Oceania Publications, University of Sydney

Radiocarbon Dating Fish Bone from the Houhora Archaeological Site, New Zealand
Author(s): Fiona Petchey
Source: Archaeology in Oceania, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Oct., 2000), pp. 104-114
Published by: Wiley on behalf of Oceania Publications, University of Sydney
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40387161 .
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ArchaeoLOceania35 (2000) 104-15

Radiocarbondatingfishbone fromtheHouhora archaeologicalsite,New Zealand

FIONA PETCHEY

Abstract
This paper presents preliminaryradiocarbon results of snapper
bone gelatin fromthe Archaic occupation at Houhora, Northland,
New Zealand. It is part of a largerinvestigationinto dating snapper (Pagrus auratus) and barracouta (Thyrsitesatun) bone from
New Zealand archaeological sites (Petchey 1998). A range of analytical techniques is applied and it is concluded thatthe Houhora
snapperbone is suitableforradiocarbondatingas the bone is wellpreservedwithlow levels of contamination.Four bone gelatin 14C
determinationsof snapperare compared to determinationsof other

materials from the same context, including three previously

unpublishedresultsof shell and charcoal. The resultssuggest that
snapper bone gelatin has a minimal inbuiltage, a reservoireffect
which is comparable to shell, and will yield reliable 14C determinations when collagen degradationand contaminationis minimal.
A totalof twelve acceptable radiocarbonresultsplaces the Archaic
occupation at Houhora duringthe early to mid 14thcenturyAD.

wereexcludedfromAnderson's(1991:768)
minations
listof suitableradiocarbon
sampletypesdue to uncereffectand uptakeof
taintieswiththemarinereservoir
14C (see also Grant-Taylor(1974:160) and Law
a
todatefishbonehas,however,
(1981:234)).Theability
fish
bone
forarchaeologists.
ofadvantages
number
First,
the
is foundwidelyinarchaeological
throughout
deposits
Islands
South
North
and
in
both
the
sequence,
prehistoric
withan
correlated
ofNewZealand.Second,itis directly
in
this
case
identifiable
event,
fishing.
archaeological
In thispaper,radiocarbonresultsfromthesite of
site
Association
Houhora(New ZealandArchaeological
of
and thereliability
numberN03/59)are presented,

Bonehasplayedan important
roleinthedevelopment
of
radiocarbon
in
New
Zealand
and
until
analysis
recently,
moa bone was thepreferred
sampletypewhendating
moahunting
contexts
andMcCulloch1984;
(e.g.Trotter
in
Caughley1988). Discrepancies bonedeterminations
have, however,resultedin considerableuncertainty
theiraccuracy.
A rangeof explanations
have
regarding
beenputforward
to accountforthisvariation,
including
carbonfractionation
due to dietarypreferences,
inadevaried
radiocarbon
quatesamplepretreatment,
standards,
diageneticeffectsand/orcontamination
(e.g. Rafter
1978:138; Anderson1991:777,779). Recently,bone
thatfraction
follow"collagen"(specifically
remaining
dcalcification
in
has
been
considered
to
be of
acid)
ing
low priority
as a datablematerial(Higham1993:97).
Gelatinisation
of thesampleby denaturing
(purification
the collagen molecule in weaklyacidic hot water)
appears,however,to be an acceptablepretreatment
on theold collagendeterminations
improving
(Petchey
1999).
A rangeofbonetypeshavebeenradiocarbon
datedin
NewZealandwithvarying
degreesofsuccess,including
the
dog,rat,human,seal,fish,andbird.Unfortunately,
of thesedifferent
reliability
speciesfor14Canalysisis
unknown.
In particular,
fishandseal bonedeterlargely
Radiocarbon
Schoolof Scienceand
DatingLaboratory,
of Waikato,PrivateBag 3105,
Technology,
University
NewZealand.
Hamilton,

IslandofNewZealandshowing
the
Figure1: North
locationofHouhora.

104

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locationofradiocarbon
Archaiclayers(adaptedfromShawcross
Figure2: PlanofHouhorashowing
samplesfrom
1972:604,figure
14.1).

boneas a datingmedium
evaluated
westa highconcentration
offish
snapper
bycompari- southwest.To thenorth
son withnewand existing
radiocarbon
determinations. cranialelementswereinterpreted
as debrisfromfood
is givento the14Ccontent,
inbuilt processing
Particular
attention
(Shawcross1972:606,see also Nichol1988).
of
bone
in
The
and
the
fish
accountof stratigraphy
contamination
is given
onlycontemporary
degradation
age,
in
Roe
Nichol
the
3).
(1988:201)reanalysed
(1969:figure
question.
of Houhorausingbag labelsfromsamples
stratigraphy
andidentified
heldinstorage
fourmainlayers(2a, 2b,2c
and3). The widespread
distribution
oftheselayersgenHouhora
Roe's (1969:figure
3) accountof stratigerallymatched
of HouhoraHarbour, raphy,exceptthatLayer2c was missing.The lower
Houhorais locatedat theentrance
to thenorthof theNorthIsland(Figure1). The siteof Archaiclayers(Layer2b andLayers3a, b andc) conactiviHouhoraconsistsof a largecoastalmiddencontaining tainedremainsof cookingandothersubsistence
remainsof moa,seal and fish,and associatedartefacts ties.A lateragricultural
layer(Layer2a) cutintoLayer
typicalof earlytropicalEast Polynesianassemblages 2b (Roe 1969:14-20).
Threecharcoalradiocarbon
determinations
andWallace1993:5).
(NZ-914,
(Anderson
at thesite. NZ-915andNZ-916)wereobtainedduringexcavations
wereundertaken
Two majorexcavations
to
The mainexcavation(Figure2) tookplace between in 1965-1966. These sampleswerenotidentified
November1965 and January
1966,whilesquaresA6,
species and are, thereforeconsidered unreliable
in 1972(L. Furey, (McFadgen1982:384). Two moa bone samples(NZA7,halfofA8 andB6 wereexcavated
pers. comm.May 1997). The mostdetailedpublished 5007 andNZ-5008)werealso collectedfromLayers2c
is givenin Shawcross and 3b, but submitted
fordatingseveralyearslater
planof theHouhoraexcavations
(1972). Shawcross'plan(Figure2) revealsa concentra- (Millener1981).Theseand othermoa bone"collagen"
havealso sincebeenconsidered
oftheexcavation. determinations
to be of
debrisat thecentre
tionofoccupation
to the questionable reliability (Anderson 1991:779).
withlargenumbers
theperimeter
Ovenssurround
105

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inordertoevaluatetheseoriginal
determiConsequently,
Anderson
nations
andWallace(1993:10,table1) submitfour
tedmoresamplesfrom
theArchaiclayers,
including
from
latex
charcoalsamples,
twoofwhichwereremoved
and
pullstakenatthetimeofthe1965-1966excavation,
A
shell
twofrom
in
1965
and
1972.
single
bagscollected
from
Pull2.
determination
(NZ-7920)wasalsocollected
the
results(including
On thebasisoftenradiocarbon
charmoabonecollagenandunidentified
"questionable"
coal results),
Anderson
andWallace(1993:14)suggested
AD.
thatoccupation
begansometimeinthe13thcentury
This was consistent
witha previousestimateby Roe
(1969:36) based on artefactforms.Andersonand
Wallace(1993:14) also suggestedthatoccupationwas
shortlived,withno substantial
periodof timeelapsing
between
thelowestlayers(layers2b and3).

occupyand feedin surfacewatersabove200 m (Paul

affected
be seriously
1992:5).Theyshouldnot,therefore,
ca. 200
below
occurs
which
14C
the
by depleted gradient
m aroundNew Zealand(Lassey,ManningandO'Brien
aresupported
byradiocar1990:124).Thesehypotheses
andhistoric
frommodern
ofotoliths
bonresults
snapper
collectedin theEast Cape/Bayof Plentyregionwhich
water14Cvalues,modwithsurface
favourably
compare
shelldatafromaround
historic
and
ernshellfish
samples
NewZealand(see HighamandHogg1995).
Inbuilt
Age

Snappermayreachages in excess of 60 years(Paul

1992:7).The age rangeof theHouhorasnappersample
in orderto estimatethe
determined
was, therefore,
intotheradiocarbon
introduced
degreeof inbuilterror
weretakenof spemeasurements
determinations.
First,
Experimental
cific cranialbones in the archaeologicalcollection
calculated
Fishbonesamples
usingthe
(Appendix1), andtheirforklength
outlinedby Leach and Boocock(1995). The
technique
into
valuesobtained(Appendix
Fishbonesamplesstoredin bags labeledHouhoraC8,
2) werethensubstituted
which
curves
"Fossick A" were obtained from the Auckland averageage-length
(forklength)growth
UniversityAnthropology
Department(see Petchey havebeendevelopedforsnapperfromtheeastcoastof
of thismaterial
is unknown theNorthIslandof New Zealand(Paul 1992:10).From
1998).The specificcontext
thatsnapperfrom
(L. Furey,pers. comm.May 1997), thoughit seems thisassessmentit was determined
likelythatthefishbonecamefromthetwoloweroccu- Houhora,squareC8, {n = 171) rangebetweenapproxiin
witha modeof490 mm
280 to819 mminlength,
pationlayers(2b and 3) whichare indistinguishable
mately
andWallace1993).Thisis supported
age (Anderson
by anda meanof493 mm.Thisequatesto an age rangeof
identification
of a squarenumber(C8) whichstrongly ca. 4 to>40 years,a modeof27 yearsanda meanof28
removal
froman insitudeposit,
anditis proba- years.Becausecomplete
ofmature
suggests
replacement
collagen
ble, as suggestedby Nichol(1988:195-196),thatthis takesaround10 years(Chisholm
1989:20-21),theinflufishbonesamplewasremoved
frombaulksbyarchaeol- ence of thisinbuiltage is significantly
reduced,and is
lessthanthestandard
error
inherent
incharcoalradiocarogists following completion of the excavation.
theArchaiclayersnearsquareC8 wererichin
bondeterminations
KnoxandCole 1994).
Moreover,
(McFadgen,
fishbone,witha particularly
of snapper
highfrequency
headpartspersquaremetre
(Shawcross1972:604,figure
insitumiddens
from
themorerecent
andContamination
14.1).Finally,
layer Preservation
associated
(Layer2a) did nothave thebone typically
withtheoldermiddens
thedeathof
(Roe 1969:78).
Collagenis subjectto alteration
following
Closerinvestigation
of snapperdietand habitatas
theanimalvia a combination
of chemical,
physicaland
wellas examination
of thepreservation
of thearchaeo- biologicalprocesses.The decayprocessinvolvesthe
of softtissue,whichis manifest
as a loss of
logicalfishbonewereundertaken
priorto radiocarbon breakdown
insusceptibility
increase
to
analysisin orderto evaluatetheimpactofdepleted14C, collagenanda corresponding
inbuilt
anddegradation
on theradio- humicandnon-humic
contaminants
whichmayalterthe
age,contamination
carbondetermination.
thereapparent
age of thesample.It is recommended,
contamination
levelsand
fore,thatpriorto 14Canalysis,
theamountofremaining
collagenareassessed.Forthis
researchphysicalcharacteristics,
in
Depleted14CConcentration
percentnitrogen
wholebone,isotopieanalysis,
infrared
and
analysis yield
A depleted14Cconcentration
into information
havebeencollected.The methods
usedare
maybe introduced
fishby contactwithdifferent
watermasses,areas of
inPetchey
outlined
(1998).
orbyfeeding
atdepth.None
A. PhysicalAppearance.
Bone fromHouhorahad a
upwelled
deepoceanwater,
ofthesefactors
influence
soft
exterior
indicative
of
a
should,however,
moderate
significantly
degreeof altertheHouhorasnapper
bone.First,
a distinct
ation.
discolouration
to
the
bone
in a dull
resulted
snapper
popuSlight
lationhasbeenidentified
intheEastCape/Bay
ofPlenty orangecolour(7.5YR 7/4).A fewburntfishboneelebutwerenotselected
fordating.
region(Paul 1992:11) wherethereis no significant mentswerenoted,
B. Percent
Total
Protein
upwelling(Heath 1985:87-88). In addition,snapper
Nitrogen:
CollagenContent.
106

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no.

613C

%C

15

AtomicC/N

modern
Snapper
gel
HC8 gelatin

-11.1to-12.2

36.5to41.5

12.8to 14.2

13.8to 15.4

2.96to2.97

-13.6

42.4

13.3

15.4

2.96

HC8 residue

-13.6

37.1

14.1

10.8

2.96

HC8humics

-17.3

41.8

14.4

8.4

2.94

Sample

Table 1: Stablecarbonandnitrogen
andatomicC/Nratiosforgelatin,
humicandresiduefractions.
measurementst
Instrument
error
fornitrogen
forcarbon(combination
ofmachine
error
analysesis 1. Sampleerror
plussamplehetis 0.5. 613Cand15valuesaregivenin%cversusVPDB andAIR,respectively.
erogeneity)

in modernbone thatcontains
is theonlycomponent
makes
and
up 90% ofthebonenitronitrogen, collagen
The amountof collagen
1969:503-504).
(Garlick
gen
in
the
samplescan,therefore
archaeological
remaining
the
be estimated
(%N) in
nitrogen
bycomparing percent
bone
values.
bonetomodern
thearchaeological
snapper
fishbone is
The bulk%N value forarchaeological
2.11%.Thissuggeststhatjust overhalfof theoriginal
proteinremainscomparedto modernfishbone which
has a %N valueof around4.12 (n=2). ThesebulkN%
to theClass II (verywell
estimates
assignthecollection
to well-preserved)
state,as definedby
preservation
Duhamel
and
Brendel
(1988:2258,table1) (i.e.
Stafford,
to
3.5%
0.6
N).
that
C. Pretreatment.
(1998)hasdemonstrated
Petchey
1000
than
less

"Class
bones,
yearsold
well-preserved
should
extractable
than40%
withgreater
give
collagen,
whengelatinisedaftera
reliable14Cdeterminations
was therefore
NaOH wash.The following
pretreatment
decaland
cleaned
was
thesample
First,
ground,
adopted:
with
rinsed
4
then
for
cifiedin 2% w/vHC1at4C
days,
This
removes
water("acidinsoluble
distilled
collagen").
someacidbonehydroxyapatite,
carbonates,
secondary
suchas collagenbreakdown
fractions
insoluble
products,
andsomehumiccontaminants
(HedgesandvanKlinken
1992:286).This "acid insolublecollagen"was treated
with2% w/vNaOH for1 hourto removehumicacids,
rinsedwithHC1,andwashed
washedwithdistilled
water,
by heatingin
again.The samplewas thengelatinised
=
weakly acidic water (pH 3, 90C for 4 hours).
thetriple-helical
denatures
Gelatinisation
collagenmolecolinsoluble
acid-insoluble
culeandremoves
impurities,
and
residue
and
(Law
gelatin
collagen
degraded
lagen
freeze-dried.
was
the
1989:250).
gelatin
Lastly,
Hedges
VanKlinkenandHedges(1995:268)havenotedthat
thegelacanremain
around8% contamination
following
BP
this
of
900
a
In
tinisation
equates
sample
procedure.
of80 years(an age of833 BP) ifconttoa possibleerror
ofoldcarbon
carbon.Theinfluence
aminated
bymodern
butthechancesofcontamiwouldhavea greater
impact,
to be minimal
nationbydepleted14Careconsidered
(cf.
with
the
pretreatment
gelatin
Combining
Higham1993).
than92%
removegreater
however,
a NaOH washshould,
atthe5 to
contamination
Moreover,
ofanycontaminants.
whenthe
10% levelcanoftenbe recognised
analytically

col(i.e. >20% original

sampleis of"goodpreservation"
and
van
Klinken
1992:284).
lagenremaining)
(Hedges
Houhorafishbone
was therefore
assessed
preservation
a
combination
of
information
and
isotopie,yield
using
infrared
of
and
fractions.
analysis collagen gelatin
D. Pretreatment
Yield.Crudegelatinyieldsweremeawithrespect
tobone.Interpretation
suredas a percentage
stateofthebone(i.e. "good","poor"
ofthepreservation
was based on recommendations
or "non-collagenous")
Klinken
van
and
(1992:284)withtheexcepbyHedges
was adapted
tionthattheamountof extractable
protein
obtained
for
fishbone
the
modern
to
yields
according
described
above.
the
Usingthis
following pretreatment
couldbe
methodit was calculatedthat18 g of protein
extractedper 100 g of modernbone (i.e. 100%
extractableprotein).To avoid variationscaused by
thisvalue
ofthefreeze-dried
gelatin,
dryness
incomplete
was
corrected
("extractable
accordingto the
protein")
combustion
ofthesamobtained
of
following
yield CO2
are
incurred
Losses
during
pretreatmentassumedto
ple.
be constant.
at
The crudegelatinyieldsobtainedwereuniform
39%
6.71 to 6.94 wt%.This equatesto approximately
and indicatesthatthe
extractableproteinremaining,
of
is
bone
(i.e. >20% ofthe
"goodpreservation"
snapper
The
yieldsof insoluble
originalcollagenextracted).
residue after each gelatinisation were also low
(0.96-1.29%).
E. IsotopieAnalysis.Stableisotopevalues(i.e. 813C
and 15)wereobtainedforgelatin,humicacid and
to
werecompared
Theseresults
gelainresiduefractions.
modernsnapperstandards(Table 1). Stable isotope
resultson thegelatin(813C= -13.6%o;15= 13.3%o)
there
tomodern
areequivalent
Similarly,
gelatin.
snapper
in
the
is no noticeablecontamination
isotopie
present
analysisof theresidue(813C = -13.6%o),thoughthe
humicacid 813C is depletedby comparison(613C =
-17.3%o)(Table1).
A C/Natomicratiowasalsousedtodetectcontaminaof
extracts
tioninbone.Valuesof2.9-3.6forgelatinous
indicate
to
bonearethought
collagen"
"goodprehistoric
C/Natomic
(DeNiroandWeiner1988).Unfortunately,
whenthe
ratioshavebeenshownto onlybe successful
bone is severelydegraded(van Klinkenand Hedges,
limitshave
intheseacceptable
1995)andsomevariation
107

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Lab No. Species

Lifespan
Knox
(McFadgen,
andCole 1994:224).

NZ-914 cf. Vitexlucens

excelsa
Metrosideros
A ,
^
All
long:>300 yrs
colensoi
Lagarostrobus
Prumnopitys
taxifolia
NZ-916 cf. Vitexlucens
excelsa
Metrosideros
colensoi ,
Lagarostrobus
_
Alllong:>300
yrs
taxifolia
Prumnopitys
Prumnopitys
ferruginea
australis
Agathis
Myrsineaustralis

Short:<100 yrs

of NZ-914and
Table 2: Typicalspeciescomposition
NZ-916.

bon or nitrogen
enrichedor depletedsources(see van
Klinken1999).Percentcarbonand nitrogen
valuesfor
fractions
from
Houhora
are
similar
to
modern
gelatin
the
of
snapper
againindicating presence littleor
gelatin,
no significant
difcontamination
(Table1). A significant
ferencein %N valueswere,however,
obtainedforthe
residueandhumicfractions.
F. FourierTransform
InfraredAnalysis:Collagen
and Gelatin.Variousorganicfractions
obtainedduring
the
"acid-insoluble
pretreatment,
including
collagen"
andgelatinwereanalysedusingqualitative
FTIR specThesespectraare shownin Figure3a andb.
troscopy.
Moderncollagenand gelatinare characterised
by the
amideI bandat 1650cm"1,amideII at 1550cm"1and
proline absorption at 1456 cm"1 (Stiner et al
1995:234).In additionto thesepeaks,theFTIR spectrumof the "acid-insolublecollagen" fractionfrom
Houhora(Figure3a) has a smallpeak at 1040 cm"1
indicativeof "transitional"
or "bad prehistoric
collaofacid-insoluble
collaFigure3: Infrared
spectrograms
gen".Thismaybe theresultofhumicacid-likemateriHouhora
gen(HC8HC1)andgelatin(HC8gel)from
als,poorlypreserved
Individual
wereobtained
collagen,orclay(WeinerandBarsnapper.
spectra
using16
Yosef 1990:193).Because "bad prehistoric
before
Fourier
ata spectral
transform,
acquisitions
collagen"
was identified
resolution
of4 cm"1,usingtheempty
chamber
as the
by DeNiroand Weiner(1988:2205) as
reference
havingneither
collagenpeaks(proline,amideI andII)
background
spectrum.
norpolysaccharide
peaks,theHouhorasampleis interThe gelatinspectrum
is,
pretedas being"transitional".
however,typicalof modernbone,indicating
thatthe
beenreported
hasremoved
(e.g. vanKlinken1999).Forthearchaeo- gelatinisation
mostofthiscontprocedure
logicalsnappersamples,boththegelatinand contami- amination.
nantfractions
showninTable1,fallwithin
Overall,theseresultssuggesttheHouhorasnapper
"goodprehistoriccollagen"levels and are comparableto modern bonehasundergone
somedegradation,
butthatcontamibonegelatinvalues.
nationappearsto be minimal.The pretreated
snapper
gelatin
thepercent
carbon(9cC) or nitrogen
fractionshould,therefore,
Similarly,
(%N)
give reliableradiocarbon
ingelatincanindicate
car- determinations
atthelevelofprecision
usedhere.
grosscontamination
byeither
108

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Figure4: Bellplotsofcalibrated
pooledradiocarbon
for
ages Archaiclayers,
Houhora.
Error
barsdenote
1 and2 deviations.

etal (1998),with275 yearssubtracted

ofStuiver
from
theCRA toaccountforthesouthern
offset
hemisphere in
Two additional
shellsamples(Wk-5034andWk-5035) 14C (McCormacet al 1998). Boththeshelland fish
werecalibrated
curveofStuiver,
anda charcoalsample(Wk-5485)wereselectedforcom- results
usingthemarine
Reimer
and
Braziunas
with
was
the
reservoir
determinations.
Charcoal
correcwith
the
fish
bone
(1998)
parison
tion
for
New
Zealand
set
at
in
of
the
-2515
to
two
fromarchived
material
obtained
(AR)
years order
belonging
for
oceanic
in
NZto
variation
and
14C(Higham
determinations
radiocarbon
(NZ-914
adjust regional
original
and
r
australis
sine
of
the
short
lived
Two
916).
Hogg1995).
My
pieces
14Cresultsare shownin Figure4 and
The calibrated
wereremovedfromNZ-916 forradiocarbon
analysis
'NZ' and 'NZA' refer
The
to agescalTable
3.
first
the
two
came
from
Shell
prefixes
bags;
(Wk-5485)(Table2).
the
Rafter
Radiocarbon
at
Institute
culated
labeled
of
Lunella
a
Laboratory,
smaragda
(Wk-5035), sample
Nuclear
Sciences
Ltd.
and
for
second
the
and
SE
HouhoraE7, L2b, corner,
(IGNS), and
shell;
(WkGeological
at
the
of Waikato
measured
'Wk'
to
those
labeled
Austrovenus
of
University
stutchburyi,
5034), a sample
wereevalThese
results
Radiocarbon
Roe's
2nd
HouhoraD6, L2b,
(1969)
DatingLaboratory.
Hangi.Following
combine
calculations
OxCal
uated
be
can
two
these
of
thesecond
probabilities
using
account,
provesamples
datesfrom
nancedto a largeovenin squaresC6, C7, D6 and D7
1999). Usingthismethod,
(Bronk-Ramsey
to
are
combined
calibration
the
same
prior
using
sample
(Figure2).
theR Combinemethod(chi squaretest).All other14C
are calibrated,combined,and then
determinations
in
the
assessed
Radiocarbon
lightof thecombineddata.The agreeAnalysis
ment(A) betweenthesetwodistributions
(the"agreewere measuredat the mentindex")shouldnotfallbelow60.0% (<A'c) (an
Radiocarbondeterminations
testedby
index= 100%).Thiscan be further
of WaikatoRadiocarbon
DatingLaboratory unaltered
University
index
for
combinations
an
overall
outlinedby Highamand
agreement
calculating
accordingto theprocedures
on n) below
whereAn is thevalue(dependant
werecalibrated
usingthe (Aoverall),
Hogg(1997).All age estimates
fall.
If
fallsbelow
not
should
OxCalv3.3(Bronk-Ramsey
1999).Becausethe whichAoverall
Aoverall
program
also
be
should
the
model
of 14Cbetweentheatmos- 60.0%
and movement
questioned.For this
production
index
was calculatedfor
radiocarbon paper,an overallagreement
phereandoceanis variabletheconventional
moa
marine
eachsampletype(i.e.
shell,
collagen,charage (CRA) foreach sampleneedsto be calibratedin
for
orderto derivea calendarage. Terrestrial
sampleswere, coal,andfishgelatin)andforthe14Cdeterminations
as
a
whole.
site
the
curve
calibration
terrestrial
the
calibrated
therefore
using
CharcoalandShellSamples

109

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Lab No.

Provenance

Material
(Batch)

Species

NZ-914

Layer2b, Square G6

Charcoal

NZ-915

Layer3b, Square E4

NZ-916

Layer3b, Square E3

NZA-2436 Base ofLayer2b,

SquareE6. Pull 2.

Cal 68%
(AD)
-

813C%0

CRA
(BP)

Not identified

-25+

69749

Charcoal

Not identified

-251"

56361

Charcoal

Not identified

-25 t

77561

Charcoal

Pittosporum
sp. (20%)
Dodonaea viscosa (40%)
scoparium(20%)
Leptospermwn
Beilschmiediatarairetwig(20%)

-26.2

63286

1293-1417

Olearia sp. (25%)

Beilschmiediatarairetwig(25%)
Pseudopanaxsp. (25%)
scoparium(25%)
Leptospermum

-26.3

77487

1217-1299

Coprosmasp. (36%)
sp. (43%)
Pittosporum
Brachyglottisrepanda(7%)
Hebe sp. (24%)

-25.2

72786

1261-1322
1350-1390

Myrsineaustralis(100%)

-25.5

64040

1300-1334

NZA-2437 Layer2b, Square C8. Charcoal

Pull 4.

NZA-2438 Layer3, Square A7. Charcoal

Bagged samplefrom
1972 excavation.
Wk-5485

Layer3b, Square E3.

Charcoal

NZ-5007

Layer2c, Square D9.

didiformis
"Collagen" Anomalopteryx
curtus
Euryapteryx
Pachyornismappini

-21.1

56356

1328-1344
1394-1435

NZ-5008

Layer3b, Square DIO. "Collagen" Dinornisstruthoides

didiformis
Anomalopteryx
curtus
Euryapteryx
Pachyornismappini

-22.5

58546

1326-1348
1391-1421

NZ-7920

Layer2b, Square E6.

Pull 2

Shell

Austrovenus
stutchburyi
Paphies australis

0.9

812+37

1451-1502

Wk-5034

Layer2b, Square D6. Shell

Lunella smaragda(100%)

1.8

96040

1332-1420

Wk-5035

Layer2b, Square E7.

Austrovenus
(100%)
stutchburyi

0.7

106045

1281-1327

Wk-4920

Layer2b/3,Square C8. Gelatin

Pagrus auratus(100%)

-13.6

101040

1306-1393

Wk-4921

Layer2b/3,Square C8. Gelatin

Pagrus auratus(100%)

-14.2

100040

1310-1399

Wk-4968

Layer2b/3,Square C8. Gelatin

Pagrus auratus(100%)

-14.4

95040

1337-1426

Wk-4969

Layer2b/3,Square C8. Gelatin

Pagrus auratus(100%)

-14.8

105040

1289-1330

Shell

1338-1373
1378-1400

Table 3: Radiocarbondeterminations
fromHouhora:Archaiclayers. See Andersonand Wallace (1993). Pull locationsafterAndersonand Wallace (1993:11) and L. Furey(pers.comm.May 1997). t 813C assumed,notmeasured.

Results
A totalof threeshell determinations
have been obtained
fromtheArchaiclayersat Houhora.NZ-7920 was anomalous and was considered,at thetime,to be incorrect
for
some "sampleconstituent
or technicalreasonswhichare
not yet understood"(Andersonand Wallace 1993:12).
Recent research (Higham and Hogg 1995) indicates,

and Paphies aushowever,thatAustrovenus

stutchburyi
tralisare reliablespecies forradiocarbonanalysis.It is,
therefore,
suggestedthat"retouching"of the pulls may
have contaminated
thissamplefromPull 2, as indicated
withAndersonand Wallace
by Costerin correspondence
(1993:11). This places doubton othersamplesremoved
fromthe latex pulls (see below). NZ-7920 is excluded
fromfurther
analysis.Two additionalshell 14C determi-

110

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nationsweremeasured
(Wk-5034andWk-5035).These
indexof72.4% (An= 50.0%,
havean overallagreement
= 2) and a reservoir
corrected
calibrated
age of AD
1317-1381at 1.
All threeoriginal
charcoalsamples(NZ-914,NZ-915
and are likelyto have
and NZ-916)wereunidentified
of
which
canresultinerrors
beensubjecttoin-built
age,
300 years or more (McFadgen, Knox and Cole
1994:224).Analysisof charcoalfromNZ-914andNZthattheyare almostcompletely
916 (Table2) confirms
of
species(R. Wallace,pers.comm.
composed long-lived
andNZ-916are,therefore
NZ-915
May 1997).NZ-914,
excludedfromthe finalanalysis.Of Andersonand
Wallace's (1993) fourcharcoalsamples,one of the
baggedcharcoalsamples(NZ-7921),has since been
shownto havecomefroma nearbysitecalledHouhora
Terraceexcavatedin 1972 (L. Furey,
pers.comm.May
Two char1997)andis notincludedin thisdiscussion.
fromlatexpullsandmaybe
coal sampleswereremoved
suspect(NZA-2437andNZA-2436).Theyare,however,
charcoalradiocarbon
withtheremaining
in agreement
NZA-2438andWk-5485,and havean
determinations,
of98.1% (An = 35.4%, = 4). These
overallagreement
fourcharcoaldeterminations
age ofAD
givea calibrated
1298-1318and1352-1388at 1.
Althoughthemoa bone "collagen"samplesare in
= 121.3%(An = 50.0%, = 2), givagreement
[Aoverall
age ofAD 1328-1345and1394-1424at
inga calibrated
arein
moa "collagen"determinations
1,thecombined
=
56.9%
with
other
[A
types
sample
pooragreement
carbonis the
bymodern
(<A'c = 60.0%)].Contamination
Whentheradiocarmostlikelycauseofthisdiscrepancy.
bon contentof theseboneswas measured(1980), the
at IGNS was a simpleacid wash
standard
pretreatment
withphosphoricacid to
dcalcification
(specifically,
removecarbonates(Jansen1984:29)). The resulting
is notcollagen,buta
residuefromsuchpretreatment
of collagen,its degradation
combination
productsand
Researchby van Klinkenand Hedges
contaminants.
ofcontamamount
thata significant
(1995:268)suggests
more
than80
or
than
15%,
ination(possiblygreater
remain
could
600
of
in
a
error
modern
BP)
sample
years
such
following pretreatment.
The fishbonegelatinsamplesforma coherent
group
[A(p)= 1003 20 BP [T = 3.2; X3:005= 7.8],indicating
The combinedcalithattheseresultsare reproducible.
marine
of
bratedage following
application thestandard
1.
at
1318-1385
AD
is
correction
reservoir
Calibrated
pooledresultsof reliablecharcoal(NZA2436,NZA-2437,NZA-2438and Wk-5034)and shell
ages (Wk-5034and Wk-5035)are shownin Figure4
along withthe reservoircorrectedpooled snapper
gelatinand moa "collagen" results.The moa bone
appearslightlytoo
pooled "collagen"measurements
young.The snappergelatinpooledresultoverlapswith
The overthepooledcharcoalandshelldeterminations.
from
indexforall determinations Houhora
all agreement
at70.0%(An= 35.4%, = 4). Thisgivesa
is acceptable
calibrated
age of AD 1317-1364at 1. Removingthe

moa collagen determinations

fromthe calculation
=
the
overall
improves
agreement[n = 3, Aoverall
100.9%(An= 40.8)] andgivesa calibrated
of
age range
AD 1318-1327and1350-1385at 1.
Conclusion
Froma seriesof analytical
it was concluded
techniques
thatsnapperbone fromHouhorawas well-preserved
withlow levelsofcontamination.
The fishboneshould,
reliable
radiocarbon
determinations.
This
therefore,
yield
conclusionis upheldby thesuiteof reproducible
fish
14C
results
which
to
other
gelatin
gavecomparable
ages
theseresultssuggestthat
sampletypes.Takentogether
intheirimpactatthelevelof
contaminants
arenegligible
associated
with
the Houhoraradiocarbon
precision
thehypothesis
that
analyses.Theseresultsalso support
snapperfromtheeastcoastof New Zealandshouldnot
be affected
by depletedcarbonandsuggestthatthereis
nodetectable
inbuilt
Thisis
age atthislevelofprecision.
of archaeological
withresultsfroma number
consistent
sitesfromaroundNewZealand(Petchey1998),andsugare subjectto
geststhatsnappergelatindeterminations
corrections
as marineshell.Thisconthesamereservoir
clusionmaynotapplytootherfishspecies.
which
It is possiblethatmoa bone determinations
have been measuredon theacid-washed("collagen")
fraction
degreesof detectable
onlymaycontainvarying
contamination (Petchey and Higham, 2000).
it is likelythatthemoa bone"collagen"
Consequently,
datesfromHouhora,whichsuggesta mid14thto early
aretooyoung.Thisdiscrepancy
15thcentury
occupation,
further
testing.
requires
of all
Also of concernis thecontextual
relationship
samplestotheeventbeingdated.Thisseemstobe espewhenaccessingstoredsamplesexcaciallyproblematic
vatedseveraldecadesago.
results
Overall,thisseriesoffiveacceptable
published
indicatethat
determinations
and sevennewradiocarbon
at Houhorabeganin theearlyto
theArchaicoccupation
laterthanthedategiven
Thisis slightly
mid14th
century.
a resultprobably
Wallace
and
Anderson
(1993:14),
by
charcoal
influenced
by inbuiltage in theunidentified
associatedwith
errors
thehighstandard
determinations,
of
andquestionable
theAMS measurements,
provenance
somesamples.Thesenewdeterminations
placethesite
in therangeof a suiteofearlyArchaicsitesin
securely
an expansivephaseof
New Zealand,whichrepresent
colonisation
and
1991).
(Anderson
earlyexploration
Acknowledgements
I wish to expressmygratitudeto Dr. Rod Wallace
of Auckland)
of Anthropology,
University
(Department
of charcoal samples,and Dr.
forthe identification
Institute
Radiocarbon
Laboratory,
RodgerSparks(Rafter
for
ofGeologicalandNuclearSciencesLtd,Wellington)
111

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

bone presamplesat IGNS. Dr. Tom Law, I.A. & Hedges R.E.M. 1989. A semi-automated
locatingstoredradiocarbon
contamiand
of
older
and
the
treatment
pretreatment
system
Radiocarbon
Dating Laboratory,
Higham(Waikato
natedsamples.Radiocarbon31:247-253.
of
on
draft
of
commented
copies
University Waikato)
thispaper.LouiseFurey(Department
of Anthropology, Leach, B.F. & Boocock A.S. 1995. Estimatinglive fishcatches
fromarchaeological bone fragmentsof snapper,Pagrus
on sample
ofAuckland)
information
University
provided
auratus. Tuhinga,Recordsof theMuseumof New Zealand
Dr. A. Hogg(WaikatoRadiocarbon
Dating
provenance.
Te Papa Tongarewa3:1-28.
Laboratory) and Dr. F. Leach (Archaeozoology
McCormac, F.G, Hogg A.G., HighamT.F.G., Lynch-Steiglitz
Laboratory,Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa
J.,BroeckerW.S., Baillie M.G.L., PalmerJ.G.,Xiong L.,
A University
valuablediscussion.
Tongarewa)
provided
PilcherJ.R.,BrownD. & Hoper S.T. 1998. Temporalvariathisresearch.
ofWaikato
funded
DoctoralScholarship
tion in the interhemispheric 14C offset. Geophysical

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(mm)offivepairedcranialbones(optimalestimator
Appendix1: Houhora:Measurements
givenin bold).
RightDentary
RDI*

RD2

LeftDentary

RD3

38.42

42.57

47.93

39.44

34.88

26.70 14.36
24.79
33.49 14.29
28.21
-----32.10
- 13.31
_
37.37
- 11.85
23.72
28.43

33.08
44.10 30.37
40.39

41.88

29.15
41.77
50.92
48.07

40.62
47.05

31.47

LD1

LD3

Left
Premaxilla
LP1
LP2

Right
Maxilla
RM1 RM2

______
11.75 41.56 15.32
- 16.40
13.11 39.20 13.18
35.62 14.03 45.96 15.46
- 35.89 13.45 38.62 14.71
33.15
36.55 14.15 32.41 12.71
- 39.79 14.35 44.81 15.75
39.33
15.68 42.14 16.85
39.90 14.63
- 15.30
- 15.36
- 10.41
- 19.02 44.30 15.77
26.84 11.24
- 16.93
- 19.89
- 14.21
37.85 13.57
32.11
______
- 13.34 46.34 16.82

45.70 31.17
42.77 30.15
47.75
54.94
40.94
47.21
-

_____
10.24
-

LD2

Right
Premaxilla
RP1 RP2

46.06
-

38.56
-

11.99
11.53
14.72
15.38
12.69
- 37.37
-----------------18.23 8.18 42.11
23.40 13.47 30.80
- 13.90 37.47
30.75 13.50
_
- 13.77
----23.56
______-30.98
------- 36.22
28.18
- 41.55
26.85
21.23 9.02
__-_--29.10

_
29.24

_
-

12.57

26.18 12.95
21.34

14.73
25.74
28.56

_
15.42

24.78
31.50 14.59
- 10.94

14.28
18.27

18.59

42.84

Left
Maxilla
LM1 LM2

17.05
18.36
19.92
16.04
- 21.66
18.12
17.02 41.24 17.38
- 23.36
20.79
24.05
18.90
15.86
-

18.36
15.03

16.80

44.48 13.86 38.73 15.63

- 15.44
40.92 15.35
34.57 12.41 58.44 22.21
- 13.57 53.91
51.29 19.08
- 18.57
43.89 16.51 28.38 10.45
16.99
43.06 14.23
- 14.00 50.07 16.70
13.33
12.26
44.70 16.53
11.15
- 11.98
- 18.88 36.64 12.95
- 18.21
52.67 20.69
- 15.53
16.31
- 18.14
35.91 13.14
- 15.48
- 16.14
10.85
- 13.19
- 13.24
37.70 13.54
- 15.56
- 15.74
48.16 17.51
12.79
11.78
113

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_______
33.89 24.44
-----53.61 35.71
----- 40.16
_
35.69
- 11.20
28.31
7.58 32.87 22.74
- 11.71
- 11.09
-

15.79
48.69
_
_
13.47
9.81 34.56
11.60

10.27 39.42
13.48
-

17.88
13.40
17.07
13.22
16.99
11.83
19.58
13.35
15.25
19.08
16.78

13.94
14.34

11.26
8.88

- 15.79
29.23 10.07
- 13.14
- 16.25
= 249
Totalno.ofelements
*SeeLeachandBoocock1995:2,figure
1 formeasurement
parameters.
Appendix2: Houhora: EstimatedFork Length(mm) fromthelargestmeasureddimension("optimumestimator").
RDI

641
610
576
577
565
531
514
506
504
491
488
477
466
434
424
413
385
357
347

RD2

620
559
553
538
491
480
476
455
423
406
403

RD3

632
565
481
473
460
455

LDI

656
573
567
554
550
516
508
501
494
485
467
454
453
439
400
377

LD2

543
498
487
371

LD3

819
635
607
555
555
549
518
478
451
429
423
404

RP1

RP2

LP1

LP2

610
595
567
561
541
523
520
514
504
488
481
469
468
464
462
432
425
425
422
410
350

619
603
601
596
577
573
565
537
530
515
513
510
499
495
492
491
483
482
451
449
442
423
418
418
415

581
536
523
518
494
456
455
446
445
433
410
385
340

586
574
533
529
517
503
496
488
486
484
455
452
439
427
420
416
403
386
371
351
342
280

RM1

620
572
455

114

This content downloaded from 201.148.81.39 on Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:38:38 PM

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RM2

667
616
576
552
514
508
502
472
471
470
439
331

LM1

437

LM2

641
595
519
504
440
413