The Dating Game
For this lab, you will choose one of the following archaeological scenarios for analysis. Once you have chosen one of the scenarios, you will review the descriptions of the archaeological dating techniques in the textbook and the lab materials and analyze the material remains found at your chosen site. Your analysis should include a description of at least two dating techniques that could be used to determine the age of the site. Your analysis should also include a discussion of the limitations of the dating techniques you chose. Be sure to think carefully about what you are actually dating!!
1. You have found an old adobe house located at a site in the Sonoran Desert. The house is constructed of wooden beams and adobe bricks. Located adjacent to the house is a fire pit. Excavations in the fire pit revealed a blackened ceramic pot with some sort of residue on the inside of the pot. How would you go about dating this site, and what would be some of the limitations associated with the methods you choose.
2. You have found the remains of a house located on the island of Crete, in Greece. The house remains consist solely of piles of rocks and a clay floor that looks burned. After excavating into the foundation of the house, you find a burial that consists of a skeleton, a ceramic pot with some sort of seeds inside, and some pieces of cloth that had been wrapped around the skeleton. Explain how you would you go about dating this site, and what would be some of the limitations or problems associated with the methods you choose.
3. You have found some very old stone tools in an excavation in Olduvai Gorge, Africa. These stone tools are in association with soe extinct plant fossils and a cooking hearth, and are located in between volcanic strata. Describe how you would go about dating this site, and some of the limitations or problems associated with dating this site.
4. You have found the remains of a house, located in Lower Egypt. The remains of the house consist only of rubble, but associated with the house is a kiln, used for firing pottery. Inside of the kiln are the remains of some pottery. Also adjacent to the house remains is a cooking hearth with some nearby animal bones. Describe what dating methods you would choose for this site, and some of the problems associated with those methods.
5. In the jungles of the Yucatan, you have found an ancient Maya temple. This temple, built of stone, has been excavated. Your excavation has revealed two burials. Burial number one has some beautiful obsidian tools, some ceramic pots with food remains in them and some textiles. Burial number two has intact ceramic pots with beautiful decorations. Explain how you would go about dating this site and some of the problems associated with the dating methods you choose.