The Wasden site has been dated using thirteen radiocarbon, fourteen obsidian hydration, and the inclusion of redeposited Mt. Mazama ash (Butler 1968b:7). The Mazama ash gives a date of 6900 B.P. for layer 15 in the Owl Cave stratigraphy, which is roughly a meter below the surface of the site. Layer 17, the bison bone layer is from two to two and half meters below the surface. Radiocarbon dates bracket the layer between 7800 and 8200 B.P. (Butler 1968b:8, Dort 1968b:34). A series of radiocarbon (N=7) and obsidian hydration (N=14) dates frame the temporal sequence for the lower levels, from four and half to five and half meters, which Miller worked. The dates range from 10,000 to 12,000 B.P. (Plew and Pavesic 1982, Miller 1989, Dort and Miller 1977, Butler 1972).
Figure 11. Table of Radiocarbon and Obsidian Hydration dates from the Wasden site.
Lab and #, or specimen # | Date | Material | Feature | Reference |
WSU-561 | 3340±575 | Charcoal | Layer 13 | Butler 1968b: 7 |
WSU-680 | "modern" | Unknown | Layer 14, Layer15 | Butler 1968b: 7 |
WSU-641 | 7750±219 | Charcoal | Layer 16 | Butler 1968b: 8 |
M-1853 | 7100±350 | Bone | Layer 16 | Butler 1968b: 8 |
WSU-560 | 8160±260 | Bone, burned | Layer 18 | Butler 1968b: 8 |
WSU-758 | *8000± | Bone | Layer 18 | Butler 1968b: 8 |
WSU-2485 | 10145±170 | Bone | 4.52-4.54 m b.o.d. | Plew and Pavesic 1982 |
WSU-2484 | 10470±100 | Bone | 4.70-4.80 m b.o.d. | Plew and Pavesic 1982 |
76465 | 11627±375 | Obsidian | 4.72-4.82 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
WSU-1259 | 12250±200 | Bone | 4.80-5.10 m b.o.d. | Butler 1971 |
76439 | 11938±499 | Obsidian | 5.05 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
76439a | 11587±422 | Obsidian | 5.05 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
76439b | 11657±494 | Obsidian | 5.05 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
WSU-2483 | *9735±115 | Bone | 5.10 m b.o.d. | Plew and Pavesic 1982 |
WSU-1786 | 10910±150 | Bone | 5.09-5.14 m b.o.d. | Dort and Miller 1977 |
76438 | 11733±431 | Obsidian | 5.09 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
76436 | 11424±206 | Obsidian | 5.12 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
D4 | 11206±315 | Obsidian | WS | Miller 1989 |
D2 | 11627±267 | Obsidian | WS | Miller 1989 |
76394 | 12008±285 | Obsidian | 4.80 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
76437 | 12293±435 | Obsidian | 5.19 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
D3 | 12078±215 | Obsidian | WS | Miller 1989 |
D5 | 12151±431 | Obsidian | WS | Miller 1989 |
D1 | 12654±589 | Obsidian | WS | Miller 1989 |
76464 | 11587±564 | Obsidian | 5.22-5.32 m b.o.d. | Miller 1989 |
WSU-1281 | 12850±150 | Bone | 5.20 m b.o.d. | Butler 1972 |
AA-6833 | 10640±85 | Charcoal | 5.2-5.4 m b.o.d. | Miller unpublished m.s. |
Redeposited Mazama Ash Layer 15 (c.6900 B.P.)