Examining Multiple Groups of Chronometric Data Using Multiple Methods: An Example from the Prehispanic U.S. Southwest

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Constructing Chronologies II: The Big Picture with Bayes and Beyond" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over 4,000 radiocarbon age estimates are used to examine temporal trends in the Jornada region of the American Southwest between 4500 and 400 BP. Chronometric analysis reveals changing frequencies in architectural forms, technologies, and subsistence, a series of punctuated demographic trajectories and regional abandonments, and the appearance of new ideologies and their associated iconographic expressions. Multiple temporal trends can be cross-examined using large sample sizes of age estimates associated with various features, technologies, and food remains. Summed probability distributions (SPD) offer a first order approximation of chronological trends and a means of comparing multiple dated phenomena, but it is difficult to isolate boundaries, or beginning and ending periods of date phenomena, using SPDs. Bayesian modeling, kernel density estimation, and examining SPDs using exponential null models offer a means to address such problems, allowing for boundaries and events to be isolated and refined. However, some methods may obscure the underlying temporal variability of certain chronological data and thus fail to isolate important trends and transitions. A comparison of various methods is presented, demonstrating that multiple approaches and multiple data groupings offer a reasonable solution. The Hallstatt interval of 2700–2350 BP provides a useful test case for the comparison.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Constructing Chronologies II: The Big Picture with Bayes and Beyond   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32428