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The Denbigh Flint Complex is Not Yet Dated

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

J. L. Giddings Jr.*
Affiliation:
University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pa.

Extract

Every radiocarbon sample that an archaeologist turns in to a physicist for dating has its particular story to tell. The story is likely to be much longer and more devious than is easily expressed in a simple number. I am a little worried about our use of “lists” of radiocarbon dates in view of the recent treatment of some dates from Cape Denbigh.

During the field seasons of 1948, 1949, and 1950 we secured from the Denbigh Flint layer no more than a small pillbox full of charcoal. When this was submitted to Libby, at the University of Chicago laboratory, he regretfully notified us that the sample was not enough to coat a cylinder. Our 4th field trip to Cape Denbigh, in 1952, was made for the express purpose of scraping together enough organic matter for analysis of the oldest cultural layer.

Type
Facts and Comments
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1955

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References

Collins, Henry B. 1954 The Position of Ipiutak in Eskimo Culture—Reply. American Antiquity, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 79–84. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Hopkins, D. M. and Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1953 Geological Background of the Iyatayet Archeological Site, Cape Denbigh, Alaska. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 121, No. 11. Washington.Google Scholar
Krieger, Alex D. 1954 A Comment on “Fluted Point Relationships” by John Witthoft. American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 273–5. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar