URANIUM-SERIES DATING OF FOSSIL BONES FROM ALPINE CAVES

During the course of an investigation of fossil cave bear populations the uranium-series method for absolute age determination has been applied to bone material. The applicability of the method to bone samples from alpine caves could be demonstrated by the concordance of U/Th and U/Pa ages and cross-checks with the radiocarbon method. Stratigraphic agreement between bone ages and carbonate speleothetn ages also indicates the potential of the uranium-series method as a suitable tool for the age determination of fossil bones from alpine cave environments.     

THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM SITES IN CENTRAL PORTUGAL

Samples of Neolithic and Chalcolithic pottery from nine sites in the Upper Alentejo and Estremadura regions of Portugal have been dated by the thermoluminescence method (quartz inclusion technique). The project was designed to help establish an absolute chronology for the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in this area, and to try to elucidate the chronological relationships between settlement sites and burial sites (‘dolmens’) in the same area. Portugal was confirmed, together with Brittany, as being one of the earliest foci of megalith builders.     

RADIOCARBON DATING OF KILL SITES

Age determinations of kill sites, where charcoal is generally absent, has usually depended on radiocarbon analyses of bone material. However, it has been seen with known-age samples that these dates are often in error due to contamination by plant products or ground water carbonates. The use of soil samples from strata both above and below, as well as the level containing the artifacts, offers important advantages. The soil profiles present sequences of dates, whereas the bones are only individual samples. The distribution of the soil date values can indicate upper and lower limits for the age of the kill site. The Taima-taima paleo-indian site in the state of Falcón, Venezuela is presented as an illustration of the application of radiocarbon dating of soil to archaeological problems. A total of 22 samples were processed. It is seen that soils from two profiles indicate a dating of 13 000 years for the kill. Taking into account reasonable extents of error, uncertainties of ± 2000 years can be estimated. The non-carbonate fraction dates are in agreement with the earth samples, but this is probably due to the organic matter extracted from these materials being mostly soil contamination in the porous bone matrix. Fluorine measurements on the bones confirm the Pleistocene origin.     

CONSTRUCTING CARIBBEAN CHRONOLOGIES: COMPARATIVE RADIOCARBON DATING OF SHELL AND WOOD ARTEFACTS FROM PRE‐COLUMBIAN SITES IN CUBA

The lack of robust chronological frameworks for pre‐Columbian archaeology in the Caribbean limits the interpretive potential of ongoing studies of inter‐site and inter‐island interaction. This paper reviews the dating of 28 wood and shell artefacts from sites in northern Cuba in an attempt to date pre‐Columbian activity in the region and develop dating methodologies for the study of pre‐Columbian interaction in the Caribbean. This research compares dates from wood and shell artefacts from the waterlogged site of Los Buchillones in north‐central Cuba with dates from shell artefacts from sites on eight islands in the Sabana–Camaguey archipelago in the Bahama Channel. In addition to providing a chronological framework based on absolute dates for pre‐Columbian activity in northern Cuba, this paper also considers the methodological issues of using shell for dating pre‐Columbian activity in the Caribbean.     

DIRECT GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETRIC DATING OF FOSSIL BONES: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

A non-destructive gamma-ray spectrometry was used for direct dating of fossil animal and human bones taken from an alluvial Quaternary site in northern Italy. The ages were obtained using the U-Pa method: the chronological results are in agreement with palaeofaunal indicators and taphonomic data. The ages of two samples showed concordance with the U-Th method; in a third case good agreement was also found with the radiocarbon date, thus lending credence to our modified gamma spectrometric method.     

CHEMICAL COMPARISON OF RARE CHINESE WHITE POTTERY FROM FOUR SITES OF THE ERLITOU STATE: RESULTS AND ARCHAEOMETRICAL IMPLICATIONS

White pottery is among the most significant finds from China's earliest state, Erlitou (c. 1900–1500 bc ). Samples were primarily discovered in small numbers from elite tombs of a few sites, leading to the hypothesis that they were made at only a few locations and then circulated regionally as prestige items. To facilitate determining provenances, we compare the ICP–MS trace elements and TIMS Sr isotopes of whiteware with two soil samples from Nanwa, a possible manufacturing site, and with shards found at three other sites: Erlitou, Huizui and Nanzhai. The Nanwa shards demonstrate special elemental and Sr isotopic features. Considering the chemical observation and archaeological background together, we propose that Nanwa was a centre for whiteware production, although the two soil samples we collected there were probably not the exact materials used. Some whiteware pieces from Erlitou, Huizui and Nanzhai fall in the chemical field defined by Nanwa samples, indicating that they were possibly made at Nanwa. Many other samples from these three sites plot outside the Nanwa field, implying they were probably not Nanwa products. This study demonstrates that while chemical sourcing is very useful, firm archaeological context must remain the cornerstone of such research.     

CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMOLUMINESCENCE DATING OF PREHISTORIC POTTERY SHERDS FROM MILENA

This paper reports the results obtained applying absolute dating methodologies and mineralogical, petrographical and micropalaeontological characterization techniques to prehistoric pottery sherds varying in age from the Sicilian Middle Neolithic to Bronze Age. All samples came from the archaeological area of Milena (Caltanissetta, Sicily); those of the Bronze Age were found on a site with a precise stratigraphic succession. The investigation has contributed to the determination of an absolute chronology for the Milena prehistoric period. The data provide, for the first time in Sicily, absolute dates covering a wide spectrum of cultures following one another in the same area and, for the Bronze Age site, correlated to the precise stratigraphic succession. The petrographical and mineralogical analyses allowed not only the identification of the principal constituents of the pottery, but also the formulation of some hypotheses regarding the specific manufacturing techniques of different epochs. The microfacies, obtained from the presence of fossils in the groundmass of the pottery, were also analysed and compared with the microfauna present in the Miocene clays outcropping in the area. The data identified local Messinian clay as the raw material probably used in the manufacture of the pottery and also support the presence, already assumed by archaeologists, of imported Mycenaean pottery, thus supporting the dates obtained on pottery taken from the same stratum.     

THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF EGYPTIAN PREDYNASTIC POTTERY FROM HEMAMIEH AND QURNA-TARIF

Eight sherds from Hemamieh and two from Qurna-Tarif, both Predynastic settlement sites in the Nile valley, have been dated by the thermoluminescence method (quartz inclusion technique). The results put the Badarian phase at Hemamieh in the sixth and fifth millenium b.c. , and the Gerzean phase in the first half of the fourth millenium b.c. The dates for the village of Qurna-Tarif fall around 4000 b.c.     

THE DATING OF ANCIENT CHINESE CELADON BY INAA AND PATTERN RECOGNITION METHODS*

In 2005, sherds of a special type of ancient Longquan celadon ware were excavated at Maojiawan, in the city of Beijing, China. Although archaeologists agree that these sherds were fired in the period between the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, their specific date is unclear. In order to solve this problem, five other groups of ancient Longquan celadon sherds of known date were selected as reference samples. The elemental body composition of all the sherds was determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Using the same principles as in provenance research, pattern recognition methods were used to build classification functions to specify the date of the unknown sherds. After analysing the experimental data by discriminant analysis, three classification functions were built. All the unknown sherds were classified as Ming Dynasty. This prediction is well in accordance with the fact that these sherds are similar to other Longquan Ming celadon, and so they should be fired in the same dynasty. This also verified the judgement of the Beijing Institute of Cultural Relics.     

RADIOCARBON DATING OF MORTARS FROM ANCIENT GREEK PALACES

This study deals with radiocarbon dating of lime mortars which were used as supports for Mycenaean and Minoan paintings. The ¹⁴C dates are. on the whole, compatible with the historical data. and thus show that a large proportion of the Mycenaean surficial coatings can be dated by the radiocarbon method. However. in order to determine the age of the mortars accurately. it is necessary to evaluate the amount of sedimentary carbonate which may have been added to them. It is shown here that the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of lime mortars are significant indicators that such a mixing actually took place.     

LUMINESCENCE DATING OF POTTERY FROM LATER PREHISTORIC BRITAIN*

Dating of later prehistoric settlements relies heavily on potter; typologies in England and yet there has been little scientific dating in order to verify these typologies. In this work, luminescence dating techniques were applied directly to the pottery which forms the typological framework. Excellent agreement was obtained between the luminescence ages, and archaeological age ranges for known‐age pottery sherds with diagnostic form and surface decoration. A lower correlation, however, was found in several regions between the luminescence ages for undecorated body sherds and the archaeological assessment which was necessarily based solely on fabric, suggesting the need for reassessment of these fabric chronologies.