A Radiocarbon Date on the Residue Adhering to a Steatite Vessel from Southern Wyoming

Author(s): Richard Adams; Mary Jane Daniels

Year: 1995

Summary

Wyoming’s steatite industry is at least 5500 years old, but steatite vessels are considerably more recent. Just how recent was determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of the organic residue adhering to the inside of a fragmentary steatite vessel. The date of 101.7 ± 6 yrs BP is the first direct date on a steatite vessel in Wyoming. The surprisingly recent date raises questions about who used steatite vessels. Clearly, Shoshoni (and maybe even Euroamericans) used steatite in the recent past. The question now is whether there are any prehistoric steatite vessels in Wyoming.

Cite this Record

A Radiocarbon Date on the Residue Adhering to a Steatite Vessel from Southern Wyoming. Richard Adams, Mary Jane Daniels. The Wyoming Archaeologist. 39 (1, 2): 11-19. 1995 ( tDAR id: 476543) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8476543

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Historic • Shoshone

Material
Chipped Stone • Dating Sample

Site Name
48NA202 • 48SW336 • Dead Indian Creek • Natural Corrals • River Bend • Split Rock

General
accelerator mass spectrometer • AMS • Steatite

Geographic Keywords
Wyoming

Temporal Keywords
Early Archaic • Historic • Late Archaic • Late Prehistoric • Middle Archaic • Protohistoric

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Marcia Peterson

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