Radiocarbon dating and the “old wood” problem: The case of the Hohokam chronology

doi:10.1016/0305-4403(86)90024-5

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volume 13, Issue 1, January 1986, Pages 13-30

https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(86)90024-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Many archaeological chronologies, including that of the Hohokam in southern Arizona, are based on a series of radiocarbon dates on wood. This paper argues that because of variability in rates of wood decay processes (in the environment and in systemic context), such archaeological chronologies are potentially biased towards excessive antiquity by an old wood problem and must be reassessed. Following the theoretical insights of Dean (1978), this paper sets forth principles and procedures for relating radiocarbon dates to cultural events. Emphasis is placed on identifying and taking into account the formation processes of (1) the dated specimens and (2) the deposits that yielded them. This methodological framework is applied to Hohokam radiocarbon dates, and a chronology much shorter than the original Gladwin-Haury formulation is supported.

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Radiocarbon dating and the “old wood” problem: The case of the Hohokam chronology

Abstract

The Cerro Colorado site and pithouse architecture in the southwestern United States prior to A.D. 900

Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology

Decay of timber in buildings: dry rot, wet rot and other fungi

Prehistory of the Southwest

The degradation of wood by insects

University of Michigan radiocarbon dates II

Science

Dendrochronologic calibration of the radiocarbon time scale

American Antiquity

Microbiological and entomological stresses on the structural use of wood

The Upper Pima of San Cayetano del Tumacacori

Amerind Foundation, Publication 7

Archaeological objectives and artifact sorting techniques: a re-examination of the Snaketown sequence

Western Anthropology

Weathering of wood in structural uses

Tree-ring dating of Colorado River driftwood in the Grand Canyon

Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest

Timber Pests and Diseases

Timber: Properties and Uses

Excavations at Snaketown, III: revisions

Medallion Papers

Excavations at Snaketown IV: review and conclusions

Medallion Papers

Excavations at Snaketown I: material culture

Medallion Papers

Timber

The Hohokam: desert farmers and craftsmen

Density, dispersion, and composition of desert termite foraging populations and their relationship to superficial dead wood

Environmental Entomology

Arizona radiocarbon dates VIII

Radiocarbon

The insect factor in wood decay: an account of wood-boring insects with particular reference to timber indoors

Termites: a world problem

The Woodworm Problem