Society for American Archaeology

Resolving an Anomolous Radiocarbon Determination on Mastodon Bone from Monte Verde,

Chile
Author(s): Debra George, John Southon and R. E. Taylor
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 70, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 766-772
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
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RESOLVING AN ANOMOLOUS RADIOCARBON DETERMINATION ON
MASTODON BONE FROM MONTE VERDE, CHILE

Debra George, John Southon,and R. E. Taylor

Previous 14Cdeterminationsobtained on two segmentsof a single mastodonbone recoveredfrom Monte Verde,Chile, were
highly discordant,differingby more than 5,000 years. Because of the significance of this site in discussions concerning the
earliest peopling of the WesternHemisphere,additional 14Cand new 813Cvalues have been obtained on organicfractions
isolatedfrom both segments.Theconstituentamino acid profiles indicate that both bone segmentsretainsignificantamounts
of protein (mostly collagen) residues. Four accelerator mass spectrometry-basedI4Cvalues obtained on total amino acids
and ultrafilteredgelatinfractions- twofrom each segment- are statistically identical and indicate an age of 12,460 (± 30)
BP for the mastodon. This value is concordant with 14Cvalues obtained on other culturally affiliated organics associated
with the MV-IIlevels at this site.

Anteriormente,las determinaciones14Cobtenidasde dos segmentosde un solo hueso de mastodonterecolectadodel deposito

arqueologicoen Monte Verde,Chile, no correspondian,registrandouna diferenciade mas de 5,000 anos. Debido a la impor-
tancia de este sitio en el didlogo sobre el poblamientodel nuevomundo,han sido analizadasmuestrasadicionales de los mis-
mos segmentosde hueso. Los valores de 14Cy 813Cson derivadosdefracciones orgdnicasaislados de ambos segmentos.Los
perfiles de aminodcidosindicanque ambos segmentosguardaroncantidadessignificativosde proteina (la mayoriaenforma
de coldgeno) residual.Cuatrovalores 14C(AMS)obtenidosde las dosfracciones aminodcidostotal y gelatina ultrafiltrada -
dos de cada segmento- son identicos, segun las estadisticas, e indican una edad de 12,460(± 30) anos AP (antes presente)
para el mastodonte.Este valor es consistente con los valores de 14Cobtenidos en otros materiales orgdnicos culturalmente
asociados con las capas MV-IIdel sitio.

in 1976,excavationsattheMonte known-age regional or continentalstratigraphic

Verdesite in the forestedLake Districtof marker(e.g., an ashfall)at MonteVerdeor a pre-
Beginning
south-central Chile recovered a wide- cisely datedregionalpaleoenvironmental sequence
ranging assemblage of materialsfrom stratified for placingthe site in a temporalcontext,the evi-
contexts (Dillehay 1989, 1997a). Variousradio- denceforthis 1,000-yearoffsetrestssolelyon these
carbon(l4C) determinationson variousorganics 14Cages. Becauseof the hemispheric-widesignif-
interpretedas artifactsandotherscharacterizedas icance of this site in reconstructingthe late Pleis-
culturallyaffiliatedaverageapproximately12,500 tocene human occupation of the New World,
B.P.(= conventional14Cyearsbeforepresent;Dille- careful scrutinyof the Monte Verde 14Cresults
hay and Pino 1997a;Nagle andWilcox 1982). If seems appropriate.
accurate,these 14Cvaluesshowhumanoccupation
in southwesterncoastalSouthAmericaabout1,000 Monte Verde 14CValues
14Cyears prior to the occurrenceof Clovis and
Plainview-Goshen materials in North America DillehayandPino (1997a:43^4, tab.3.1) provide
(Tayloret al. 1996). In the absence of a suitable dataon 29 14Cage estimatesobtainedon various
Debra George MolecularAnthropologyLaboratory,Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof California,Davis, CA
95616
John Southon Keck CarbonCycle AcceleratorMass SpectrometryLaboratory,Departmentof EarthSystem Science,
Universityof California,Irvine, CA 92697-3100
R. E. Taylor Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof California,Riverside,CA 92521; Cotsen Instituteof
Archaeology,Universityof California,Los Angeles, CA 90024; Keck CarbonCycle AcceleratorMass Spectrometry
Laboratory,Departmentof EarthSystem Science, Universityof California,Irvine, CA 92697-3100 (visiting scientist)

AmericanAntiquity,70(4), 2005, pp. 766-772

Copyright©2005 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

766

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 REPORTS 767

types of organicsrecoveredfrombothsurfaceand thelocationof terminalPleistoceneglacialice lobes

subsurfacecontextsat MonteVerde,of which 13 at 12,500 B.R in the vicinity of MonteVerde,and
samplesare includedin a section with a heading Haynes(1999)hassuggestedthatsomeof thedated
of "CulturalDeposits."The two earliestage deter- materialsfromthe site derivefromoutwashdebris
minationsof this lattergroupof dates,reportedas from these glaciers.However,Chileangeologists
33,370 ± 530 B.R (BETA-6754)and>33,020 B.R familiarwith the regionhave respondedthattheir
(BETA-7825),were obtainedon wood ("charred" extensivestudieslastingoverseveraldecadeshave,
and "carbonized")characterizedby Dillehay and in theirview, conclusivelyexcludedsuchpossibil-
Pino as derivingfrom a "possibleculturallevel" ities (literaturecited in Dillehay and Pino 1997b;
thatthey designateas the MV-Ilayer (1997a:52). TomD. Dillehay,personalcommunication,2005).
In additionto generalquestionsof sampleprove- The issue of physical or chemicalcontamina-
niencethroughout thesite(e.g.,Collins1999;Dille- tion of MonteVerdecharcoalorwood sampleshas
hay et al. 1999; Friedel 1999; Schmits 2004:72), beendiscountedas a seriousproblembasedlargely
therehasbeenanextendeddiscussionas to whether on the essential concordanceof ages on various
theMV-Imaterialsassociatedwiththesetwo sam- sample types and the reportsof the laboratories
ples derivefrom culturalcontexts(e.g., Adovasio thatobtainedthe 14Cmeasurements.However,one
and Pedler 1997:579;Dillehay 1997b:787;Dille- glaringanomalyis the 5,000-yearoffsetin 14Cval-
hay and Collins 1991:339; Dillehay and Pino ues obtained on two fragments of the same
1997b:36; Lynch 1990:27, 1991; Meltzer et al. mastodonbone recoveredfrom differentdeposi-
1997). tionalcontextsatthe site.Themagnitudeof theoff-
The remaining 11 14Cvalues- ranging from set raisedthe possibilityof a uniquegeochemical
11,920 ± 120 B.R (TX-5376)to 13,565 ± 250 B.R problemthathadthe potentialto introduceserious
(TX-3208)- wereobtainedon organicscharacter- contamination intoatleastone typeof MonteVerde
ized as artifactsor derivedfromhearthsand other sample.
featuresassociatedwiththe culture-bearing MV-II
layer.In discussingTX-3208, Dillehay and Pino Radiocarbon-Dated Monte Verde
firstarguethatit "maybestrepresentthe age of the Mastodon Bone
culturalevent,becauseit was sealedandpreserved
in a clay-linedfeature"(1989:140), but laterthey Commentingon the potentialfor contaminationin
rejectthis date(DillehayandPino 1997a:48),bas- samplesfromMonteVerde,DillehayandPinonote
ing their conclusion on the cluster of slightly that"nocontaminantshavebeenreportedby radio-
youngerdatesfromMV-IIthatwere obtainedsub- carbonlaboratories"(1997a:41).Theyquotefrom
sequentto the analysisof TX-3208. If TX-3208 is a study conductedby Dr. NoreenTuross,then of
eliminatedfromconsideration,the oldest value in the ConservationAnalytical Laboratoryat the
thissuiteof valuesfromMV-IIis 12,780± 240 B.R SmithsonianInstitution,who treateda mastodon
(BETA-59082). bone recoveredfrom an MV-IIdepositwith base
Morethan50 yearsof the use of 14Cin the dat- andthentitratedthe solutewith acid to precipitate
ing of carbonaceousmaterialshave identified a humicacids. She (1997:76)reportsthatno precip-
series of factorsthat,dependingon specific sam- itate formed,indicatingthatno humics were pre-
ple type and depositionalenvironment,can influ- sent.
ence both the accuracyandprecisionof 14Cages. In the set of 14Cdatesreportedby Dillehayand
An earlierstudyexaminedthe possibilityof a sig- Pino (1997a:43-44, tab. 3.1) under"Noncultural
nificantregionalreservoireffect for terrestrial14C Deposits,"a 14Cage of 6550 ± 160 B.R (BETA-
ages in the vicinityof MonteVerdebutfoundnone 7824) is assignedto a mastodonbonefragmentthat
(Tayloret al. 1999).The possibilityof a late Pleis- had been erodedout onto the surfacein a modern
tocene regional offset could not be directly creekbed attheMonteVerdesite.Inthe sametable
addressed,butthereis, at present,no evidencefor under"Cultural Deposits,"another14Cdate,11,990
geologicallyrecentvolcanismor othersourcesof ± 200 B.R (TX-3760), is cited for a segment of
"old"CO2in the area(Sirnkinand Siebert1994). mastodonbone excavatedfromthe upperlayerof
Dickinson(2004) has raisedquestionsconcerning a stratigraphic unitdesignatedas MV-6.Thesetwo

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768 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
bone segmentswere determinedto be "long-bone
fragmentsthat, fitting together,[came] from the
same femur of a mastodon"(Dillehay and Pino
1989:136).
The excavators explain the approximately
5,000-yearage offsetbetweenthetwo segmentsof
the samebone as theresultof the contaminationof
BETA-7824withmodernorganics,butsucha sug-
gestionneeds to be consideredcarefully.Takenat
face value,it wouldmeanthatabout30 percentof
the organicsmeasuredas BETA-7834 represent
modern contamination:this is the approximate
amount of contemporary, pre-bomb carbon
requiredto producean apparent14Cage of 6500
B.P.in a samplethatshouldactuallyexhibitan age
of 11,400 B.P. If the contaminantswere derived
fromatmosphericCO2overthe last 50 years,then
the contaminationpercentagecould be as low as
20-25 percent,sincethisveryrecentcarbonwould
containbomb14C.Evenso, sucha massiveamount
of contaminationwouldtypicallyhavebeenlargely
removedby almostanystandardbonepretreatment
methodusedin 14Cmeasurements. However,based
on experienceswith bone 14Cdating,we initially
suspectedthat at least partof the anomalymight
be explained by contamination, if only trace
amounts of protein (primarily collagen) were
retainedin one or both of the two segments.
Issues in the 14CDating of Bone
The problemsof obtainingaccurate14Cage esti-
mateson bone are well knownand of long stand-
ing (e.g., Brown et al. 1988; Hedges and Van
Klinken1992;Law andHedges 1989;Long et al.
1989;Ramseyet al. 2004; Staffordet al. 1988;Tay-
lor 1987:53-61[withearlierliteraturecited],1992).
Manystudiesdocumentsignificantvariabilityin the
degree to which endogenous carbon-containing
fractionsin bone areretainedor lost andreplaced
withvariousamountsof exogamousorganics.It is
widely acknowledgedthat accurate14Cdatingof
bone requiresdetailedattentionto sampleprepa-
rationand an appreciationthat the isolation of a
fractionthatcontainsonly autochthonouscarbon
may presenta unique geochemicalchallenge for
each sample.
Fortunately,for bones containing sufficient
quantitiesof collagen,theprincipalproteinin mam-
malianbone,it is generallyagreedthatstandard pre-
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[Vol. 70, No. 4, 2005]
treatmentmethodscan, in most cases, effectively
isolateandpurifytheresidualcollagenorcollagen-
derived organics. While exceptions have been
reported,thereis wide acceptanceof the general-
izationthatforbonesretainingat least5 percentof
thecollagenconcentration of modernbone,thecol-
lagenresiduescanbe reliablyseparatedfromorgan-
ics introducedas theresultof diagenesis.However,
for subfossilbonesretainingfromabout1 to 5 per-
cent of the collagen contentof modernbone and
exhibitinga noncollagenamino acid profile, the
accuracy of the measured 14Cvalues has been
demonstrated to be oftenproblematicevenwiththe
carefulapplicationof standardchemicalpretreat-
ments.Forfossil bone with residualcollagencon-
tentbelow about1 percentof thatcharacteristicof
modernbone, significantanomaliesin the 14Cval-
ues aretypicallyencountered,with the magnitude
of the age offsetstendingto increasewithdecreas-
ing in situ collagen concentration.Regrettably,
effortsto datenoncollagencomponentsin bone in
cases whereonly traceamountsof collagenremain
havebeengenerallydisappointing,sincethesefrac-
tions have not consistentlyyielded accurate14C
values(e.g.,Ajieetal. 1990;Ajieetal. 1992;Burky
etal. 1998).
Several studies carriedout over two decades
havedocumentedthelargerangein 14Cagesexhib-
ited in bones as a functionof decreasingcollagen
concentration.One of the most detailedinvestiga-
tionsof biochemicallydegradedfossilboneexhibit-
ing a noncollagen-like amino acid patternwas
carriedout on the Escapule(Arizona)mammoth
(Staffordet al. 1990). The actualage of the mam-
mothwas inferredto be approximately11,000 B .P.
on severallines of evidence. Radiocarbondeter-
minationswere obtainedon 25 organicfractions
isolatedfromtheEscapulemammothbone,includ-
ing single amino acids, combinationsof amino
acids,gelatinizedpurifiedhydrolysates,andfulvic
acids.Ages obtainedon separateaminoacidextrac-
tions (N= 9) rangedfromabout2100 to 4540 B.P.
Theyoungest14Cage, 2080 ± 170B.P.(AA-2959),
was obtainedon an asparticacid extractfrom a
gelatinizedfraction.Organicsfrom a decalcified
fractionpurifiedon an ion-exchangeresin (XAD)
exhibiteda 14Cage of about4700 B.P.The range
in ages of threefulvic acidextractsobtainedusing
differentseparationtechniqueswas 6260 to 8780
B.P. Clearly,despitethe applicationof a rangeof
 REPORTS
approachesto isolate autochthonousorganicfrac-
tions,the accuracyof the ages obtainablefromthis
collagen-degradedbone was severely compro-
mised.
In a related study, Stafford and associates
(Staffordet al. 1987;Staffordet al. 1990) obtained
13 14Cmeasurementson variousorganicextracts
from the Domebo (Oklahoma)mammoth,which
hadanassociatedwood sample14Cvalueof 11,490
± 450 B.R (AA-823).In contrastto thecase for the
Escapule mammoth, the amino acid profile
obtainedon Domebo bone indicatedthat signifi-
cant amountsof collagen had been retained.Ful-
vic acids isolated from the bone yielded ages of
about5000 B.P.Despitethepresenceof suchpoten-
tial contaminants,an XAD-purified fraction in
whichfulvic acidswereremovedyieldedan age of
11,480± 450 B.R (AA-825).However,evenif ful-
vic acids were not removed,as in the preparation
of a weak acid (HC1)insolublefraction,the resul-
tant14Cage, 10,829± 270 B.R (AA-824),indicates
thatthe effectof the fulvic acidcontaminationwas
significantlymitigatedby the presenceof a much
largerpercentageof collagen or collagen-derived
organicsin the bone matrix.
A revealingcase studyof variationsin 14Cages
as a functionof thepercentageof organicyield can
be seen in the resultsobtainedon differentbones
from a single humanskeletonrecoveredfromthe
shore of the Columbia River near Kennewick,
Washington(Tayloret al. 2001). A 14Cmeasure-
mentof 8410 ± 60 B.R (UCR-3476/CAMS-29578)
was obtainedon totalaminoacids isolatedfroma
fingerbone thathad retainedabout70 percentof
the collagen contentof modernbone and whose
constituentamino acid profilewas similarto that
of modern collagen. Four subsequent14Cmea-
surementswere obtainedon two additionalbones
fromthe same skeleton.These yielded ages rang-
ing from84 10 ±40 B.R (BETA-133993),obtained
from a relativelywell-preservedinteriorpartof a
second fingerbone, to a determinationof 5750 ±
100 B.R (AA-34818) on an organicextractfrom
the tibiacharacterizedas gelatin,for which it was
reportedthat the carbonyield was 0.05 percent.
Therewas a cleartrendof decreasingapparentage
as less and less of the molecular structureand
amountof the originalcollagen were retainedin
individualbones. If we assumethatthe two iden-
tical 14Cvalues on bone retaining significant
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769
amountsof collagen were accurate,then the age
for the most severelydegradedbone samplewas
approximately2,700 yearstoo young.
Based on these andotherexamplesin the bone
14Cliterature,we have surmisedthat the 5,000-
yearoffsetin thereportedagesof thetwo segments
of the Monte Verdemammothbone might be, at
leastinpart,traceableto a combinationof verypoor
preservationof the collagen containedin one or
both of these two bones and the differingcontent
of recentexogenousorganicsforthetwo fragments
arisingfrom the very differentdepositionalenvi-
ronmentsto which they were exposed.The older
fragment(TX-3760) had been excavatedin situ,
while the younger(BETA-7824)had erodedout,
andthe excavatorsconcludedthatit hadlainon the
surfacefor a considerableamountof time (Dille-
hay,personalcommunication,2005). On the other
hand,if our remeasurementswere to confirmthe
offset in ages but residualcollagen content was
found not to be a factor,this would raise the pos-
sibilityof a seriousandhighly unusual14Cconta-
minationproblemin at least some Monte Verde
samples.
New 14CDeterminations
Dr. ThomasD. Dillehay kindly providedus with
bothsegmentsof the mastodonbone (BETA-7824
= UCR-4014 and TX-3760 = UCR-4015). We
repeatedthetestcarriedoutby Dr.Tuross( 1997:76)
to determinethe degreeto whichhumicacidprod-
ucts could be detected in either bone. For both
bones,baseextractedsolutions(IN NaOH)showed
only minimalcoloration,and no humicscould be
precipitatedwith concentratedHC1.
Profilesof the constituentaminoacids of total
hydrolysatesof bothbones were obtainedby ion-
exchangechromatography, andeachwascompared
with standardizedamountsof total amino acids
obtainedfroma modernbone.Thetotalaminoacid
residuesisolatedfromUCR-4014andUCR-4015
were20 and3 1percentthatof modernbone,respec-
tively. Furthermore,the ratiosof the amino acids
asparticacid,glycine,andalanineto glutamicacid
in the total hydrolysatesfromboth bones were in
the typicalrangeof modernvalues.We conclude
that both bone segmentsretainappreciablerem-
nantsof intactcollagen,farabovethe levels where
14Cages aretypicallyproblematic.
770 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 70, No. 4, 2005]

Table 1. Radiocarbonand 513CData on Two Segments of a Single MastodonBone from Monte Verde,Chile.

Sample Number Context Fraction 513C(%o)a 14CAge (BP)

BETA-7824b surface collagen0 not reported 6,550±160
TX-3760b Area B, Column4, Unit 9 collagen0 not reported 11,990+ 200
UCR-4014/UCIAMS-2765d surface total amino acids -25.5e 12,510±60
UCIAMS-10737d surface ultrafilteredgelatin -22.5 12,450±40
UCR-4015/UCIAMS-2766d Area B, Column4, Unit 9 total amino acids -25.7e 12,450±60
UCIAMS-10738d Area B, Column 4, Unit 9 ultrafilteredgelatin -22.7 12,455±40
a813Cvalues were obtainedusing a Fisons NA-1500 Elementalanalyzercoupled to a FinniganDelta Plus Isotope Ratio
Mass Spectrometer.
Previously publishedin Dillehay and Pino 1997a:43^44.
Characterizedas "collagen"by Dillehay and Pino (1989:136).
dNewdeterminations(this report).
e513Cvalue was obtainedon a total organics(demineralized/acidinsoluble) bone fraction.

Table 1 lists the previouslypublishedages for
the two bone fragments (Dillehay and Pino
1997a:43^4) and our new results.Foreach frag-
ment,two differentorganicfractions- totalamino
acids and ultrafilteredgelatin- were chemically
isolated,and 14Cand 813Cvalues were measured.
Afterthefragmentswerefirstexaminedundermag-
nificationandthe surfaceswerephysicallycleaned
andthentreatedwith .2N HC1andddH2Opriorto
the acid hydrolyses,the totalaminoacid fractions
were isolated using an ion-exchangechromatog-
raphy procedure described in detail by Burky
(1996). These fractionswere combustedto CO2,
and the CO2was convertedto catalyticallycon-
densed graphiteat the RadiocarbonLaboratory,
Universityof California,Riverside.The 14Ccon-
tentwasmeasuredattheKeckCarbonCycleAccel-
eratorMass SpectrometryLaboratory,University
of California,Irvine(UCIKeckAMS Laboratory).
Ultrafilteredgelatinfractionswere preparedusing
an approachsimilarto thatof Brownet al. (1988).
Physically cleaned and subsequentlydemineral-
izedbonewashydrolyzed,andthefiltratewasultra-
filtered(Amicon™Centriprep10) to yield a >10
kD fraction,which was lyophilized,dried,com-
bustedto CO2,andgraphitized.Similarlyprepared
samples from 14C-deadBeaufortSea whalebone
wereusedas processblanks.Theultrafiltered frac-
tions were prepared,andthe 14Cwas measuredat
the UCI KeckAMS Laboratory. The >10 kD frac-
tion yields from both bones were 13-14 percent,
and the finalproductswere a very light tan color,
indicativeof very good preservationand minimal
cross-linkingof the collagento exogenouscarbo-
hydratesor otherchemicalmoieties.
The new 14Cvalues obtainedon all four frac-
tions fromthe two bone fragmentsarestatistically
identical.Although the weighted averageof the
fourvalues(12,460[± 30] B.R) appearsto be older
than the previously reported age for TX-3760
( 11,990 ± 200 B.P.),thelargeuncertaintyin theear-
lier value makesit difficultto determinea precise
offset. However,it is clear that the original age
assigned to the segment of the mastodon bone
recoveredfromthesurfaceof thesite(BETA-7834)
was seriouslyincorrect.Wehaveno explanationfor
this anomaly,unless the portionof the bone dated
as BETA-7834 was far more biogeochemically
degradedthanthe samplessuppliedto us. Unfor-
tunately,we have no datato confirmor refutethis
possibility.
Summary
The5,000-yeardiscrepancyin the 14Cages fortwo
segmentsof a single mastodonbone from Monte
Verdewas initiallyattributedto massivecontami-
nation. Another explanation for the age offset
invokedvery poor preservationof the collagenin
at least one of the two fragments.However,we
foundthatcollagenpreservationin bothbones far
exceededtheminimumtypicallyrequiredforaccu-
rate 14Cvalues. The redatingof both fragments
using, in each case, two differentorganicextracts
yieldedfourstatisticallyidentical14Cage estimates
averaging12,460 (± 30) B.R, consistentwith the
observationthat the two segmentsbelong to the
samebone.Forundetermined reasons,the original
datefor the fragmentfoundon the surface(BETA-
7824) was incorrect.The 14Cage of this Monte

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 REPORTS 771

Verdemastodonis now solidly establishedand is Interpretation,by TomD. Dillehay,pp. 767-788. Smith-

sonianInstitutionPress,Washington,D.C.
concordant with 14Cvalues obtained on other
Dillehay,TomD., andMichaelB. Collins
organicsexcavatedfromthe MV-IIlevels. 1991 MonteVerde,Chile:A Commenton Lynch.Ameri-
can Antiquity56:333-341.
Acknowledgments. We thank Dr. Tom D. Dillehay, Dillehay,TomD., andMarioPino
VanderbiltUniversity,for providingthe two segments of the 1989 Stratigraphy andChronology.InMonteVerde:A Late
MonteVerdemastodonbone for reanalysis,additionalinfor- PleistoceneSettlementin Chile,Vol.1: Paleoenvironment
andSiteContext,by TomD. Dillehay,pp. 133-145. Smith-
mation,and very helpful commentson an initial draftof this
sonianInstitutionPress,Washington,D.C.
report.However,all statementsexpressed in this article are 1997a RadiocarbonChronology.In Monte Verde:A Late
entirely our views. At the time these studies were being PleistoceneSettlementin Chile,Vol.2: TheArcheological
undertaken,the University of California,Riverside (UCR), ContextandInterpretation, by TomD. Dillehay,pp.41-52.
Radiocarbon Laboratory was supported by the National SmithsonianInstitutionPress,Washington,D.C.
Science Foundationand the Gabrielle O. Vierra Memorial 1997b Site Setting and Strategy.In Monte Verde:A Late
Fund.We thankthe W. M. Keck Foundationand the dean of PleistoceneSettlementin Chile,Vol.2: TheArcheological
science and vice-chancellorfor researchat the Universityof ContextandInterpretation, by TomD. Dillehay,pp.25^0.
California, Irvine, for support.The assistance of Matthew SmithsonianInstitutionPress,Washington,D.C.
des Lauriers(UCR) in providingthe Spanish translationof Dillehay,TomD., D. Pino, J. Rossen, C. Ocampo,P. L. Rivas,
D. Pollack,andG. Henderson
the abstractis gratefullyacknowledged.
1999 Replyto Fiedel,PartI.DiscoveringArchaeology[Spe-
cial Report]1(6):12-14.
Fiedel, StewartJ.
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