Texas A&M's Dating of Artifacts Discovered at Hueyataco,
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:37 pm
News Flash!!
A&M has informally announced the results of it's dating for the artifacts found in situ at Hueyatlaco, Unit I:
Older than 1,000,000 B.P.
I wonder how long it will take for them to announce these dates publicly? The bifacial tools, found ca. 1 meter above the unifacial tools and assigned to Cro-Magnon, and the associated strata in which they were found, are hotly contested. It's basically a shoot out between Texas A&M and the USGS. USGS claims the strata are greater than 250,000 B.P.
Here's the current project write-up, from Texas A&M's website:
Quote:
Hueyatlaco, Mexico
Several potential pre-Clovis localities were found in the 1960s around the edge of the Valsequillo Reservoir, Mexico. One of these localities is the site of Hueyatlaco. This site was excavated by Cynthia Irwin-Williams in 1962, 1964, and 1966. At this site, numerous unifacial flake tools were found with extinct fauna. Questions about the stratigraphy, location of the artifacts, and dating have plague this site. In 2003, a trip was made to the Smithsonian Archives in Maryland and the files of Cynthia Irwin-Williams were examined. Numerous maps and files were photocopied and this Excavations at the Hueyatlaco sitematerial was used to reconstruct the excavations conducted at the site in 1962, 1964, and 1966. Field investigations were undertaken during May and June of 2004 at Hueyatlaco. Three trenches were excavated at the site in order to examine and evaluate the stratigraphy at Hueyatlaco. We were able to confirm that the Hueyatlaco Ash did indeed overlie what was reported to be the unifacial artifact-bearing deposits (Bed I). An unconformity separated the alluvium containing the bifacial material (Bed E and C). Samples of the Hueyatlaco Ash and other units are being dated by the Ar-Ar and luminescence techniques. These dates will resolve once and for all the age of this important site. This research is being done in collaboration with Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales (INAH), Patricia Ochoa-Castillo (National Museum of Anthropology), and Mario Perez-Campa (INAH).
http://www.centerfirstamericans.org/res ... t_projects
Do you guys expect a backpeddling by A&M? Note the highlighted portion of A&M's write up currently on their official website. Do you think they might come up with a way to discredit Cynthia Irwin-Williams, enabling them to retract their statement, without making their investigations in 2004 appear in error?
My guess is yes, they will try to discredit CIW's work. If so, that would be an all time low. I certainly hope this is not the case. I guess we'll wait for the official announcement...perhaps at The Third Mexican Early Man Conference, in Mexico later this month.
A&M has informally announced the results of it's dating for the artifacts found in situ at Hueyatlaco, Unit I:
Older than 1,000,000 B.P.
I wonder how long it will take for them to announce these dates publicly? The bifacial tools, found ca. 1 meter above the unifacial tools and assigned to Cro-Magnon, and the associated strata in which they were found, are hotly contested. It's basically a shoot out between Texas A&M and the USGS. USGS claims the strata are greater than 250,000 B.P.
Here's the current project write-up, from Texas A&M's website:
Quote:
Hueyatlaco, Mexico
Several potential pre-Clovis localities were found in the 1960s around the edge of the Valsequillo Reservoir, Mexico. One of these localities is the site of Hueyatlaco. This site was excavated by Cynthia Irwin-Williams in 1962, 1964, and 1966. At this site, numerous unifacial flake tools were found with extinct fauna. Questions about the stratigraphy, location of the artifacts, and dating have plague this site. In 2003, a trip was made to the Smithsonian Archives in Maryland and the files of Cynthia Irwin-Williams were examined. Numerous maps and files were photocopied and this Excavations at the Hueyatlaco sitematerial was used to reconstruct the excavations conducted at the site in 1962, 1964, and 1966. Field investigations were undertaken during May and June of 2004 at Hueyatlaco. Three trenches were excavated at the site in order to examine and evaluate the stratigraphy at Hueyatlaco. We were able to confirm that the Hueyatlaco Ash did indeed overlie what was reported to be the unifacial artifact-bearing deposits (Bed I). An unconformity separated the alluvium containing the bifacial material (Bed E and C). Samples of the Hueyatlaco Ash and other units are being dated by the Ar-Ar and luminescence techniques. These dates will resolve once and for all the age of this important site. This research is being done in collaboration with Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales (INAH), Patricia Ochoa-Castillo (National Museum of Anthropology), and Mario Perez-Campa (INAH).
http://www.centerfirstamericans.org/res ... t_projects
Do you guys expect a backpeddling by A&M? Note the highlighted portion of A&M's write up currently on their official website. Do you think they might come up with a way to discredit Cynthia Irwin-Williams, enabling them to retract their statement, without making their investigations in 2004 appear in error?
My guess is yes, they will try to discredit CIW's work. If so, that would be an all time low. I certainly hope this is not the case. I guess we'll wait for the official announcement...perhaps at The Third Mexican Early Man Conference, in Mexico later this month.
