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Major Revisions in the Pleistocene Age Assignments for North American Human Skeletons by C-14 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry: None Older Than 11,000 C-14 Years B.P.
Abstract
Radiocarbon analyses by accelerator mass spectrometric (AMS) techniques on organic fractions of human bone from various North American localities previously assigned ages ranging from about 70,000 to 15,000 years B.P. now suggest that none of these skeletons is older than 11,000 C-14 years B.P.
... The depth of the finds and the partial mineralization of some of the bones suggested to Stock (1924) that the remains might date to what we, today, call the Paleocoastal period; an amino-acid-racemization (AAR) age of more than 50,000 years taken roughly 60 years ago seemed to confirm this conclusion (Taylor et al. 1985:137). More recently, however, most of these remains have been dated to within the Holocene (see Taylor et al. 1985: Table 1). ...
... 26,000 b.p. Subsequent radiocarbon dating, however, showed the skeleton to be about 3,500 years old (Taylor et al. 1985). ...
... Based on radiocarbon dating of features and human bone, this site appeared to date primarily between the Late through Mission periods; a few radiocarbon dates were from the Millingstone and Intermediate periods. The direct radiocarbon dating of human bone dated the burials to three time periods: the late Intermediate/early Late period transition; the Protohistoric period; and the Mission period (Taylor et al. 1985). ...
Project Location: The project area is located in the former
Ballona Lagoon, a prehistoric wetland complex in west Los
Angeles that is known collectively as the Ballona. This area
is today bound roughly by Playa del Rey to the west, Marina
del Rey to the north, the Ballona Escarpment (a high bluff )
and Del Rey Hills/Westchester Bluffs to the south, and Interstate
405 to the east. It is located approximately 0.5 km
east of the Pacific Ocean, 1.3 km west of the Baldwin Hills,
and 1.6–2.6 km north of Los Angeles International Airport.
Ballona Creek, a drainage that is now channelized, crosses
the project area; Centinela Creek, a spring-fed drainage, once
ran along the southern portion of the project area along the
base of the Ballona Escarpment.
Project Description: Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI), conducted
research, including data recovery, at five sites in the
Ballona: CA-LAN-54/H, CA-LAN-62/H, CA-LAN-193/H,
CA-LAN-211/H, and CA-LAN-2768/H. This involved the
creation of research designs for the investigations, a paleoenvironmental
study of the Ballona, and hand and mechanical
excavation of the sites themselves. These five sites were
recommended eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places (NRHP) (Altschul et al. 1991, 1998, 1999,
2003; Keller and Altschul 2002; Van Galder et al. 2006; Vargas
and Altschul 2001; Vargas et al. 2005). A sixth site, CALAN-
2676, was recommended eligible and underwent data
recovery but was found to have been redeposited. This volume
provides an introduction to and background for the project;
it includes an introduction to the Playa Vista Archaeological
and Historical Project (PVAHP), an environmental setting for
the Ballona and the Southern California Bight, an updated
culture history for the southern California coast, a description
and discussion of previous research in the Ballona, an
updated research design for the PVAHP, and the results of
our paleoenvironmental study of the Ballona Lagoon area’s
evolution over the past 8,000 calendar years.
Project Summary: This volume presents several important
research findings on the paleoenvironment and prehistory
of the Ballona. An updated culture history for the Southern
California Bight allows a deeper understanding of regional
trends over the past 10,000 years and how those trends compare
to those in the Ballona. The updated research design
offers new insight regarding the research topics and theories
first proposed for the PVAHP and how they have evolved
through time. Over the course of 20 years, research goals
and objectives have changed to adapt to data recovery at
NRHP-eligible sites, as well as to research trends and topics
in California archaeology and in the discipline as a whole.
The paleoenvironmental study was conducted as part of the
PVAHP to provide insight regarding prehistoric use of the
Ballona Lagoon over the past 10,000 years. It was designed
to complement the archaeological excavations at sites in the
PVAHP and aimed at providing a geoarchaeological context
for interpreting the distribution of habitats and the evolution
of landscapes used by ancient peoples who lived in the
Ballona. Stratigraphic reconstruction of the Ballona Lagoon
indicates a system that was probably in static equilibrium
with sea-level rise after about 7000 b.p. and a lagoonal evolution
driven primarily by sediment in-filling rather than
by sea-level transgression or regression. Paleoenvironmental
and archaeological data indicate that both biological productivity
and human occupation in the Ballona reached a
peak between about 3000 and 2000 b.p.
... The radiocarbon dating of a cairn burial, "Yuha Man," to over 18,000 B.C., on the basis of caliche deposits on the cairn was vigorously debated (Bischoff et al. 1976(Bischoff et al. , 1978(Bischoff et al. , 1979Childers 1974;Payen et al. 1978Payen et al. , 1979Rogers 1977). More reliable dates based on the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon method applied to human bone fragments now place the burial well within the Holocene, at about 3000 B.C. (Taylor et al. 1985). An age in excess of 50,000 years was also claimed for reported flaked stone tools exposed by erosion in Yuha Pinto Wash, but the age of the materials and their status as artifacts have been questioned (Childers and Minshall 1980;Moratto 1984). ...
... Several large points have also been reported within the Truckhaven area. Direct evidence of an early occupation comes from the Truckhaven flexed burial (IMP-109), found under a cairn and dated to 5790 ±250 B.P. (calibrated to the two-sigma range between 5295 and 4070 B.C.) (Taylor et al. 1985;Warren 1984). As mentioned, the "Yuha Man" burial is now firmly dated to about 3,000 B.C. (Taylor et al. 1985). ...
... Direct evidence of an early occupation comes from the Truckhaven flexed burial (IMP-109), found under a cairn and dated to 5790 ±250 B.P. (calibrated to the two-sigma range between 5295 and 4070 B.C.) (Taylor et al. 1985;Warren 1984). As mentioned, the "Yuha Man" burial is now firmly dated to about 3,000 B.C. (Taylor et al. 1985). ...
This study was undertaken for a “Prehistoric Trails Continuation Study”, a cultural resource investigation mandated as part of the impact mitigation effort associated with the Ocotillo Express Wind Energy Project (Memorandum of Agreement Section III (2) (c)). As such, it is a distinct study of routes of travel between the desert and mountains, integrating information collected for the previously prepared regional synthesis of the McCain Valley/Jacumba/Ocotillo prehistoric cultural landscape investigations (Figure 1) (Laylander et al. 2014).
The boundaries of the larger prehistoric cultural landscape study generally correspond to the boundaries of the Yuha-Jacumba Corridor (YJC) mountain-to-desert landscape historic context study by Noah (2012) which is also the contextual foundation of this project (see Figure 1). The eastern boundary of the Study Area has been established in consultation with the BLM at the 1500-ft. elevation contour. Although that contour is an arbitrary dividing line between the upland and lowland areas, the trails study transcends this boundary to examine routes of travel and cultural interaction between the Peninsular Ranges uplands and Colorado Desert lowlands.
As discussed in the research design for this project (Schaefer and Scharlotta 2014), the Yuha-Jacumba Corridor area may be considered a vast prehistoric cultural landscape consisting of numerous inter-related cultural and natural resources. In addition to the regional trails, an interconnected network of trails tied together the various components of the landscape forming a cognitive map for the people who used them (Noah 2012: v).
...movement across the landscape became inscribed in an extensive system of trails that linked settlements, water sources, resource acquisition areas, spiritual and ceremonial places, locations with long distance trade, social, and familial connections, and even hostile territories, one to another (Noah 2012:3).
Trail alignments are an important element of the archaeological landscape that indicates how sites and natural features are tied together. In many cases where trails are only partially recorded and are a fuller understanding of their routes will benefit the analysis, some additional field reconnaissance may be undertaken to more accurately and fully trace the trail routes. GIS also will be used to construct least- effort path models of trail routes between major resource areas and occupation hubs, based on hydrology, topography, and gradient which will be compared with actual archaeologically or ethnographically documented routes. This type of analysis will be useful for reconstructing routes that are represented by only fragmented remains and to examine patterns of association with resource collection areas.
This study relies heavily on the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and utilities for the integration of very large archaeological databases with cartographically imaged natural environmental data.
... For example, his first major papers came about when he and Rainer Berger at UCLA were able to convince Libby that shell was in fact a suitable material for radiocarbon measurements (a major accomplishment in itself-see Libby 1955:44) and produced the first set of marine reservoir corrections for the West Coast of North, Central, and South America (Berger et al. 1966;Taylor and Berger 1967). His own laboratory used gas counting but he was an early collaborator with the University of Arizona AMS group in measurements on New World human remains (Taylor et al. 1985), and was at the forefront of support within University of California for establishment of an AMS facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the 1980s. A nice example of the interdependence of the many fields impacted by radiocarbon is that his interest in anomalously old dates for bones associated with the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC (Taylor et al. 2010) led us to investigate in detail the structure of the 14 C calibration curve in this period, which in turn led to the discovery of a new Miyake event-a sharp increase in atmospheric Δ 14 C in 660 BC (Park et al. 2017) that was likely driven by multiple solar Coronal Mass Ejection events. ...
... Nevertheless, a major part of Erv's legacy does indeed stem from his archaeological dating studies on humans in the New World. In the 1970s and '80s he was an important contributor to 14 C studies which showed that several sets of bones previously considered to be tens of thousands of years old based on amino acid racemization dates were in fact mid-Holocene (Taylor et al. 1985). He also made significant contributions to bone sample preparation chemistry that included the use of chromatographically well-characterized amino acid extracts and studies of the non-collagenous protein osteocalcin (Taylor 1992). ...
... Based on radiocarbon dating of features and human bone, this site appeared to date primarily to the Late through Mission periods; a few radiocarbon dates were from the Millingstone and Intermediate periods. The direct radiocarbon dating of human bone dated the burials to three periods: the late Intermediate/early Late period transition, the Protohistoric period, and the Mission period (Taylor et al. 1985). ...
Project Location: The project area is located in an area formerly
containing the Ballona Lagoon, a prehistoric wetland
complex in west Los Angeles that is known collectively as the
Ballona in Los Angeles County. This area is today bounded
roughly by Playa del Rey to the west, Marina del Rey to the
north, the Ballona Escarpment (a high bluff ) and Del Rey
Hills/Manchester Bluffs to the south, and Interstate 405 to
the east. It is located approximately 0.5 km east of the Pacific
Ocean near an area referred to as Santa Monica Bay along
this section of the coast, 1.3 km west of the Baldwin Hills,
and 1.6–2.6 km north of Los Angeles International Airport.
Ballona Creek, a drainage that is now channelized, crosses
the project area; Centinela Creek, a spring-fed drainage, once
ran along the southern portion of the project area along the
base of the Ballona Escarpment.
Project Description: Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI), conducted
research, including testing, evaluation to determine
eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places (NRHP), and data recovery at eight sites in the Ballona
(CA-LAN-54/H, CA-LAN-62/H, CA-LAN-193/H,
CA-LAN-211/H, CA-LAN-1932/H, CA-LAN-2676/H,
CA-LAN-2768/H, and CA-LAN-2769/H) (hereafter, the
prefix CA- and the suffix /H will be omitted). Of these sites,
five were recommended eligible for listing in the NRHP:
LAN-54, LAN-62, LAN-193, LAN-211, and LAN-2768.
Data recovery was conducted on these five sites (Altschul
1991; Altschul et al. 1991; Altschul et al. 1998; Altschul et
al. 1999; Altschul et al. 2003; Keller and Altschul 2002; Van
Galder et al. 2006; Vargas and Altschul 2001; Vargas et al.
2005). Research designs and plans of work were developed
and implemented after review by regulatory agencies. In addition,
related research in the Ballona included a paleoenvironmental
study of the area (Homburg et al. 2014). This
study presents the results of the analysis of seven classes of
material culture and six classes of subsistence-related data.
Project Summary: This Playa Vista Archaeological and
Historical Project (PVAHP), which began in 1991, was one
of the largest and most complex cultural resources project
in the history of the Los Angeles Basin. Designed around
human adaptation to a dynamic wetlands environment, the
archaeological component of the PVAHP is presented in 5
volumes. This volume, which represents the culmination of
more than 25 years of research, synthesizes data presented
in the first four volumes into inferences about the Ballona
region’s paleoenvironment, human occupation, and cultural
evolution region over the past 8,500 years. Because of the
presence of a large and complex Mission period occupation
and use of multiple sites in the project area, several chapters
in this volume focus on the ethnohistoric and early
historical period in the Ballona, unraveling the complex
webs of interaction between and among native inhabitants
and Spanish colonists. The results of mortuary analysis of a
Gabrielino/Tongva burial area at CA-LAN-62 is presented.
Additionally, important research on glass bead trade and
distribution from the heartland of Spanish colonialism in
central Mexico, to the frontier in Alta California and into
the hands of Native Californians is thoroughly presented.
This volume concludes with a synthetic chapter that summarizes
the various research questions posed on the project
over the past quarter century, offers insight into new
interpretations for the pre-Hispanic and historical-period
occupation and use of the Ballona region, and links this
work to larger perspectives.
Researchers have long had an interest in dental morphology as a genetic proxy to reconstruct population history. Much interest was fostered by the use of standard plaques and associated descriptions that comprise the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System, developed by Christy G. Turner, II and students. This system has served as the foundation for hundreds of anthropological studies for over 30 years. In recognition of that success, this volume brings together some of the world's leading dental morphologists to expand upon the concepts and methods presented in the popular The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth (Cambridge, 1997), leading the reader from method to applied research. After a preparatory section on the current knowledge of heritability and gene expression, a series of case studies demonstrate the utility of dental morphological study in both fossil and more recent populations (and individuals), from local to global scales.
Researchers have long had an interest in dental morphology as a genetic proxy to reconstruct population history. Much interest was fostered by the use of standard plaques and associated descriptions that comprise the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System, developed by Christy G. Turner, II and students. This system has served as the foundation for hundreds of anthropological studies for over 30 years. In recognition of that success, this volume brings together some of the world's leading dental morphologists to expand upon the concepts and methods presented in the popular The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth (Cambridge, 1997), leading the reader from method to applied research. After a preparatory section on the current knowledge of heritability and gene expression, a series of case studies demonstrate the utility of dental morphological study in both fossil and more recent populations (and individuals), from local to global scales.
Project Location: The project area is located in the former
Ballona Lagoon area, a former wetland complex in west Los
Angeles that is known collectively as the Ballona. This area
is today bound roughly by Playa del Rey to the west, Marina
del Rey to the north, the Ballona Escarpment (a high bluff )
and Del Rey Hills/Westchester Bluffs to the south, and Interstate
405 to the east. It is located approximately 0.5 km east
of the Pacific Ocean, 1.3 km west of the Baldwin Hills, and
1.6 to 2.6 km north of Los Angeles International Airport.
Ballona Creek, a drainage that is now channelized, crosses
the project area; Centinela Creek, a spring-fed drainage, once
ran along the southern part of the of the project area along
the base of the Ballona Escarpment.
Project Description: Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI), conducted
data recovery at five sites in the Ballona (CA-LAN-
54/H, CA-LAN-62/H, CA-LAN-193/H, CA-LAN-211/H,
and CA-LAN-2768/H [hereinafter, the prefix CA- and the
suffix /H will be omitted]) which involved bioarchaeological
analyses of human remains discovered during the investigations
or subsequent archaeological monitoring. These five sites
were recommended eligible for listing in the National Register
of Historic Places (NRHP) (Altschul 1991; Altschul et al.
1991, 1998, 1999, 2003; Denniston and Douglass 2007; Van
Galder et al. 2006; Vargas and Altschul 2001; Vargas et al.
2005). A total of 386 burial features were recovered from these
five sites, the majority from LAN-62 (n = 374). The burials at
LAN-62 were concentrated in a small portion of the southern
part of the site and were associated with distinctive mourning
features characterized by high densities of material culture,
including unique artifacts. The study focused on delineating
the chronological sequence of the burial ground at LAN-62,
mortuary treatments, paleodemography, variation, dentition,
and paleopathology. Fundamental research questions posed
include, who were the people living in the Ballona Wetlands?
and, how did they change over time?
Project Summary: The bioarchaeological study of human
remains from the Playa Vista Archaeological and Historical
Project (PVAHP) has revealed significant insights into the
health, diet, and cultural affinity of the prehistoric and early
historical-period populations of the Ballona. The burial area at
LAN-62 has complex stratigraphy, spatial relationships, and association
of material culture. To aid in defining the chronological
relationship between outlying burials and the main burial
ground at the site—and also to distinguish historical-period
and prehistoric burial areas in the absence of clear chronological
indicators—SRI developed a sophisticated system that delineates
specific spatial and sequential relationships based on the
Harris matrix but significantly more robust. The spatial and
temporal analysis through this system identified unique spatiotemporal
patterns. For example, the Mission period features
were located in the southwestern portion of the burial area in
a relatively discrete area measuring 6 by 8 m. The prehistoric
burial features were located either in the northernmost part of
the burial area or in the northern and eastern portions of the
main burial area. Comparatively fewer features were identified
as protohistoric. Other subgroups within the burial area
at LAN-62 were identified to help researchers answer specific
questions regarding the formation of the site using small groups
of closely related burial and nonburial features.
During prehistoric times, individuals were clearly interred
close to where inhabitants were living. Therefore, it is likely
that either LAN-62 was not a centralized burial ground for
the region prior to the Mission period or cultural norms at
the time did not necessitate one. Prior to the protohistoric
period, the function of LAN-62 changed from a domestic
to a ceremonial one.
Overall, burial features at LAN-62 consisted primarily of
flexed primary inhumations with uncommon or rare occurrences
of partial or complete cremations. The burials were
concentrated in an area over a meter in depth, and most of
the burials were intrusive to, or impacted by, other burials
as well as nonburial features which likely predated the use of
the area for burials. Various calculations, based on different
elements, were used, and the exact number of individuals
buried at LAN-62 will never be known; however, SRI has
estimated roughly 349 to 377 individuals as the most likely
range. Female individuals greatly outnumbered the males,
and very few children and young adolescents are represented.
The base burial population consisted mostly of young adults.
An important research question for the PVAHP is related
to the ethnic and cultural identity of the populations residing
in the Ballona wetlands. Through comparisons of the PVAHP
craniometric data to other sites in coastal southern California
and to five Native American samples, we conclude that the individuals
represented at LAN-62 were related to southern California
Native Americans, most likely the Gabrielino/Tongva.
In prehistoric societies children comprised 40-65% of the population, yet by default, our ancestral landscapes are peopled by adults who hunt, gather, fish, knap tools and make art. But these adults were also parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who had to make space physically, emotionally, intellectually and cognitively for the infants, children and adolescents around them. Growing Up in the Ice Age is a timely and evidence-based look at the lived lives of Paleolithic children and the communities of which they were a part. By rendering these 'invisible' children visible, readers will gain a new understanding of the Paleolithic period as a whole, and in doing so will learn how children have contributed to the biological and cultural entities we are today.
The dental morphology of the earliest Americans is poorly known, partly because existing data are largely unpublished and partly because dental wear is typically extreme in the few complete dentitions available. The remains of Naia, a 13,000–12,000 year-old young woman from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, possess a complete dental record in perfect condition, offering the unique opportunity to record the dental morphology of an early Paleoindian and a chance to address the long-standing debate about whether these first people exhibited Sundadont or Sinodont dental morphology. As an individual, her dentition would fit comfortably in the Sinodont grouping. However, when she is included in the population of North American skeletal remains that can be confidently placed before ∼9000 years ago, a different pattern emerges. The Paleoindians fall neatly between the two dental patterns, suggesting that the founding North American population exhibits a dental pattern of its own, independent of its east Asian relatives.
This is an excerpt from chapter 5 of an out-of-print book (The Early Settlement of North America, (c) Cambridge University Press) by G. Haynes. This section discusses megaammal-hunting by fluted-point makers near the end of the Pleistocene.
Radiocarbon determinations, employing both decay and direct counting, were obtained on various organic fractions of four human skeletal samples previously assigned ages ranging from 28,000 to 70,000 years on the basis of their D/L aspartic acid racemization values. In all four cases, the 14 C values require an order of magnitude reduction in age.
Three geochronometers, radiocarbon, amino acid racemization, and uranium series dating, have been used to estimate the ages of several human skeletal remains from California. Both the radiocarbon and aspartic acid racemization ages of one of these skeletons, Los Angeles Man, indicate that human beings were present in the Americas by approx. 26 000 yr ago. The aspartic acid racemization and uranium series ages of another paleoindian skeleton, Del Mar Man, suggest that the initial migration into the New World probably occurred sometime during the middle part of the Upper Pleistocene. The anticipated radiocarbon dating of several of the skeletons using particle accelerators should help determine a more precise time for the first human migrations into the New World.-Authors
A small 200ml capacity CO 2 proportional counting system has been developed which uses only 100mg of carbon for complete filling. Thus, with respect to the small quantities needed, it compares favorably to dedicated accelerators at significantly lower cost. The performance of this equipment is demonstrated using a variety of samples including some human bone fragments from La Jolla which had been estimated to be 28,000 years old by aspartic acid racemization analysis.
The measurements reported have been carried out during the first half of 1968 in the Isotope Laboratory of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics as a continuation of the UCLA date lists I through VIII. Samples were analyzed as CO 2 -gas at close to one atm in a 7.5 L proportional counter with three energy channels described in earlier publication. Radiocarbon ages have been calculated for uniformity on the basis of a 5568 yr half-life in accord with a recommendation by the Sixth International C 14 and H 3 Dating Conference, June 1965, in Pullman, Washington. The standard for the contemporary biosphere remains as 95% of the count rate of NBS oxalic acid for radiocarbon laboratories. Background determinations have been based on CO 2 obtained from marble. The error listed is always at least a one-sigma statistical counting error. In critical cases C 13 /C 12 isotope ratio measurements were made to correct the dates for fractionation. All samples were subjected to accepted NaOH, HCl or other special chemical pretreatments discussed below depending on the individual case to exclude contamination.
The following list of dates contains all measurements made during 1972, i.e. , since our last list. Counting equipment, operating procedures and sample pretreatment are the same as previously described (R., 1969, v. 11, p. 263). Age calculations are based on 95% activity of the NBS oxalic acid standard computed from the Libby half-life of 5570 ± 30 yr. Background samples are synthesized from Welsh anthracite. Errors quoted refer only to the standard deviation (1 σ ) calculated from a statistical analysis of sample, background and standard count rates.
Questions are raised concerning the Pleistocene age assignment of a human burial from the Yuha Desert, California. Evidence is presented demonstrating that the C-14 dates of around 22,000 years B.P. should be viewed with extreme caution, especially because of the inherent problem in soil carbonate dating. Both the degree of soil development and the landform associated with the burial appear inconsistent with the reported age. In addition the presence of late-appearing cultural material at the locality conflicts with the purported antiquity of the site.
Human bones, found by the writer's geological field party in 1961, came from a cliff (Woodpecker Island Bluff) on the east side of Oldman River about 3 mi. north of Taber, Alberta. This paper discusses stratigraphy of the bluff and age of the bones, which have been described by Langston and Oschinsky (1963). The bones cannot be dated directly; however, they were found about 60 ft. below prairie level, in a sand unit lying beneath a till sheet. As the till was deposited by a Classical Wisconsin ice sheet that spread over the area more than 22,000 years ago, the bones are at least that old. Correlation with other bluffs along Oldman River indicates they are more than 32,000 years, and probably more than 37,000 years, old.
In this paper we will describe the operation of the University of Arizona tandem accelerator mass spectrometer (TAMS) facility, present results of some measurements performed to demonstrate the reliability of its performance, and describe several experiments which have been completed on samples of archaeologic and geophysical interest.