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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Archaeological Anthropology

Faculty Publications

2016

Fremont archaeology

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Rethinking Fremont Chronology, James R. Allison Jan 2016

Rethinking Fremont Chronology, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

The dating of Fremont sites is based almost entirely on radiocarbon dates. A large number of dates exist from the region as a whole, but many of the largest Fremont sites are poorly dated. Most of the important sites excavated prior to the 1980s have at best a few dates, and many of the dates that do exist are on charcoal from structural wood. In some cases the only available dates are clearly centuries too early for the sites and structures they purport to date. In addition to problems with the data, some reports and publications about Fremont archaeology make …


Chronology, Climate, And Fremont Maize Farming In The Great Salt Lake Region, Christopher J. Allison, James R. Allison Jan 2016

Chronology, Climate, And Fremont Maize Farming In The Great Salt Lake Region, Christopher J. Allison, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Archaeologists usually say that Fremont maize farming in the Great Salt Lake region began at about AD 400, and that a mid-1100s drought caused the ancient inhabitants of the region to give up farming. But radiocarbon dates from the region do not support these dates. The earliest dated maize and the earliest dated human skeletal remains with bone chemistry suggesting maize consumption both suggest that maize was not grown in the region until after AD 600. Also, recently obtained dates on maize from Fremont villages indicate that farming in the region continued into the AD 1200s. If the end of …