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Radiocarbon and Protein Analyses Indicate an Early Holocene Age for the Osseous Rod from Grenfell, Saskatchewan, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John W. Ives ,
Duane Froese ,
Matthew Collins  and
Fiona Brock
John W. Ives
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2H4 (jives@ualberta.ca)
Duane Froese
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2E3
Matthew Collins
Affiliation:
BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York, North Yorkshire UK YO10 5DD
Fiona Brock
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK OX1 3QY
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Abstract

The Grenfell bone rod resembles other instances of Clovis-era organic or osseous technology and has on a number of occasions been considered with other Clovis bone, antler, and ivory rods or beveled artifacts. It had been suspected of being constructed from proboscidean long bone. As an early discovery (made in 1883), the Grenfell artifact had somewhat obscure provenience details and a lengthy curatorial history. We describe accelerator mass spectrometry and zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry methods that allow rapid, minimally destructive determinations of both the age and the raw material composition of osseous artifacts. Our analysis reveals that the Grenfell artifact is actually a terminal Paleoindian-era manifestation made of bison bone. Similar methods could be more widely applied in North America in order to build more refined data sets for osseous technologies. These results also reveal the ease with which archaeologists can secure additional information from existing collections, highlighting our ethical obligations to do so.

Resumen

Resumen

La vara de hueso de Grenfell es similar a otros ejemplos de tecnología orgánica u ósea de la era Clovis, y en varias ocasiones ha sido considerada con otras varas de hueso, asta y marfil o artefactos biselados de la cultura Clovis. Se sospecha que ha sido construida de hueso proboscidio largo. El artefacto de Grenfell fue descubierto en un periodo temprano (1883) y por lo tanto, datos sobre su origen son algo oscuros y su historia curatorial es larga. Describimos espectrometría de masas acelerada y arqueozoologíca espectrometría de masas que permiten una determinación de la edad y la composición de las materias primas de los artefactos óseos de manera rápida y mínimamente destructiva. Nuestro análisis revela que el artefacto de Grenfell es actualmente una manifestación terminal del Paleoindio (Paleoamericano) y fue hecho de hueso de bisonte. Se podrían aplicar más ampliamente métodos similares en Norteamérica para crear series de datos más refinadas sobre tecnologías óseas. Los resultados revelan también la facilidad con que los arqueólogos pueden obtener información adicional de las colecciones existentes, y por ello destacando nuestra obligación ética de hacerlo.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 79 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 782 - 793
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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