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BULLETIN OF TI-IE MASSACI-IUSETTS ARCI-IAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY VOL. XVIII NO.2 JANUARY, 1957 CONTENTS PRESIDENTS MESSAGE 25 RADIOCARBON DATING: A BRIEF APPRAISAL • F1uaD:BIe:r; JOHNSON 26 AN OSSEUS FIND AT FOLLINS POND BDNAIID W. POWELL. 82 MEMBERSHIP lJS1' tr1 PUBUSHED BY THE MASSACHUSmS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOClnY, INC. I.RAMAN F. 1IAI..um', Editor, 81 West Street, Maosfle1d, Mass. MABEL A. ROBBDIS, Secref4ry, Bronson Museum, 8. No. Main St., Attleboro. Mass. 11\, CUM"NT C. MAXWElL LIBRARY' . 51ATE COLLEGE !'RIDGEWATEll, MASSACI11.!S~! SOCIETY OFFICERS President Walter A. Vossberg 1st Vice President Theodore L. Stoddard 2nd Vice President Eugene C. Winter, Jr. Secretary Mrs. Mabel A. Robbins ~ill:~~..::·.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::..~: ~: ~~: TRUSTEES Society Officers and Past Presidents Ex-Officio J. A. Mansfield 1954-1957 Waldo W. Home 1954-1957 Adrian P. Whiting 1955-1958 William A. Nerney 1956-1958 Guy Mellgren, Jr. 1956-1959 Robert D. Barnes 1956-1959 COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Research Council .. Theodore L. Stoddard Council Chairmen-Site Survey, W. A. Vossberg; Historical Research, L. F. Hallett; at Large, G. Mellgren and M. Robbins; Consultants, J. O. Brew and D. S. Byers. Committee on Education Maurice Robbins Museum Director, Maurice Robbins Museum Curator, William S. Fowler Committee on Publications Leaman F. Hallett Chapter Expansion Willard C. Whiting Program Committee Eugene C. Winter, Jr. Nominating Committee Maurice Robbins Committee on Resolutions John English Auditing Committee Mrs. Doris Lord librarian Edward Piotroski CHAPTER CHAIRMEN Cohannet Chapter-Arthur C. Lord W. K. Moorehead Chapter- Connecticut Valley Chapter- A. I. Studley W. R. Young Northeastern Chapter-E. C. Winter W. Elmer Ekblaw Chapter- Sippican Chapter-L. P. Leonard Ie. B. Wetherbee South Shore Chapter-R. D. Barnes Massasoit Chapter-A. P. Whiting C. C. Willoughby Chapter- Shawkemo Chapter-No O. Dunham J. AHred Mansfield CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIP Active, $3.00; Family, $1.00; Junior, $.50; Institutional, $3.00; Contributing, $5.00; Sustaining, $10.00; Patron, $25.00; Benefactor, $100.; Life, $200 NOTICES Requests for membership application blanks and general inquiries concerning the Society should be addressed to Mrs. Mabel Robbins, Secretary, Bronson Museum, 8 North Main Street, Attleboro, Mass. Society dues should be for- warded to Arthur C. Staples, Treasurer, Segreganset, Mass. The Society maintains a modem, well-equipped museum-THE BRONSON MUSEUM - in the Bronson Building, 8 North Main Street, Attleboro, Mass. Museum hours are from 9 to 5, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Special arrangements to accomodate group visitors may be made by contacting the Museum Director, Maurice Robbins, at the Museum address. All material submitted for publication in the Society Bulletin and the News Letter should be forwarded to Leaman F. Hallett, Editor, 31 West Street, Mansfield, Mass. This journal and its contents may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling,loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. ©2010 Massachusetts Archaeological Society. A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT .... As we enter our eighteenth year as a state archaeological society it seems worthwhile to pause a moment to survey our past accomplishments, and to analyze our goals for the future. In the middle of an atomic era it is somewhat remarkable to discover such a widespread interest in the study of the past as evidenced by our membership growth. From 38 Charter Members in 1939, our membership had reached close to 300 in 1949. We are now over the 600 mark on a fairly constant rate of increase. We have thus more than doubled our membership in seven years. We now have nine Chapters, an increase of three since 1949, and two additional Chapters are being formed. Each year people bemoan the advance of building and predict the arrival of the day when no further sites will be available for archaeological investiga­ tion. Paradoxically perhaps, the last few years have seen active field work done on several new and important sites. Of perhaps most widespread interest are the efforts at the Ipswich fluted point site and the Taunton River and Assa­ wompsett Lake sites. Many of the local Chapters have sites available, and reports on some have been published in our Bulletin. Three major factors are responsible for the continued and increasing interest in our Society; our publications, our Museum and our organized field efforts. Under the able direction of Maurice Robbins, and the artistic and energetic efforts of Curator William Fowler, our Museum is one of the finest in New England. Our Bulletin has always served as a stimulant to archaeological interest and, with the revival this year of the News Letter, and, it is hoped, the Hand­ book, more news of local activity will be available. The coming year promises a great deal of interest for all members. We expect to add the unusual hafted celt to our Museum exhibits, several local Chapters will have organized field work, 9ur capable and hard working program committee promises a stimulating meeting next April, and our own publications will be supplemented by those of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation, in which we have renewed our membership. WALTER A. VOSSBERG. 25 This journal and its contents may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling,loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. ©2010 Massachusetts Archaeological Society. RADIOCARBON DATING: A BRIEF APPRAISAL By FREDERICK JOHNSON The nine years since the announcement of the panying this, there is some description of the im­ possibility of dating archaeological remains by portant qualifications concerning its use. means of carbon-14 have been eventful ones. The In discussing the character of the method and method has become a firmly established and ex­ what it can do it is wise to re-emphasize a funda­ tremely useful research tool. It is employed in all mental point of view. It is important to remember branches of science investigating organic and other that archaeology is based upon an assemblage of remains containing carbon 40,000 years old or less. basic data and theory, the integrity of which is It is especially important in fields in which the unassailable. The same is true of nuclear physics chronological order of phenomena is of significance. and any other scientific field. It is equally important The effect of imposing a consistent chronology to recognize that these scientific fields are not upon American Archaeology has been profound, descrete compartments and data in one field may possibly because this occurred at a time when the compliment information in another. Given such science was in the process of taking account of stock circumstances, mutual progress can only be gained and looking to the future. The chronology assisted by honest collaboration. This often results in the in the organization of material and the formulation improvement of basic hypotheses or theory in the of new problems. Nevertheless, the character of the fields involved. It is just as important for physicists method and the nature of the resulting dates has to realize that data from a clear-cut stratigraphic been the source of some confusion. The method sequence indicates its order in time as it is for an itself has no relation to archaeological thinking for archaeologist to recognize that a carbon-14 date is it involves basic assumptions and data included well actually a number representing the recording of within the realms of nuclear physics, geochemistry random radiations of an unstable isotope of carbon. and geophysics. The results of the method, that is, In 1948 Dr. W. F. Libby, then at the University the numbers, are not at all dates such as one finds of Chicago, discussed the promising results of his in history books. The number of years given is brilliant research with a group of archaeologists. based upon the rate of radioactive decay of carbon­ He and his associates had discovered that carbon­ 14, one of the isotopes of carbon. The element 14 an isotope of carbon which they named radio­ carbon has three naturally occurring isotopes: carbon, had properties which could be used in carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. The latter is dating samples composed of organic materials. The unstable and disintegrates to form nitrogen. The primary knowfedge of these properties made pos­ disintegration is by emission of electrons and these sible postulation of a curve on a graph on which occur as random events which can be recorded in a measured quantities of radiocarbon in samples were very sensitive type of Geiger counter. The sensi­ plotted in relation to the number of years elapsed tivity of the apparatus, including the counter, is since their death. In order to calibrate the ex­ exemplified by the quantity of carbon-14 with which it works. In living wood, for example, carbon-14 tremely delicate apparatus and to test the accuracy consists of but .000,000,000,017% of the isotopic of the curve, archaeologists were requested to sup­ ply for age determination samples of known age, composition of the carbon in that wood. preferably 4000 to 5000 years old. The method and the interpretation of its results have been the source of many scientific and popular The task undertaken by a committee appointed papers, some of which leave much to be desired. to advise Libby was a most exciting one. At the time Largely because it is new and also because it is not there was some question whether or not the method yet developed to its final stage, there has been con­ could actually be made to function in the way it siderable misunderstanding by those who have not was assumed that it should.

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