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Estimation of the Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect, Snake River Basin, Northwestern North America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

W. R. Osterkamp ,
Thomas J. Green ,
Kenneth C. Reid  and
Alexander E. Cherkinsky
W. R. Osterkamp
Affiliation:
1502 E. Magee Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 (wroster@usgs.gov)
Thomas J. Green
Affiliation:
Arkansas Archeological Survey, 2475 N. Hatch Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704 (tgreen@uark.edu)
Kenneth C. Reid
Affiliation:
State Historic Preservation Office, 210 Main StreetBoise, ID 83702 (Ken.Reid@ishs.idaho.gov)
Alexander E. Cherkinsky
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, 120 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 (acherkin@uga.edu)
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Abstract

Many archaeological sites along coastlines and rivers contain large quantities of marine and riverine bivalve shell. Often shell is the only datable organic material available to determine radiocarbon age estimates of features and to build regional chronologies. Shell is difficult to date accurately because of reservoir effects, and archaeologists have avoided it despite its abundance. If reservoir effects are understood, shell can provide accurate radiocarbon age estimates. This report provides an example using regression relations computed from radiocarbon assays of paired shelll charcoal samples from archaeological sites along the middle and lower Snake River, Northwestern North America.

Muchos sitios arqueologicos a lo largo de la costa y de los ríos muestran grandes cantidades de conchas de bivalvos marinos y fluviales. Con frecuencia, la concha puede ser la única materia orgánica disponible para la datación con radiocarbono de un sitio, y para construir cronologías regionales. Desgraciadamente, debido a los efectos de reserva,puede ser difícil determinar la edad de los conchos bivalvos con precisión, y los arqueólogos han evitado el uso de las conchas a pesar de su abundancia. Sin embargo, si los efectos de reserve son tenidos en cuenta y comprendidos adecuadamente, las conchas pueden proporcionar fechas precisas de radiocarbono. Este artículo muestra un ejemplo del uso de las relaciones de regresión calculadas a partir de dataciones dobles paralelas de carbón y conchas recogidos en sitos arqueológicos a lo largo de la parte central y la parte baja del Snake River, noroeste de Norte América.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , July 2014 , pp. 549 - 560
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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