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Dating Stone Alignments by Luminescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

James K. Feathers ,
Maria Nieves Zedeño ,
Lawrence C. Todd  and
Stephen Aaberg
James K. Feathers
Affiliation:
Luminescence Dating Laboratory, University of Washington, Box 353412, Seattle, WA 98195-3412 (jimf@uw.edu)
Maria Nieves Zedeño
Affiliation:
Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85711 (mzedeno@email.arizona.edu)
Lawrence C. Todd
Affiliation:
University of Texas and Colorado State University, Meeteetse, WY, 82433 (lctodd@lamar.colostate.edu)
Stephen Aaberg
Affiliation:
Aaberg Cultural Resources Consulting Service, 1216 North 31st St., Billings, MT 59101 (aaberg@acrcs.net)
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Abstract

Stone alignments, including tipi rings and drive lines, are abundant on the northern Plains and adjacent Rocky Mountains, but they have been notoriously difficult to date. This paper applies luminescence dating to sediments directly underneath the rocks to estimate the age of placement of the rock. This is based on the assumption that before the rock was emplaced, turbation processes brought sufficient grains to the surface, where sunlight reset the signal. Single-grain dating of potassium feldspars allowed isolation of these original well-bleached grains, which by now have built up a signal because the rock prevents transfer to the surface. Plotting the number of original well-bleached grains with depth showed that these grains were concentrated just under the rock and decreased with depth. This is what would be predicted if the assumption is true. Dates were derived from several samples from Kutoyis in north central Montana, from Whitewater in eastern Montana, and from several sites in northwestern Wyoming. Many samples from Kutoyis and Wyoming dated to the last 600 years, but some samples from both places were more than 2,000 years old. The Whitewater features also dated to around 2,000 years ago. The ages are consistent with the cultural history of the areas.

Alineamientos de piedra, incluyendo círculos domésticos y estructuras de cacería, abundan en los Grandes Llanos septentrionales y las Montañas Rocallosas, pero son muy difíciles de fechar. Este artículo aplica el fechamiento de luminiscencia a los sedimentos encontrados directamente debajo de las rockas para estimar la fecha en que las rocas de estos rasgos fueron emplazadas en la superficie. Esta técnica se basa en la suposición de que antes de que la rocka fue emplazada, procesos de turbación mobilice suficientes granos hacia la superficie donde la luz del sol modifico la señal original. La datación de granos de feldespato potásico permiten la identificación de estos granos asoleados, los cuales han desarrollado una señal especial debido a que estuvieron cubiertos por una roca durante mucho tiempo. La comparación del número y profundidad de granos asoleados originales reveló que estos granos se concentraron en la superficie cubierta por las rocas y decreceron a major profundidad, así como se explicó en la suposición original. Las fechas se derivaron de varias muestras del sitio Kutoyis en el centro-norte de Montana, del sitio Whitewater en Montana oriental, y de varios otros sitios en el noroeste de Wyoming. Muchas muestras de Kutoyis and Wyoming datan de los últimos 600 años pero algunas muestras provenientes de estos sitios son anteriores a 2000 años de edad. Los rasgos del sitio Whitewater también datan de aproximadamente 2000 años atrás. Las edades son consistentes con la historia cultural regional.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 378 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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