Today I finally got the dates back from Beta Analytic, Inc for our survey down on the Olga Lakes. We sent them samples of charcoal from various sites and they told us long ago the various trees, whence the charcoal came, died. Now we know how old the various sites actually are. I already had a pretty good idea about how old the sites were based on the style of artifacts we found and the types of houses at each site, but it is always exciting to get back the absolute dates! I know, I know I am a science nerd. I must admit I have been checking my email daily of late, just hoping to get one from Beta Analytic.
Now I know that the house pictured in the top photo was occupied by an Alutiiq family around the time of the Battle of Hastings. While the Normans were invading England in 1066 an Alutiiq Family was happily building a multiroom house on the Upper Olga River. Processing fish while their European counterparts were busy shooting arrows at each other (Harold the King of England caught one in the eye if I recall correctly).
The big surprise from the radiocarbon results was that the housepit Brian and Justin are excavating a test pit into in the lower photo dated to 5500 years ago! That's older than the Pyramids of Egypt. I guess people on Kodiak have liked to fish for salmon for a long long time. No real suprise there. But we had expected a 2000 year-old date for that site. A pleasant surprise to get a date so old. Usually housepits that old no longer show on the surface. It's the oldest housepit I've ever seen that still showed up as a housepit on the surface.
Today we finished with our Community Archaeology excavation at Salonie Mound. You can bet that I'll be eagerly awaiting the radiocarbon results from a new set of charcoal samples I will be sending off to Beta Analytic. I have hopes the house we excavated last week will be over 7000 years old. But I need the radiocarbon results to be sure. I'll keep you posted. Patrick
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