Email the author 
Open Access
Subscription Access
RADIOCARBON, SOIL, AND ARTIFACT CHRONOLOGIES FOR AN EARLY SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL SITE
Abstract
Radiocarbon dates together with geoarchaeological, soil, and lithic analyses are presented to describe archaeological
site 35-CS-9 in Bandon Ocean Wayside State Park, Oregon, northwestern USA. One of the few Oregon middle-
Holocene coastal sites that includes sediments and artifacts dating to the early Holocene and possibly to the late Pleistocene,
it was recorded in 1951 and surface surveyed by archaeologists in 1975, 1986, and 1991, but its depth and antiquity were not
tested. In February 2002, we studied the sites stratigraphy and sediments and described 8 strata from the aeolian surface to
bedrock at 350 cm depth. Soil samples taken from a cut bank for texture classification, particle size analysis, pH, carbon
content, and chemical analysis suggested that the site represented a complete history of Holocene deposits. Excavation of 2
test units in August 2002 uncovered substantial lithic and charcoal remains that confirm a protracted middle-Holocene
occupation and suggest that human occupation began in the early Holocene. Charcoal recovered at 235245 cm dated to
11,000 14C BP, and the deepest lithic artifact was recovered in a level at 215225 cm. Whether the human occupation was continuous
throughout the Holocene, and whether it began in the early Holocene or in the late Pleistocene, can only be determined
with further excavations.
site 35-CS-9 in Bandon Ocean Wayside State Park, Oregon, northwestern USA. One of the few Oregon middle-
Holocene coastal sites that includes sediments and artifacts dating to the early Holocene and possibly to the late Pleistocene,
it was recorded in 1951 and surface surveyed by archaeologists in 1975, 1986, and 1991, but its depth and antiquity were not
tested. In February 2002, we studied the sites stratigraphy and sediments and described 8 strata from the aeolian surface to
bedrock at 350 cm depth. Soil samples taken from a cut bank for texture classification, particle size analysis, pH, carbon
content, and chemical analysis suggested that the site represented a complete history of Holocene deposits. Excavation of 2
test units in August 2002 uncovered substantial lithic and charcoal remains that confirm a protracted middle-Holocene
occupation and suggest that human occupation began in the early Holocene. Charcoal recovered at 235245 cm dated to
11,000 14C BP, and the deepest lithic artifact was recovered in a level at 215225 cm. Whether the human occupation was continuous
throughout the Holocene, and whether it began in the early Holocene or in the late Pleistocene, can only be determined
with further excavations.