Reassessing the chronology of the archaeological site of Anzick. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Found in 1968, the archaeological site of Anzick, Montana, contains the only known Clovis burial. Here, the partial remains of a male infant, Anzick-1, were found in association with a Clovis assemblage of over 100 lithic and osseous artifacts-all red-stained with ochre. The incomplete, unstained cranium of an unassociated, geologically younger individual, Anzick-2, was also recovered. Previous chronometric work has shown an age difference between Anzick-1 and the Clovis assemblage (represented by dates from two antler rod samples). This discrepancy has led to much speculation, with some discounting Anzick-1 as Clovis. To resolve this issue, we present the results of a comprehensive radiocarbon dating program that utilized different pretreatment methods on osseous material from the site. Through this comparative approach, we obtained a robust chronometric dataset that suggests that Anzick-1 is temporally coeval with the dated antler rods. This implies that the individual is indeed temporally associated with the Clovis assemblage.

published proceedings

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

altmetric score

  • 117

author list (cited authors)

  • Becerra-Valdivia, L., Waters, M. R., Stafford, T. W., Anzick, S. L., Comeskey, D., Devise, T., & Higham, T.

citation count

  • 29

complete list of authors

  • Becerra-Valdivia, Lorena||Waters, Michael R||Stafford, Thomas W||Anzick, Sarah L||Comeskey, Daniel||Devièse, Thibaut||Higham, Thomas

publication date

  • July 2018