Schmitt, A.K., Perrine, A.R., Rhodes, E.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-0361-8637 et al. (1 more author) (2019) Age of Obsidian Butte in Imperial County, California, through infrared stimulated luminescence dating of Potassium Feldspar from tuffaceous sediment. California Archaeology, 11 (1). pp. 5-20. ISSN 1947-461X
Abstract
Obsidian Butte is an important lithic source for obsidian and artifacts from this location are distributed across archaeological sites in southern California and adjacent parts of northern Mexico. For this study, we used drill core material for infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of potassium feldspar extracted from tuffaceous sediment directly underlying obsidian-bearing lava from Obsidian Butte. In addition, a core sample from lacustrine sediment below the tuffaceous sedimentary unit was dated by the same method. Stratigraphically consistent ages between 2.51 ± 0.32 kilo-annum (ka) (1 sigma uncertainty; average of two tuffaceous sediment samples) and 4.39 ± 0.49 ka (lacustrine sediment sample) were obtained. This constrains the eruption and earliest availability of the lithic resource of Obsidian Butte to 490 BCE (with uncertainty limits of ±320 years at ∼68 percent confidence, and ±640 years at ∼95 percent confidence). Since then, it would have been accessible during intermittent desiccation of Lake Cahuilla. This new date redefines obsidian from Obsidian Butte as a marker for the late prehistoric period.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Society for California Archaeology. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in California Archaeology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Volcanism; obsidian; infrared stimulated luminescence; geochronology; late Archaic |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 May 2019 11:37 |
Last Modified: | 02 Nov 2020 01:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/1947461x.2019.1581678 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:145802 |