Assessing Sets of Radiocarbon Dates: An Example from the Central Plains

Abstract

This article presents methods for assessing sets of radiocarbon dates. It is based on the premise that the largest pertinent set of radiocarbon dates is the appropriate context within which to judge problematic dates. Using dates from the Central Plains Tradition, it illustrates a reasonable methodology for cleaning the data set and for assessing the beginnings and ends of constituent phases. In so doing, it demonstrates that the Central Plains Tradition is mis-named; most of the phases assigned to it are contemporary with one another, and most appear to have lasted only a couple of centuries.