MacPherson (AhHa-21) and Cleveland (AhHb-7): Two Cases Demonstrating The Benefits and Challenges of Radiocarbon Dating on Sixteenth-Century Iroquoian Sites

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Radiocarbon dating on sixteenth-century archaeological sites can be challenging. On its own, radiocarbon dating this century can be imprecise, owing to a reversal and plateau in the radiocarbon calibration curve ca. AD 1480-1630. Advances in Bayesian Chronological modeling, including the use of charcoal as terminus post quem (TPQ) and internal site sequences, have helped to overcome much of this imprecision. This poster presents new, independent radiocarbon dates and Bayesian Chronological models for MacPherson and Cleveland, two sixteenth-century Attiwandaron villages located near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. MacPherson and Cleveland are two of the earliest Attiwandaron sites where European manufactured goods have been found, and are thought to date sometime between AD 1530-1600. Sequential modeling, internal phasing, and charcoal TPQs are used to determine most likely occupation dates for the two sites, while illustrating the benefits and difficulties of absolute dating on short-lived sixteenth-century sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2022 SHA Poster Submissions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology