Chronological Modeling and Insights on European-St. Lawrence Iroquoian Interaction from the Roebuck Site, Ontario.

Advances in laboratory methods and chronological modeling have greatly refined the practice of radiocarbon dating, permitting more precise age-estimates for archaeological sites and materials than have been previously possible. This report presents new AMS dates on maize and bone collagen from a European-worked needle case from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian Roebuck site. Those dates are then re-presented within a series of Bayesian models to illustrate the benefits of chronological frameworks which include prior information. The results produce an estimate of Roebuck’s occupation as beginning cal A.D. 1474–1568 and ending cal A.D. 1524–1587 (2 sigma), placing the needle case in the very early protohistoric period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]