hearth charcoal from 22 stállo-foundations across 12 sites securely date these features to between cal. AD 640 and AD 1180. Only small variations in age were found between charcoal samples from different areas of a given hearth. Statistical analysis of all the charcoal AMS radiocarbon dates obtained reveals that 12 stállo-foundations across nine sites are contemporaneous and date to the Viking Period (AD 800–AD 1050). The tightly constrained AMS-based chronology of stállo-foundations contrasts with the existing chronology based on conventional radiocarbon analysis, which places these features within a significantly greater time-frame of between AD 600 and AD 1900, with most dates ranging between AD 800 and AD 1350.This discrepancy is likely to result from the necessity of collecting composite hearth charcoal particles, which may originate from different phases of occupation, in order to achieve the required final carbon content for conventional radiocarbon analysis. We argue that the new AMS-based radiocarbon chronology of stállo-foundations presented here supersedes the existing chronology based on conventional (Gas Proportional counting) radiocarbon analysis and we advocate the use of AMS radiocarbon dating in future hearth investigations.     

Siberia and neighboring regions in the Last Glacial Maximum: did people occupy northern Eurasia at that time?

An updated analysis of Paleolithic sites in Siberia and the Urals ¹⁴C-dated to the coldest phase of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with its timespan currently determined as ca. 23,000–19,000 BP (ca. 27,300–22,900 cal BP), is presented. It is demonstrated that people continuously occupied the southern and central parts of Siberia and the Russian Far East (up to 58° N latitude), and perhaps sporadically settled regions located even further north, up to 70° N, throughout the LGM. This is in accord with our previous data, but is now based on a larger dataset, and also on a paleoecological analysis of the major pre-LGM archaeological sites in Siberia and the Urals north of 58° N. It is clear that Paleolithic people in northern Eurasia were able to cope with the treeless tundra environment well in advance of the LGM, at least at ca. 34,000–26,000 BP (ca. 38,500–30,000 cal BP). Therefore, a high degree of adaptation to cold conditions allowed people to survive in Siberia during the LGM.     

RADIOCARBON DATING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SAMPLES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, 1730 TO 1480 BC: FURTHER EXPLORING THE ATMOSPHERIC RADIOCARBON CALIBRATION RECORD AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS*

The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (Inter‐)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured time series of radiocarbon ages for known age samples of German oak (GeO) and for samples from the near‐absolutely placed Gordion juniper dendrochronology from central Anatolia. In this paper, we review the data for the calendar years from 1730 to 1480 bc , relevant in particular to controversy and debate concerning the absolute date of the Minoan eruption of the Santorini (Thera) volcano. We consider the issue of the radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating of the Santorini eruption, and the problem of how this relates to the archaeological record and historical chronology of Egypt in light of the ¹⁴C data. We find that these ¹⁴C data, and other recent radiocarbon work, provide good grounds to be confident in the possibility of a robust radiocarbon‐based chronology for the eastern Mediterranean. In contrast, as the radiocarbon case becomes stronger, questions must be asked about some archaeological dating: in particular, at the site of Tell el‐Dab‘a in the Nile Delta of Egypt.     

Between the Vinča and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Linearbandkeramik</Emphasis> Worlds: The Diversity of Practices and Identities in the 54th–53rd Centuries cal BC in Southwest Hungary and Beyond

Perhaps nowhere in European prehistory does the idea of clearly-defined cultural boundaries remain more current than in the initial Neolithic, where the southeast–northwest trend of the spread of farming crosses what is perceived as a sharp divide between the Balkans and central Europe. This corresponds to a distinction between the Vin?a culture package, named for a classic site in Serbia, with its characteristic pottery assemblage and absence of longhouses, and the Linearbandkeramik (LBK), with equally diagnostic but different pottery, and its apparently culturally-diagnostic longhouses, extending in a more northerly belt through central Europe westward to the Dutch coast. In this paper we question the concept of such a clear division through a presentation of new data from the site of Szederkény-Kukorica-d?l?. A large settlement in southeast Transdanubia, Hungary, excavated in advance of road construction, Szederkény is notable for its combination of pottery styles, variously including Vin?a A, Ra?i?te and LBK, and longhouses of a kind otherwise familiar from the LBK world. Formal modelling of its date establishes that the site probably began in the later 54th century cal BC, lasting until the first decades of the 52nd century cal BC. Occupation, featuring longhouses, pits and graves, probably began at the same time in the eastern and western parts of the settlement, starting a decade or two later in the central part; the western part was probably the last to be abandoned. Vin?a pottery is predominantly associated with the eastern and central parts of the site, and Ra?i?te pottery with the west. Formal modelling of the early history of longhouses in the LBK world suggests their emergence in the Formative LBK of Transdanubia c. 5500 cal BC followed by rapid dispersal in the middle of the 54th century cal BC, associated with the ‘earliest’ (älteste) LBK. The adoption of longhouses at Szederkény thus appears to come a few generations after the start of this ‘diaspora’. Rather than explaining the mixture of things, practices and perhaps people at Szederkény with reference to problematic notions such as hybridity, we propose instead a more fluid and varied vocabulary, encompassing combination and amalgamation, relationships and performance in the flow of social life, and networks; this makes greater allowance for diversity and interleaving in a context of rapid change.     

Dating of 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje,Slovenia

We present absolute dates of seven late Neolithic pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia. They were settled from ca. 3600 to 3332 (±10) and from 3160 to 3071 (±14) cal BC, as shown by investigations of wood using dendrochronology and radiocarbon wiggle-matching. We defined eleven periods of intensive tree felling (and building activities) and one major settlement gap (when no trees were felled) from 3332 to 3160 cal BC. A major settlement gap presumably also followed after 3071 cal BC (i.e., after the end date of the investigated sites). Our investigations included over 2500 pieces of wood, mainly from the piles on which the dwellings were built. Among important wooden artefacts were a wheel with axle (one of the oldest preserved wheels in the world) and two dugout canoes, all from the settlement phase from 3160 to 3100 cal BC. As shown by parallel studies, the economy in the sites was characterized by copper metallurgy, skilful wood processing and use, cultivation of domestic plants, gathering of wild plants, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. The settlements were contemporaneous with a number of sites in the north of the Alps, the younger ones coincided with the lifetime of the Neolithic Iceman (Ötzi). Since Ljubljansko barje has a strategic position at the crossroads between western central and (south) eastern Europe the presented absolute dates provide a basis for their comparison with other dated contemporaneous sites (in the west), to revise the chronology of similar sites in the (south) east (which are not yet exactly dated), and to evaluate their interconnection and roles in cultural development in prehistory.     

Disappearing from the World: An Archaeological Perspective on Neanderthal Extinction

This paper is concerned with the statistical precision of radiocarbon dating at the earlier range of its efficacy – the period into which falls the extinction of the Neanderthals. The many potential problems affecting accuracy of this technique are discussed as a caveat as to what one might expect of future research and development in this field. The main aim of the paper, however, is to examine exactly what our chronological precision is in the period 30–40 ka BP, i.e. at around five to seven half lives of radiocarbon. If mathematical models of Neanderthal extinction are correct, the whole process could have occurred within the error of one radiocarbon date at two standard deviations, which does not bode well for understanding what must have been a complex set of processes. The assumptions made by palaeoanthropologists working with this problem are discussed, particularly in relation to how dates are actually used, and how sedimentology affects chronology. These problems aside, a coarse and necessarily provisional attempt to interpret the existing archaeological database is made, with the assumption that Late Middle Palaeolithic and 'transitional' industries are proxy indicators of Neanderthal presence in a region. From this, it is suggested that the processes of Neanderthal extinction began by c. 40 ka BP in the Balkans and Central Europe, radiating out from there, leaving Neanderthals on the periphery of their old distribution (southern Iberia, southern Italy, Crimea, Siberia, and one might predict the United Kingdom) as late as c. 29 ka BP. The processes differ in signature (and therefore by extension nature and quite possibly cause) region to region, and because of this, the role of anatomically modern humans in the extinction of Neanderthals is questioned.     

Chronostratigraphy of an Eroding Complex Atlantic Round House,Baile Sear,Scotland

A high-resolution chronostratigraphy has been established for an eroding Atlantic round house at Sloc Sàbhaidh (North Uist, Scotland), combining detailed OSL profiling and dating of sediments encompassing the main bracketing events associated with the monument, radiocarbon AMS dates on bone recovered from excavated features and fills within it, and TL dates on pottery and burnt clay. Concordant OSL and radiocarbon evidence place construction of the wheelhouse in the first to second centuries AD, contemporary with dates from the primary occupation. Beneath the wheelhouse, clay deposits containing burnt material, attest to cultural activity in vicinity to the monument in the preceding second to first centuries BC. At a later date, the southern wall collapsed, was rebuilt, and the interior spaces to the monument re-structured. The chronology for the later horizons identified from the sediment luminescence dates extends to the second half of the first millennium AD, which goes beyond the range of the radiocarbon dates obtained. The data from ceramics encompass both periods. The juxtaposition of the dating evidence is discussed relative to short and longer chronologies for this Iron Age monument. Corollaries of this research are the implications that based on the long chronology, some of the ecofacts (bone) appear to be residual, and that the temporal duration of Hebridean Coarse Ware may extend into the second half of the first millennium AD.     

Holocene Palaeoclimates of Africa

Examination of climatic inferences based on palynological, geomorphic, sedimentological, and other proxy data reveals a coherent picture of a generally wet early Holocene and drier conditions, with a time-transgressive clinal change commencing ca, 4500 B.P. The large-scale climatic periods in Africa during the Late Quaternary were interrupted by abrupt oscillations and rapid transitions. The magnitude and direction of climatic changes show distinct regional variation. However, in the monsoon-domain areas, abrupt drought events occurred conspicuously at ca. 12,000–11,500, 8500, 7500, 4500, 4000–3700, and 2000 uncalibrated radiocarbon years B.P. Further investigations are required to gain a more precise chronology of these events, which appear to have been crucial for some of the most salient developments in Africa's prehistory.     

New age constraints for hominid footprints found on Jeju Island,South Korea

In 2004 numerous hominid footprints, along with diverse animal footprints, were found in the Late Quaternary strata of Jeju Island, South Korea. However, the age of the sediments in which the footprints were found is still controversial. Previous age estimates included radiocarbon ages of ca. 15,000 yr BP (Late Pleistocene) and quartz optically stimulated luminescence ages of ca. 7000 yr BP (mid-Holocene). In this study we report on 11 AMS ¹⁴C dating results from a new set of samples collected from the footprint-bearing strata and from associated sediments. Despite some variations and age reversal, all samples collected from the footprint-bearing strata yielded ¹⁴C ages of late Pleistocene. These ages are comparable with previous radiocarbon dating results. Furthermore, the presence of the proboscidean footprints attributable to woolly mammoths in the footprint-bearing strata supports the radiocarbon dating results. Based on the new radiocarbon dates and the presence of the alleged mammoth footprints, the age of the hominid footprints found at Jeju Island is thought to be late Pleistocene (about 19,000–25,000 cal yr BP). Therefore, this is the second discovery of hominid footprints dated to the Pleistocene age in Asia, and the first to be discovered in Korea.     

Radiocarbon chronology and the correlation of hunter–gatherer sociocultural change with abrupt palaeoclimate change: the Middle Mesolithic in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt area of northwest Europe

Recent refinements in radiocarbon sampling procedures have enabled a more robust absolute chronology for the Mesolithic in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt area of northwest Europe. These refinements have allowed for a new chronological sub-division of the Early and Middle Mesolithic periods. Results of this research have indicated that the Middle Mesolithic period was bound by two Early Holocene cooling events, one at 9300 cal. BP and the other at 8200 cal. BP. These results enable a critical evaluation of the role of chronological precision in the investigation of contemporaneity between abrupt climate change and hunter–gatherer sociocultural change. In this paper we focus on the variable chronological resolution of the Early to Middle and Middle to Late Mesolithic transitions in the RMS area, and the role of this variable resolution in our ability to investigate the contemporaneity of these two transitions with different Early Holocene abrupt cooling events. This paper highlights two central challenges facing archaeological investigations of the relationships between climate and culture change: first, the requirement of tight chronological overlap between climate and culture change events and consideration of leads and lags in ecosystem and subsequent human responses to climate change; second, the equifinality problem and the separation of the impact of gradual from punctuated environmental change on human societies.