Browsing by Author "Weisler, MI"

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    C-14 marine reservoir ages in Hawaii derived from U-series dated corals
    (Society for American Archaeology, 2008-03) Weisler, MI; Hua, Q; Zhao, JX
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    Late holocene 14C marine reservoir corrections for Hawai'I derived from U-series dated archaeological coral
    (University of Arizona, 2009-06-01) Weisler, MI; Hua, Q; Zhao, JX
    The first application of U-series dating and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) assay of Polynesian archaeological Pocillopora spp. branch corals for deriving a precise local marine reservoir correction (ΔR) is described. Known-age corals were selected that spanned the entire culture-historical sequence for the Hawaiian Islands, thus eliminating the problem of not having known-age dated samples that cover the period of direct relevance to prehistorians; in this case, about AD 700–1800. Dating coral samples from windward and leeward coastlines of Moloka‘i Island, with different offshore conditions such as upwelling, currents, wind patterns, coastal topography, and straight or embayed shorelines, provides insights into possible variations of local conditions on the same island—something that has never been attempted. In this regard, there was no spatial variability in ΔR during the 17th century. We report a weighted average ΔR value for Moloka‘i Island of 52 ± 25 yr using 12 pair-dated dedicatory branch corals from religious archaeological sites and demonstrate that there is no significant temporal variability in ΔR between about AD 700 to 1800. In combination with 4 selected previously published ΔR values based on pre-bomb known-age marine shells, a revised ΔR of 66 ± 54 yr is established for the Hawaiian Islands. However, future research should examine the archipelago-wide spatial variability in ΔR with the analysis of additional dated archaeological coral samples. © 2009 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona
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    A multidisciplinary approach for dating human colonization of Pacific atolls
    (Taylor & Francis, 2012-03-29) Weisler, MI; Yamano, H; Hua, Q
    The timing of reef platform emergence and the detailed chronology of reef island development provides a powerful backdrop for constraining the earliest period possible for prehistoric human colonization of low-lying atolls. Since Pacific atolls consist of biogenetic sediments, we dated foraminifera sands composed of well-preserved shallow-water species that are reliable indicators of facies formation. From transect excavations across the largest islet of Utrōk Atoll (11°13’N, 169°50’E) and Maloelap Atoll (8°47’N, 171°05’E), Marshall Islands, we selected nine foraminifera dating samples and five charcoal samples from prehistoric ovens in well-defined cultural layers and charcoal from buried A horizons. We document that: 1) the largest islets of Utrōk and Maloelap atolls expanded towards the lagoon shore at a rate of ∼70 m/kyr and ∼200m/kyr, respectively; 2) foraminifera sands immediately below buried A horizons in the islet's “core” areas represents the timing of islet development at ∼2750 and ∼2400 cal BP, respectively; and 3) the oldest cultural dates (1850 and 1790 cal BP, ∼900–600 years younger than islet development) indicates that occupation much older than 2000 cal BP is unlikely, which is supported by sea level falling from its high stands to the present levels around 2000 cal BP for the northwestern Pacific. © 2012 Informa UK Limited
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    Variations in late Holocene 14C marine reservoir ages in Hawaii using U-series dated corals
    (Society for Hawaiian Archaelogy, 2008-10) Weisler, MI; Hua, Q; Zhao, JX