TY - JOUR
T1 - On the antiquity of the single-piece shell fishhook
T2 - AMS radiocarbon evidence from the southern California coast
AU - Rick, Torben C.
AU - Vellanoweth, René L.
AU - Erlandson, Jon M.
AU - Kennett, Douglas J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funds for AMS radiocarbon dating were provided by the Environmental Division of the Naval Air Station Point, Mugu, CA, the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) through the James A. Bennyhoff Memorial Fund, the Bacara Resort, and the Petrone Fellowship from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. We thank Steve Schwartz, the SCA, and David and Nancy Petrone for their generous support. Steve Schwartz, Don Morris, Robert Delong, and Ann Huston were instrumental in supporting fieldwork related to this project. John Johnson, Linda Agren, and Jan Timbrook graciously provided access to the CA-SRI-43 specimen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, as did Chris Coleman and Karen Wise for the Daisy Cave specimens housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, and Peter Paige and Mike Glassow for the Tecolote Canyon specimens housed at UC Santa Barbara. Deana Dartt illustrated all of the fishhooks presented in this paper. Financial support for our analysis was also supplied by the National Science Foundation (Grant #SBR-9731434, Erlandson), the National Park Service (Grant #1443CA8120 00 007, Rick and Erlandson), and NSF Cooperative Agreement OCE-9807266 awarded to NOSAMS. Work at CA-SMI-525 was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant #SBR-9521974, Kennett) and the National Park Service (Grant #1443CA8120 96 003, Kennett). Finally, we thank Richard Klein, Terry Jones, Mark Raab, anonymous reviewers, and the editorial staff of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
PY - 2002/9
Y1 - 2002/9
N2 - During the Late Holocene, a number of new technologies (single-piece fishhooks, toggling harpoons, plank canoes, etc.) are thought to have significantly enhanced the fishing capabilities of California coastal peoples. The single-piece fishhook, perhaps the most common of these artifacts, appears to correlate with a regional intensification of marine fishing and a period of increased population growth. Determining the antiquity of the single-piece fishhook has been complicated by a variety of taphonomic and methodological factors. Consequently, age estimates for the initial appearance of these artifacts range from about 5500 to 2500 cal-BP. To help clarify the chronology of this important artifact type, we had eight of the potentially oldest shell fishhooks in the region AMS radiocarbon dated. These dates indicate that the single-piece shell fishhook appeared throughout the southern and central California Coast by at least 2500 cal-BP. Our data illustrate the utility of direct AMS dating of individual artifacts as a method of documenting site disturbances (bioturbation, historical land use, etc.) and refining artifact, site, and regional chronologies.
AB - During the Late Holocene, a number of new technologies (single-piece fishhooks, toggling harpoons, plank canoes, etc.) are thought to have significantly enhanced the fishing capabilities of California coastal peoples. The single-piece fishhook, perhaps the most common of these artifacts, appears to correlate with a regional intensification of marine fishing and a period of increased population growth. Determining the antiquity of the single-piece fishhook has been complicated by a variety of taphonomic and methodological factors. Consequently, age estimates for the initial appearance of these artifacts range from about 5500 to 2500 cal-BP. To help clarify the chronology of this important artifact type, we had eight of the potentially oldest shell fishhooks in the region AMS radiocarbon dated. These dates indicate that the single-piece shell fishhook appeared throughout the southern and central California Coast by at least 2500 cal-BP. Our data illustrate the utility of direct AMS dating of individual artifacts as a method of documenting site disturbances (bioturbation, historical land use, etc.) and refining artifact, site, and regional chronologies.
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U2 - 10.1006/jasc.2001.0788
DO - 10.1006/jasc.2001.0788
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036729245
SN - 0305-4403
VL - 29
SP - 933
EP - 942
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science
IS - 9
ER -
