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Archaeomagnetic Dating in the American Southwest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jeffrey L. Eighmy ,
Robert S. Sternberg  and
Robert F. Butler
Jeffrey L. Eighmy
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
Robert S. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Robert F. Butler
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Abstract

Although archaeomagnetic dating seems straightforward in principle, there are practical limitations which are not generally understood. Unlike rate-dependent processes such as isotopic dating, archaeomagnetic dating requires the construction of a master record of geomagnetic secular variation. Error is inherent in such a master curve due to statistical uncertainties regarding both the magnetic directions and ages of the samples used to create the curve. The master curve itself is thus best represented as a ribbon rather than a line. Features being dated have their own error of measurement of magnetic direction, and deriving a date involves an interpretation based on the relation between the oval of confidence for the unknown and the ribbon representing the master curve. Thus a practical precision limit for archaeomagnetic dating is about ± 20 years under optimal circumstances, but the limit will generally be higher. Our pilot study revealed no major discrepancies between our work and the curves of DuBois (1975).

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , July 1980 , pp. 507 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1980 

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References

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