A Critical Review of Radiocarbon Dates Clarifies the Human Settlement of Madagascar

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Global Perspectives on Climate-Human Population Dynamics During the Late Holocene" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The timing and subsequent environmental impacts of the human settlement of Madagascar remain key topics of debate in archaeology. Located approximately 250 miles off the East African coast, Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, appears to have been one of the world’s last large landmasses to be settled by people. Radiocarbon dating of archaeological sites and remains of butchered animals on Madagascar provide important evidence of when the island was first settled and how subsequent settlement progressed. The reliability of existing archaeological radiocarbon dates on Madagascar, however, requires critical evaluation. Here we apply principles of chronometric hygiene to assess existing radiocarbon dates and clarify the island’s human settlement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Global Perspectives on Climate-Human Population Dynamics During the Late Holocene   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24439