A marine reservoir effect ΔR value for Kitandach, in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada

Prince Rupert Harbour (PRH), on the north Pacific Coast of British Columbia, contains at least 157 shell middens, of which 66 are known villages, in an area of approximately 180 km. These sites span the last 9500 yr and in some cases are immense, exceeding 20,000 m surface area and several meters in depth. Recent archaeological research in PRH has become increasingly reliant on radiocarbon dates from marine shell for developing chronologies. However, this is problematic as the local marine reservoir effect (MRE) remains poorly understood in the region. To account for the MRE and to better date the Harbour’s sites, we propose a ΔR of 273 ± 38 for the PRH area, based on our work at the site of Kitandach (GbTo-34), a massive shell midden-village centrally located within the Harbour. We followed the multiple paired sample approach for samples from speci fic contexts and ensured contemporaneity within the groups of marine and terrestrial materials by statistically assessing for outliers using the χ2 test. Taking together, the results for this and previous studies, it appears the MRE was fairly constant over the past 5000 yr

Estimating marine reservoir effects in archaeological chronologies: Comparing ΔR calculations in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada

The best method for quantifying the marine reservoir effect (MRE) using the global IntCal Marine13 calibration curve remains unresolved. Archaeologists frequently quantify uncertainty on MRE values as errors computed from single pairs of marineterrestrial radiocarbon ages, which we argue significantly overstates their accuracy and precision. Here, we review the assumptions, methods, and applications of estimating MRE via an estimate of the additional regional offset between the marine and terrestrial calibration curves (ΔR) for the Prince Rupert Harbour (PRH) region of British Columbia, Canada.We acknowledge the influence on ΔR of MRE variation as (1) a dynamic oceanographic process, (2) its variable expression in biochemical and geochemical pathways, and (3) compounding errors in sample selection, measurement, and calculation. We examine a large set of marine-terrestrial pairs (n = 63) from PRH to compare a common archaeological practice of estimating uncertainty from means that generate an uncertainty value of ±49 years with a revised, more appropriate estimate of error of ± 230 years. However, we argue that the use of multiple-pair samples estimates the PRH ΔR as 273 ± 38 years for the last 5,000 years. Calculations of error that do not consider these issues may generate more inaccurate age estimates with unjustifiable precision

The Neolithic Demographic Transition in Europe: Correlation with Juvenility Index Supports Interpretation of the Summed Calibrated Radiocarbon Date Probability Distribution (SCDPD) as a Valid Demographic Proxy

Analysis of the proportion of immature skeletons recovered from European prehistoric cemeteries has shown that the transition to agriculture after 9000 BP triggered a long-term increase in human fertility. Here we compare the largest analysis of European cemeteries to date with an independent line of evidence, the summed calibrated date probability distribution of radiocarbon dates (SCDPD) from archaeological sites. Our cemetery reanalysis confirms increased growth rates after the introduction of agriculture; the radiocarbon analysis also shows this pattern, and a significant correlation between both lines of evidence confirms the demographic validity of SCDPDs. We analyze the areal extent of Neolithic enclosures and demographic data from ethnographically known farming and foraging societies and we estimate differences in population levels at individual sites. We find little effect on the overall shape and precision of the SCDPD and we observe a small increase in the correlation with the cemetery trends. The SCDPD analysis supports the hypothesis that the transition to agriculture dramatically increased demographic growth, but it was followed within centuries by a general pattern of collapse even after accounting for higher settlement densities during the Neolithic. The study supports the unique contribution of SCDPDs as a valid demographic proxy for the demographic patterns associated with early agriculture

Bayesova racionalnost 14C, Heisenbergovo načelo nedoločenosti in Fourierjeva transformacija: Lepota radiokarbonske kalibracije

Following some 30 years of radiocarbon research during which the mathematical principles of 14C-calibration have been on loan to Bayesian statistics, here they are returned to quantum physics. The return is based on recognition that 14C-calibration can be described as a Fourier transform. Following its introduction as such, there is need to reconceptualize the probabilistic 14C-analysis. The main change will be to replace the traditional (one-dimensional) concept of 14C-dating probability by a two-dimensional probability. This is entirely analogous to the definition of probability in quantum physics, where the squared amplitude of a wave function defined in Hilbert space provides a measurable probability of finding the corresponding particle at a certain point in time/space, the so-called Born rule. When adapted to the characteristics of 14C-calibration, as it turns out, the Fourier transform immediately accounts for practically all known so-called quantization properties of archaeological 14C-ages, such as clustering, age-shifting, and amplitude-distortion. This also applies to the frequently observed chronological lock-in properties of larger data sets, when analysed by Gaussian wiggle matching (on the 14C-scale) just as by Bayesian sequencing (on the calendar time-scale). Such domain-switching effects are typical for a Fourier transform. They can now be understood, and taken into account, by the application of concepts and interpretations that are central to quantum physics (e.g. wave diffraction, wave-particle duality, Heisenberg uncertainty, and the correspondence principle). What may sound complicated, at first glance, simplifies the construction of 14C-based chronologies. The new Fourier-based 14C-analysis supports chronological studies on previously unachievable geographic (continental) and temporal (Glacial-Holocene) scales; for example, by temporal sequencing of hundreds of archaeological sites, simultaneously, with minimal need for development of archaeological prior hypotheses, other than those based on the geo-archaeological law of stratigraphic superposition. As demonstrated in a variety of archaeological case studies, just one number, defined as a gauge-probability on a scale 0–100%, can be used to replace a stacked set of subjective Bayesian priors.Po približno 30 letih radiokarbonskih raziskav, v katerih si je Bayesova statistika izposojala matematične principe 14C-kalibracije, le-te sedaj vračamo v kvantno fiziko. Ta vrnitev je osnovana na predpostavki, da lahko 14C-kalibriranje opišemo kot Fourierjevo transformacijo. In to ima za posledico, da je potrebno ponovno konceptualizirati verjetnostno analizo 14C. Poglavitna sprememba bo zamenjava tradicionalnega (enodimenzionalnega) koncepta verjetnosti 14C-datiranja z dvodimenzionalno verjetnostjo. To je povsem analogno definiciji verjetnosti v kvantni fiziki, kjer kvadratna amplituda valovne funkcije, ki je definirana v Hilbertovem prostoru, zagotavlja merljivo verjetnost iskanja ustreznega delca v določeni točki v ≠asu/prostoru, to je t.i. Bornovo pravilo. Fourierjeva transformacija, ki jo prilagodimo značilnostim 14C-kalibracije, se nemudoma prilagodi tako rekoč vsem t.i. lastnostim kvantizacije arheoloških 14C datumov, kot so hierarhične metode združevanja, spreminjanje starosti in popačenje amplitude. To velja tudi za pogosto opazovane kronološke lastnosti zaklepanja pri večjih podatkovnih bazah, če jih analiziramo z Gaussovim usklajevanjem krivulje (na lestvici 14C) tako kot z Bayesovim zaporedjem (v koledarskem časovnem merilu). Takšni učinki prekopa domene so značilni za Fourierjevo transformacijo. Zdaj jih lahko razumemo in upoštevamo z vpeljavo konceptov in interpretacij, ki so osrednjega pomena v kvantni fiziki (npr. difrakcija valovnih dolžin, dvojnost valov in delcev, Heisenbergovo načelo nedoločenosti in princip korespondence). Kar se na prvi pogled zdi zapleteno, v resnici poenostavi postavitev 14C-kronologij. Nova 14C analiza, ki temelji na Fourierjevi transformaciji, podpira kronološke študije na prej nedosegljivih geografskih (kontinentalnih) in časovnih (v glacialih v holocenu) lestvicah; npr. s časovno sekvenco na stotine arheoloških najdišč hkrati, z minimalno potrebo po razvoju predhodnih arheoloških hipotez, razen tistih, ki temeljijo na geo-arheoloških zakonih stratigrafske superpozicije. Kot je razvidno iz različnih arheoloških študijskih primerov lahko tudi le z eno številko, ki je definirana kot merilna verjetnost na lestvici od 0 do 100%, nadomestimo zložen nabor subjektivnih Bayesovih apriornih verjetnosti

Evolution of bow-arrow technology

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Cranial Age Assessment and Cranial Pathology from the Mesolithic-Neolithic Inhabitants of the Danube Gorges, Serbia.

The data-set described here comprises cranial pathology data and cranial age assessment for 113 individuals from four Mesolithic-Neolithic sites in the Danube Gorges, Serbia. Calibrated radiocarbon dates by archaeological site were included where available. The data were collected after anthropological analysis of this collection. This dataset is available from UCL Discovery in .csv format. The reuse potential of these data is great for paleoepidemiology studies, and for associated time-series analyses in this region and beyond. Furthermore, these data can be used for comparative studies of cranial pathology and aging profiles in other Mesolithic-Neolithic collections