AMS radiocarbon dating of a shell fishhook from Santa Rosa Island, California.

Abstract

Several single-piece shell fishhooks from CA-SRI-43 on Santa Rosa Island were dated by association to roughly 5500 cal BP and were argued to be among the oldest specimens in the region. Direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of one of these hooks provided a date of 560 cal BP, however, making it about 5000 yr younger than originally presumed. This younger date is more consistent with the regional shell fishhook chronology and demonstrates the importance of obtaining direct AMS (super 14) C dates to refine artifact and site chronologies.