Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T00:07:09.926Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Systematic Use of Radiocarbon Dating in Archaeological Surveys in Coastal and Other Erosional Environments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jon M. Erlandson  and
Madonna L. Moss
Jon M. Erlandson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218
Madonna L. Moss
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Traditionally, archaeologists have used l4C dating primarily as a postexcavation analytical tool to establish the age of features, strata, or assemblages. In coastal zones and other environments around the world, however, thousands of archaeological sites are rapidly eroding or endangered by other destructive processes. We believe archaeologists should expand their use of l4C dating, systematically incorporating it into surveys in coastal, lacustrine, riverine, and other environments where erosional exposures often provide access to extensive stratigraphic profiles. With examples from the Pacific Coast of North América, we show how widespread l4C dating of sites during surveys can be used to help manage archaeological sites more effectively and identify significant patterns of paleoenvironmental change, site survival, settlement and demography, technology, and social organization. Without more widespread application of such techniques, and a reallocation of research and cultural resource management funds, thousands of sites will be lost before even the most basic information about their age and contents is known.

Résumé

Résumé

El uso tradicional de la técnica de fechado de l4C se ha limitado a establecer la edad de rasgos, estratos, o conjuntos artefactuales despues de la excavación. Sin embargo, en zonas costeras y otros medioambientes miles de sitios están siendo erosionados v destruidos por otros procesos. Creemos que los arqueólogos deben expandir el uso de esta técnica incorporándola sistematicamente en prospecciones de medioambientes costeros, lacustres, o riverinos, donde procesos erosivos han expuesto perfiles estrati gráficos. Ejemplos de la costa pacífica de Norte América indican cómo se ha utilizado la técnica de fechado por radiocarbono para ayudar a proteger sitios más efectivamente y para identificar patrones significativos de cambio paleoambiental, asentamiento y demografta, tecnología, y organización social. Se necesitan fondos para poder continuar la arqueología de rescate e implementar esta técnica a gran escala; de lo contrario, miles de sitios serán destruidos antes de que se los haya estudiado.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , July 1999 , pp. 431 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Arnold, J. E. 1992 Complex Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of Prehistoric California: Chiefs, Specialists, and Maritime Adaptations of the Channel Islands. American Antiquity 57: 60–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atwater, B. E, Nelson, A. R., Clague, J. J., Carver, G. A., 1995 Summary of Coastal Geologic Evidence for Past Great Earthquakes at the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Earthquake Spectra 2: 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berreman, J. V. 1935 A Preliminary Survey of the Shell Mounds and Other Occupied Sites of the Coast of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene.Google Scholar
Breschini, G. S., Haversat, T., and Erlandson, J. 1996 California Radiocarbon Dates. 8th ed. Coyote Press, Salinas.Google Scholar
Byram, R. S. 1998 Fishing Weirs in Oregon Coast Estuaries. In Hidden Dimensions: The Cultural Significance of Wetland Archaeology, edited by Bernick, K., pp. 199–219. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Cole, S. C, Atwater, B. F., McCutcheon, P. T., Stein, J. K., 1996 Earthquake-Induced Burial of Archaeological Sites along the Southern Washington Coast about A.D. 1700. Geoarchaeology 11: 165–177.3.0.CO;2-3>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, L. R. 1953 Archaeological Survey of the Oregon Coast from June-December 1952. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene.Google Scholar
Darienzo, M. E., and Peterson, C. D. 1990 Episodic Subsidence of Late Holocene Salt Marshes, Northern Oregon Central Cascadia Margin. Tectonics 9: 1–22.Google Scholar
Eldridge, M., and Acheson, S. 1992 The Antiquity of Fish Weirs on the Southern Coast: A Response to Moss, Erlandson and Stuckenrath. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 16: 112–116.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1988 Of Millingstones and Molluscs: The Cultural Ecology of Early Holocene Hunter-Gatherers of the California Coast. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1991 Shellfish and Seeds as Optimal Resources: Early Holocene Subsistence on the Santa Barbara Coast. In Hunter-Gatherers of Early Holocene Coastal California, edited by Erlandson, J. M. and H, R.. Colten. Perspectives in California Archaeology 1: 89–100. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1994 Early Hunter-Gatherers of the California Coast. Plenum Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1997 The Middle Holocene on the Western Santa Barbara Coast. In Archaeology of the California Coast during the Middle Holocene, edited by Erlandson, J. M. and Glassow, M. A.. Perspectives in CaliforniaArchaeology 4: 91–109. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1993 An Evaluation, Survey and Dating Program for Archaeological Sites on State Lands of the Central Oregon Coast. Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon. Report on file, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. 1996 The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition along the Pacific Coast of North America. In Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, edited by Straus, L. G., Eriksen, B.V., Erlandson, J.M., and Yesner, D.R., pp. 277–301. Plenum Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erlandson, J. M. and Rockwell, T.K. 1987 Radiocarbon Reversals and Stratigraphic Discontinuities: Natural Formation Processes in Coastal California Archaeological Sites. In Natural Formation Processes and the Archaeological Record, edited by Nash, D. and Petraglia, M., pp. 51–73. BAR International Series 352. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M., and Snethkamp, P. E. 1993 Shellfish Remains. In Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-1731: A Transitional Middle-to-Late Period Site on the Santa Barbara Channel, edited by Erlandson, J. M. and Gerber, J. L., pp. 171–186. Dames and Moore, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J. M., and Snethkamp, P. E. 1992 Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Alutiiq Paleodemography. Arctic Anthropology 29(2): 42–62.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J., Tveskov, M. A., and Byram, R. S. 1998 The Development of Maritime Adaptations on the Southern Northwest Coast of North America. Arctic Anthropology 35 (1): 6–22.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J., Dugger, R., Carrico, R., and Cooley, T. G. 1992 Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-97: A Multicomponent Coastal Site at Gaviota, Santa Barbara County, California. In Archaeological Investigations of Some Significant Sites on the Central Coast of California, edited by Dallas, H. Jr. and Breschini, G.S.. Archives of California Prehistory 37: 1–32. Coyote Press, Salinas.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J., Carrico, R., Dugger, R., Santoro, L., Toren, G., Cooley, T., 1993 Archaeology of the Western Santa Barbara Coast: Results of the Chevron Point Arguello Project Cultural Resources Program. Ogden Environmental and Energy Services, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Erlandson, J., Kennett, D. J., Ingram, B. L., Guthrie, D. A., Morris, D., Tveskov, M., West, G.J., and Walker, P. 1996 An Archaeological and Paleontological Chronology for Daisy Cave (CA-SMI-261), San Miguel Island, California Radiocarbon 38: 355–373.Google Scholar
Fladmark, K. 1986 British Columbia Prehistory. National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Glassow, M. A. 1980 Recent Developments in the Archaeology of the Channel Islands. In The California Islands: A Multidisciplinary Symposium, edited by Power, D. M., pp. 79–99. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Glassow, M. A. 1993 Changes in Subsistence on Marine Resources through 7,000 Years of Prehistory on Santa Cruz Island, California. In Archaeology on the Northern Channel Islands of California: Studies of Subsistence, Economics, and Social Organization, edited by Glassow, M. A.. Archives of California Prehistory 34: 75–94. Coyote Press, Salinas.Google Scholar
Glassow, M., Wilcoxon, L., and Erlandson, J. 1988 Cultural and Environmental Change during the Early Period of Santa Barbara Channel Prehistory. In The Archaeology of Prehistoric Coastlines, edited by Bailey, G. N. and Partington, J., pp. 64–77. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hildebrandt, W R., and Levulett, V. A. 1997 Middle Holocene Adaptations on the Northern Calif ornia Coast: Terrestrial Resource Productivity and its Influence on the Use of Marine Foods. In Archaeology of the California Coast during the Middle Holocene, edited by Erlandson, J. M. and A, M.. Glassow. Perspectives in California Archaeology 4: 143–150. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Hubbs, C. L. 1955 Water, Fish, and Man in Southern California. Southern California Academy of Sciences Bulletin 54: 167–168.Google Scholar
Ingram, B. L. 1998 Differences in Radiocarbon Age between Shell and Charcoal from a Holocene Shellmound in Northern California. Quaternary Research 49: 102–110.Google Scholar
Ingram, B. L., and Southon, J. R. 1996 Reservoir Ages in Eastern Pacific Coastal and Estuarine Waters. Radiocarbon 38: 573–582.Google Scholar
Kennett, D. J., and Southon, J. R. 1998 Behavioral Ecology and the Evolution of Hunter-Gatherer Societies on the Northern Channel Islands, California. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Kennett, D. J., Ingram, B.L., Erlandson, J.M., and Walker, P.L. 1997 Evidence for Temporal Fluctuations in Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Ages in the Santa Barbara Channel, Southern California. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 1051–1059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Komar, P. D. 1992 Ocean Processes and Hazards along the Oregon Coast. Oregon Geology 54(1): 1–39.Google Scholar
Komar, P. D. 1997 The Pacific Northwest Coast: Living with the Shores of Oregon and Washington. Duke University Press, Durham.Google Scholar
Komar, P. D. 1960 The Story of a Tlingit Community: A Problem in the Relationship Between Archeological, Ethnological, and Historical Methods. Bulletin 172. Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Langdon, S. J., Reger, D. R., and Campbell, N. 1995 Pavements, Pounds, Pairs, Piles, and Puzzles: Research on the Little Salt Lake Weir Complex. Paper presented at Hidden Dimensions: The Cultural Significance of Wetland Archaeology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, April 27-30,1995.Google Scholar
Lightfoot, K. 1993 Long-Term Developments in Complex Hunter-Gatherer Societies: Recent Perspectives from the Pacific Coast of North America. Journal of Archaeological Research 1: 167–201.Google Scholar
Lyman, R. L. 1991 Prehistory of the Oregon Coast. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Lyman, R. L. 1997 Assessing a Reassessment of Early “Pre-Littoral” Radiocarbon Dates from the Oregon Coast. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 19(2): 260–269.Google Scholar
Maschner, H. D. G. 1991 The Emergence of Cultural Complexity on the Northern Northwest Coast. Antiquity 65: 924–934.Google Scholar
Minor, R. 1986 An Evaluation of Archaeological Sites on State Park Lands along the Oregon Coast. Report 44. Heritage Research Associates, Eugene.Google Scholar
Minor, R. 1993a National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Blacklock Point Lithic Site. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Minor, R. 1993b National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Blacklock Point Shell Midden. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Salem.Google Scholar
Minor, R. 1995 A Reassessment of Early “Pre-Littoral” Radiocarbon Dates from the Southern Northwest Coast. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 17(2): 267–273.Google Scholar
Minor, R. 1997 Pre-Littoral or Early Archaic? Conceptualizing Early Adaptations on the Southern Northwest Coast. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 19(2): 269–280.Google Scholar
Minor, R., and Grant, W. C. 1996 Earthquake-Induced Subsidence and Burial of Late Holocene Archaeological Sites, Northern Oregon Coast. American Antiquity 61: 772–781.Google Scholar
Minor, R., and Greenspan, R. 1991 Archaeological Testing at the Indian Sands and Cape Blanco Lithic Sites, Southern Oregon Coast. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Minor, R., and Toepel, K. A. 1986 The Archaeology of the Tahkenitch Landing Site: Early Prehistoric Occupation on the Oregon Coast. Report 46. Heritage Research Associates, Eugene.Google Scholar
Moratto, M. A. 1984 California Archaeology. Academic Press, Orlando.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L. 1989 Archaeology and Cultural Ecology of the Prehistoric Angoon Tlingit. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1992 Forts, Refuge Rocks, and Defensive Sites: The Antiquity of Warfare along the North Pacific Coast of North America. Arctic Anthropology 29(2): 73–90.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1994 An Evaluation, Survey, and Dating Program for Archaeological Sites on State Lands of the Southern Oregon Coast Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon. Report to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1995a Reflections on the Prehistory of the Pacific Coast of North America. Journal of World Prehistory 9(1): 1–45.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1995b An Evaluation, Survey, and Dating Program for Archaeological Sites on State Lands of the Northern Oregon Coast. Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon. Report to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1996 Native American Archaeological Sites of the Oregon Coast: AMultiple Property Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Manuscript on file, Keeper of the National Register of Historical Places, National Park Service, Washington, D.C, and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1998a A Comparative Chronology of Northwest Coast Fishing Features. In Hidden Dimensions: The Cultural Significance of Wetland Archaeology, edited by Bernick, K., pp. 180–198. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., and Erlandson, J. M. 1998b Early Holocene Adaptations on the Southern Northwest Coast. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 20(l): 13–25.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., Erlandson, J. M., and Stuckenrath, R. 1989 The Antiquity of Tlingit Settlement on Admiralty Island, Southeast Alaska. American Antiquity 54: 534–543.Google Scholar
Moss, M. L., Erlandson, J. M., and Stuckenrath, R. 1990 Wood Stake Weirs and Salmon Fishing on the Northwest Coast: Evidence from Southeast Alaska. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 14: 143–158.Google Scholar
Newman, T. M. 1971 The Crisis in Oregon Archaeology. Tebiwa 14: 1–3.Google Scholar
Ream, B., and Saleeby, B. 1987 The Archaeology of Northern Prince of Wales Island: A Survey of Nineteen Timber Harvest Units in the Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska. University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks.Google Scholar
Rick, J. 1987 Dates as Data: an Examination of the Peruvian Preceramic Radiocarbon Record. American Antiquity 52: 55–73.Google Scholar
Rogers, D. B. 1929 Prehistoric Man of the Santa Barbara Coast. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Ross, R. 1976 Archaeological Survey of State Park Lands along the Oregon Coast. Manuscript on file, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, Salem.Google Scholar
Ross, R. 1984 Terrestrial Oriented Sites in a Marine Environment along the Southern Oregon Coast. Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 18: 241–255.Google Scholar
Santoro, L. J., Cooley, T.G., Hazeltine, T., and Toren, A.G. 1993 Archaeological Investigations Conducted Along the Santa Barbara Coast from Gaviota to Las Flores Canyon for the All American Pipeline Project. Ogden Environmental and Energy Services, San Diego.Google Scholar
Schiffer, M. B. 1986 Radiocarbon Dating and the “Old Wood” Problem: The Case of the Hohokam Chronology. Journal of Archaeological Science 13: 13–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, J. K. 1986 Coring Archaeological Sites. American Antiquity 51: 505–527.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P. 1993 Extended 14C Database and Revised CALK 3.014CAge Calibration Program. Radiocarbon 35: 215–230.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Pearson, G. W., and Braziunas, T. 1986 Radiocarbon Age Calibration of Marine Samples Back to 9000 cal yr BP. Radiocarbon 28: 980–1021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tasa, G. L., and Connolly, T. J. 1995 Archaeological Evaluation of the Boiler Bay Site (35LNC45), in the Boiler Bay State Park Section of the Oregon Coast Highway (US Highway 101), Lincoln County, Oregon. Report 95-2. Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene.Google Scholar
Taylor, R. E. 1985 The Beginnings of Radiocarbon Dating in American Antiquity: A Historical Perspective. American Antiquity 50: 309–325.Google Scholar
Taylor, R. E. 1987 Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C, Fuls, A., Visser, E., and Becker, B. 1993 Pretoria Calibration Curve for Short Lived Samples. Radiocarbon 35: 73–86.Google Scholar
Wallace, W. J. 1955 A Suggested Chronology for Southern California Coastal Archaeology. Southwest Journal of Anthropology 11: 214–230.Google Scholar
Warren, C. N. 1964 Cultural Change and Continuity on the San Diego Coast. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Warren, C. N. 1968 Cultural Tradition and Ecological Adaptation on the Southern California Coast. Eastern New Mexico University Contributions to Anthropology 1(3): 1–14.Google Scholar
Wood, W. R., and Johnson, D. L. 1978 A Survey of Disturbance Processes in Archaeological Site Formation. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 1: 315–381. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar