PROCEDURES FOR COMPARING AND COMBINING RADIOCARBON AGE DETERMINATIONS: A CRITIQUE

Archaeologists, along with other Quaternary researchers, seldom rely upon a single radiocarbon determination to provide an estimate of the age of the phenomenon which is the object of their study. There is an evident need for an explicitly formulated procedure for comparing sets of radiocarbon determinations from the same and from adjacent strata or sites, and for combining these where statistical and archaeological criteria indicate that this combination is warranted. The present contribution provides explicit modelling for a series of recommended procedures, a critique of previous methods, and paradigms for application of the recommended procedures.     

ALPHA-RECOIL TRACKS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMIC DATING

Among the manifestations of radioactive decay which can be etched to optical visibility on the surface of mica are tracks from nuclei recoiling from alpha emission, called ‘alpha-recoil tracks’. If, beforeetching, the mica is heated to temperatures of the order of 600°C, all evidence of these tracks is annealed from muscovite mica in a few minutes. Alpha activity observed on mica from pot sherds, from stones surrounding fire places, from fire pits, and fired daub may constitute an alpha-recoil track clock which started at the moment of the last firing of the artifacts.     

MAYAN OBSIDIAN: SOURCE CORRELATION FOR SOUTHERN BELIZE ARTIFACTS

High-precision neutron activation measurements have been made on mesoamerican obsidian from Ixtepeque and El Chayal which are thought to be the major sources of volcanic glass artifacts in pre-Columbian times. These results are compared with measurements on obsidian artifacts from Lubaantun, Wild Cane Cay, Frenchman's Cay and Moho Cay.     

A new approach to the tympanum of Neuilly-en-Donjon

Romanesque sculpture can be profitably studied by trying to create the thought processes of those responsible for designing the programs. In particular, the thought pattern of associating various biblical stories which contain the same or similar words can be applied to the program of the little church of Neuilly-en-Donjon (Allier). It is clear that the various stories depicted are related to one another by sound - for example the Adoration of the Magi and the fall of Simon Magus and Mary Magdalen at the house of Simon the Pharisee. However, just as the genius of a monastic author such as Bernard of Clairvaux was the thematic unity he could use to organize these aural associations, so does the importance of the program at Neuilly derive from the sophisticated thematic unity of the program around the theological virtue of faith. From this study, we can learn not only to appreciate the genius of the designer of the program at Neuilly but also to attempt to unlock other secrets of Romanesque sculpure by applying this or other elements of contemporary thought processes to the parts of a program.