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Radiocarbon and Stratigraphic Chronology of Canímar Abajo, Matanzas, Cuba

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2016

Mirjana Roksandic ,
William Mark Buhay ,
Yadira Chinique de Armas ,
Roberto Rodríguez Suárez ,
Matthew C Peros ,
Ivan Roksandic ,
Stephanie Mowat ,
Luis M Viera ,
Carlos Arredondo  and
Antonio Martínez Fuentes
...Show all authors
Mirjana Roksandic*
Affiliation:
University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue R3B2E9, Canada
William Mark Buhay
Affiliation:
University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue R3B2E9, Canada
Yadira Chinique de Armas
Affiliation:
University of Havana, Calle 25 #4553ntre JeI, Vedado Habana, C.P. 10400, Cuba
Roberto Rodríguez Suárez
Affiliation:
University of Havana, Calle 25 #4553ntre JeI, Vedado Habana, C.P. 10400, Cuba
Matthew C Peros
Affiliation:
Bishop's University, 2600 Rue College, Sherbrooke, QC, J1M 0C8, Canada
Ivan Roksandic
Affiliation:
University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue R3B2E9, Canada
Stephanie Mowat
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba, 727 McDermot Ave, MB, R3E 3T5, Canada
Luis M Viera
Affiliation:
University of Havana, Calle 25 #4553ntre JeI, Vedado Habana, C.P. 10400, Cuba
Carlos Arredondo
Affiliation:
University of Havana, Calle 25 #4553ntre JeI, Vedado Habana, C.P. 10400, Cuba
Antonio Martínez Fuentes
Affiliation:
University of Havana, Calle 25 #4553ntre JeI, Vedado Habana, C.P. 10400, Cuba
David Gray Smith
Affiliation:
University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
*
Corresponding author. Email: m.roksandic@uwinnipeg.ca.
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Abstract

Twelve accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from the shell-matrix site of Canímar Abajo (Matanzas, Cuba) are reported. Eleven were obtained directly from human bone collagen in burials and one was obtained from charcoal recovered from a burial context. The site stratigraphy presents two episodes of burial activity separated by a shell midden layer. The AMS dates fall into two compact clusters that correlate remarkably well with the stratigraphy. The older burial dates to between 1380–800 cal BC (2σ) and the younger one to between cal AD 360–950 (2σ). The AMS dates are compared to eight conventional 14C dates previously obtained on shell and charcoal. One of the conventional dates on charcoal (5480–5380 cal BC; 2σ) has been reported as the oldest 14C date in the Caribbean region; its context and reliability are clarified. The suite of AMS dates provides one of the most reliable chronometric dating of a cultural context during this timeframe in Cuba. The correlation of 14C and stratigraphy establishes a solid chronology for investigating the important economic and ritual features of Canímar Abajo.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 57 , Issue 5 , 2015 , pp. 755 - 763
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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