Radiocarbon Dating on Samples from the Southeast

• Published in: Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology 1951, Vol.8, p.30-30
• Main Author: Webb, WM. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0081-1300; 2330-2275
• DOI: 10.1017/S0081130000000915

While the sites of the Archaic manifestation (shell middens) in the Southeast are numerous and extensive, in general they do not furnish clean specimens of wood or charcoal suitable for radiocarbon dating. The use of shell or deer antler, which occurs in great quantity, for carbon dating is justified only by experimental proof of their ability to give consistent results. With the exception of sample 180, four other assays from three other samples, 116, 251, 254, three of antler and one of shell, yielded results which differ from the average by less than the range of assigned error and may thus be regarded as consistent among themselves. This places the age of the Archaic of Green River, Kentucky, at from 4900 to 5300 years, which, while greater than was anticipated, may be considered reasonable, particularly since it agrees well with the age of the Archaic manifestations in New York State, where the assays were made from charcoal.