Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition.

Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. The archaeology of the Pleistocene and of the Holocene (the EuropeanPalaeolithic and Mesolithic/Epi-Palaeolithic) have traditionally beenstudied in isolation, despite, or perhaps even because of, rapid andfundamental environmental changes at the transition. Inevitably theseparation of issues in the Terminal Pleistocene from those in the EarlyHolocene has tended to place a constraint on discussions of importantissues across the boundary. However traditional academic barriers areincreasingly being broken down, and archaeological attention has beganto focus on changes in subsistence and settlement at this time (such asin Europe, with new publications, such as Larsson 1996, and newsgroupssuch as nweurope-10kbp (nweurope-10kbp@mailbase.ac.uk)). The lastglacial-interglacial transition has also recently drawn academicattention across a variety of disciplines, as exciting new environmentalresearch has made clear the scale, severity and rapidity ofenvironmental changes at the end of the last glaciation. Humans at theend of the Ice Age presents a pan-global approach to the relationshipbetween human societies and environmental changes at the end of the lastglaciation. As such, its significance can scarcely be overstated o��ver��state?tr.v. o��ver��stat��ed, o��ver��stat��ing, o��ver��statesTo state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate.o , andits contribution, in presenting up-to-date regional syntheses anddiscussions of the key issues, could hardly be more timely.The volume originates from an INQUA INQUA International Union for Quaternary Research (International Union forQuaternary Research The International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) was founded in 1928. It has members from a number of scientific disciplines who study the environmental changes that occurred during the glacial ages, the last 2.6 million years. ) Working Group and papers presented at the Societyfor American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. conference in Anaheim. In each chapterindividual specialists aim to address 'the specific nature andconsequences of the environmental changes of the end of the Pleistocene,detailing the nature, speed, and magnitude of the cultural changes thatoccurred in the chosen regions' (Straus). The effects of theglacial-interglacial transition on different societies are clearly veryvaried - from possible population decline, migration or isolation, tothe spread or origin of new technologies and adaptations. Humans at theend of the Ice Age simultaneously presents new evidence and approachesthe key issues which link all the regions - questions of the scale andrapidity of environmental changes, the challenges or possibilities thatpopulations faced and the contrast between continuity and change at aregional or continental level. In fact it is a notable tribute to theeditors that the key ideas and issues are followed through, so thatdespite the range and diversity of study regions the volume does presenta coherent whole, and not simply a series of chapters on a similartheme.The book is structured around main geographical regions, Africa andthe Near East (south and northeast Africa, southwest Asia Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The term Western Asia is sometimes used in writings about the archeology and the late prehistory of the region, and in the United States subregion ), Europe (fromsouthwest and northwest Europe to the North and East European Plain The East European Plain (also Eastern-European Lowland, Eastern European Lowlands, Eastern European Plain, and Russian Plain) is a plain and series of broad river basins in Eastern Europe. It is the largest mountain-free part of the European landscape. ),the Americas (from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego(tyĕ`rä dĕl fwā`gō), [Span.=land of fire], archipelago, 28,476 sq mi (73,753 sq km), off S South America, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan. ) and Asia and Australia(Australia, southern Thailand and southeast Asia, Japan and Siberia)with each editor providing an introduction to each section. Finalconclusions by Jochim bring together the issues and suggest criticalquestions for future research. Although inevitably there must beomissions, the volume nevertheless retains a world-wide focus, withoutan over-concentration on any one area. Regions familiar to anglophoneresearchers, such as North America North America,third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and Europe, and those which have inthe past been inaccessible (such as southern South America South America,fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Siberia andThailand) are represented. In fact, many of the chapters presentvaluable regional syntheses of research which are often unavailable towestern scholars.In each chapter the authors cover the effects of the end of the lastglaciation on regional environments and subsistence resources, commonlyfollowing an overview of environmental changes with a summary of thearchaeological evidence for each period in turn, before drawing out themain issues. A few articles are particularly focused on site-based datasomewhat at the expense of the key issues, although admittedly bothproviding a regional summary and addressing key issues is often adifficult compromise, and different histories of research inspiredifferent approaches to archaeological evidence. For the Americas andfor Europe, common issues such as colonization (for the Americas) or theeffects of spreading coniferous con��i��fer?n.Any of various mostly needle-leaved or scale-leaved, chiefly evergreen, cone-bearing gymnospermous trees or shrubs such as pines, spruces, and firs. forests are readily apparent, whereasfor Africa and the Near East, and for Asia and Australia, the mostnotable uniting element is the surprisingly extensive range of adaptivediversity.A contrast is evident throughout the volume between regions where anemphasis is clearly on a continuity of adaptations and those where theend of the Ice Age heralded fundamental changes. In some cases adjacentregions display markedly different trajectories of environmental andsocial changes. Close comments that for the inhabitants of the lowerNile Valley, the Pleistocene-Holocene transition 'would seem tohave been an unmitigated un��mit��i��gat��ed?adj.1. Not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; unrelieved: unmitigated suffering.2. disaster'. High floods (the 'WildNile') caused severe down-cutting and sudden destruction of along-established and stable environment and long-establishedcommunities. The cemetery at Jebel Sahaba provides possible evidence ofsome of the effects of these changes; here 24 individuals of the 59interred had suffered a violent death. Increasing rainfall somewhatlater in the glacial-interglacial transition in contrast allowedhunter-gatherer groups to colonize col��o��nize?v. col��o��nized, col��o��niz��ing, col��o��niz��esv.tr.1. To form or establish a colony or colonies in.2. To migrate to and settle in; occupy as a colony.3. the neighbouring Sahara desert. Closecomments,'The effects of these changes on the human inhabitants ofNortheast Africa could not have been more profound, or moredifferent.'Changes in other regions of the globe were seldom as dramatic but inmany cases were as fundamental. The most common causes of change werethe movements of vegetation, particularly in mid-and high-latitudeenvironments, often caused by (and lagging behind) temperature changes.In western Tasmania it appears that the spread of early Holocenerainforest displaced important game animals. Allen & Kershaw notethat occupation of all sites excavated ceased before 12,000 BP andsuggest that the area was abandoned. The authors thus stress that thisregion was possibly the only region of its size in the world to beoccupied throughout in the Terminal Pleistocene and abandoned in theHolocene.Powers (Siberia), Yesner (eastern Beringia), Frison and Bonnichsen(the Great Plains), Mitchell, Yates and Parkington (southern Africa),Straus (southwest Europe) and Eriksen (northwest Europe) reveal thatlarge game, specifically herds of herbivores, were also affected by theencroaching early Holocene forests. The effect, however, on subsistencepractices of the decline of large migratory herds in many of the regionsis not as severe as has been proposed. Recent research suggests thatLate Glacial populations were less specialized than previousinterpretations suggested. Yesner stresses that evidence for earlybroad-spectrum diets (including birds and fish) in western North Americachallenges traditional interpretations of a Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of Eemian interglacial phase before final glacial episode of Pleistocene 126,000 �� 5,000 years ago. subsistencebase dominated by megafauna meg��a��fau��na?n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)Large or relatively large animals, as of a particular region or period, considered as a group.meg . In South Africa South Africa,Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. , although there were clearsocial and technological changes, Mitchell et.al. also suggest that LatePleistocene economies may have been less dependent on large game thanpreviously supposed. Eriksen stresses that faunal evidence suggests thateven specialized Late Glacial 'reindeer hunters' in NorthwestEurope were also more broad-based in their exploitation patterns withother large herbivores such as horse also being important. Though Morse,Anderson & Goodyear link megafaunal extinctions with the arrival ofhuman populations, for one element at least, mammoth, Yesner suggeststhat extinction probably occurred before (rather than as a result of)human occupation of eastern Beringia (since no mammoth post-cranialremains have been recovered from archaeological sites). Even ifpopulations were not solely dependent on large game, however, theecological changes, albeit gradual, were the cause of fundamentalchanges in settlement and subsistence. Several authors, Yesner inparticular, note that the spread of forests is associated with areduction in herd size and gregarious behaviour of large herbivores, andthat these changes appear to be linked to a move towards exploitation ofincreasingly diverse resources and various changes in settlementpatterns. In Europe, Eriksen suggests that the increased density ofarboreal arborealpertaining to trees, treelike, tree-dwelling. vegetation probably led to an increased residential mobilitythrough time in northwest Europe, and Straus also suggests that Aziliangroups in southwest France were probably more mobile and smaller in sizethan in the preceding Magdalenian. Farther east, Dolukhanov suggestsrather different changes at the transition. He interprets Late Glacialoccupation of the East European Plain in terms of vulnerable landscapes,with low-level permafrost permafrost,permanently frozen soil, subsoil, or other deposit, characteristic of arctic and some subarctic regions; similar conditions are also found at very high altitudes in mountain ranges. resulting in rapid depletion of naturalresources around occupation sites, contrasting with more stablelandscapes and increasingly sedentary type of settlement in the earlyHolocene.Ecological changes, particularly changing ecological zones, appear tohave been sufficient to provoke movements of population in some areas.Yesner notes the possible northward 'backwash' of people inwestern North America following remnant animal herds, and Dolukhanovsuggests movements of population into the East European Plain from thewest and south in the early Holocene. In the Polish region of the NorthEuropean Plain, Schild suggests that the apparent abandonment of boththe chocolate flint and the red ochre Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced /'əʊk.ə/, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. It has been used worldwide since prehistoric times. mines in the Holy Cross Mountainstestify to early Holocene stress, and a 'break' in thecultural record. Jochim notes that although migrations have not been apopular topic of archaeological study for a number of decades,nevertheless 'population movements and colonisation are very realcomponents of history and prehistory'. Aside from historicalperspectives, Frison & Bonnichsen suggest that our understanding ofthe extent of population movement following'time-transgressive' environments have also been constrainedby an 'in-situ model' of archaeological site formation whichassumes that each succeeding cultural sequence in stratigraphicalcontext evolved from the preceding cultural sequence. Despite renewedinterest in identifying changes in population dynamics Population dynamics is the study of marginal and long-term changes in the numbers, individual weights and age composition of individuals in one or several populations, and biological and environmental processes influencing those changes. , both populationmovements, and population decline in particular, are nevertheless verydifficult to isolate, particularly given the quality of thearchaeological evidence for even the most intensively studied regions.Future research may identify key parameters which contribute to theseissues, but at present questions of population hiatuses in particularremain unresolved.In contrast to the apparent pressures caused by the expansion ofconiferous forests in mid- to high-latitude environments, the expansionof temperate forests (oak and beech) in Japan has been linked to thespread of the Jomon broad-spectrum economy, an early pottery industryand residential sedentism (Aikens & Akazawa). It is noted that thereare 'strong connections between environmental and cultural changeacross the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary' in Japan. In New Guinea New Guinea(gĭn`ē), island, c.342,000 sq mi (885,780 sq km), SW Pacific, N of Australia; the world's second largest island after Greenland. ,ameliorating climates at the Transition also opened up newpossibilities, permitting the cultivation of root crops such as taro taro:see arum. taroHerbaceous plant (Colocasia esculenta) of the arum family, probably native to Southeast Asia and taken to the Pacific islands. (although Allen & Kershaw stress that the association ofameliorating climates with early agriculture is not necessarily anexplanation). Rather than overall trends, Bar-Yosef proposes that aspecific sequence of climate changes - at the Younger Dryas cold phase -were particularly important in influencing the origins of agriculture insouthwest Asia, commenting that 'chain decisions concerning sitelocation and shifts in procurement strategies could have led to changesin the social realm and resulted in the emergence of farming orcultivating communities in this cold and dry period'. As well asthe adoption of agriculture in southwest Asia and New Guinea, thePleistocene-Holocene Transition is also the time when we see thedomestication domesticationProcess of hereditary reorganization of wild animals and plants into forms more accommodating to the interests of people. In its strictest sense, it refers to the initial stage of human mastery of wild animals and plants. of the wolf in Europe (Eriksen) and widespread adoption ofmicrolithic mi��cro��lith?n. ArchaeologyA very small blade made of flaked stone and used as a tool, especially in the European Mesolithic Period.mi industries from southern Africa to Europe.The overall impression is one of marked changes in subsistence,settlement and technology in almost all the regions considered. Thetime-scale of these changes, however, may vary and several papersindicate that the relations between climatic changes and humanadaptation are complex. The structure both of environments and ofexisting subsistence and settlement patterns is a criticalconsideration. Straus stresses that a continuity of broad-spectrumsubsistence patterns characterizes the Pleistocene-Holocene transitionin Cantabrian Spain and south central Portugal throughout the decline ofreindeer, as reindeer were never a significant game species. Incontrast, other neighbouring regions where populations were moredependent on reindeer herds (such as southwest France) show more markedchanges in subsistence, although in one area, the northern flank of thePyrenees, the proximity of different environmental zones allowed thevery late survival of reindeer herds and continuity of reindeer huntinginto the early Holocene. Thus it appears that regions with markeddifferences in topography may be particularly resilient to the effectsof climatic changes. In fact, it is the topography of the Japanesearchipelago that is one of the key elements allowing the residentialsedentism suggested for Jomon Japan (Aikens & Akazawa) with a closejuxtaposition of different environments, and a wide range of resourcesavailable within a short distance. Conversely, of course, some of themost marked changes in subsistence or settlement at thePleistocene-Holocene Transition are recorded in more homogenous homogenous - homogeneous environments such as southwest France or the North European Plain.The effects of climatic changes are also 'filtered' by thecharacter of human settlement. Eriksen notes that changing economies atthe Pleistocene-Holocene Transition can also be influenced by internaldynamic processes as well as environmental changes, hinting that theseprocesses could be a possible direction for future research. Inaddition, Jochim stresses the importance of the history of pastadaptation of groups in influencing responses to environmental change.In fact, Borrero suggests that early populations in southern SouthAmerica were not greatly affected by the environmental changes at thePleistocene-Holocene Transition as human populations were in the initialstages of adjusting to new environments and were thus very adaptable.Yesner adds other factors, such as that early populations in SouthAmerica were already exploiting a more diverse food base than in NorthAmerica, and also that the survival of wild camelids allowed a partialtransfer of megafaunal hunting.There is also an emphasis on continuity in other regions. In ThailandPookajoon suggests that there was no great change of climate from thePleistocene to the Holocene (partly due to the effect of the monsoonsystem) and thus only a very limited effect on vegetation. It issuggested that in fact here, sea-level changes had the greatest impacton human populations. Allen & Kershaw note that for GreaterAustralia there is neither any equivalent to the Mesolithic orEpi-Paleolithic nor the evolution of any new socio-cultural forms atabout 10,000 BP. Once again sea-level changes are relatively moreimportant although marked changes are in evidence over a longertime-scale, with significant changes in the 15,000 BP to 7000 BP range.Contrasts between areas of continuity and of change can be seen at avariety of different scales, from contrasts between North and SouthAmerica noted by Yesner and Borrero to those within southwest Europenoted by Straus. The issue of spatial scales is an important one,highlighted by Mitchell, Yates and Parkington, Bar Yosef and by Jochim.In view of the importance of spatial scales and spatial patterning tounderstanding adaptations to changing environments, maps are frequent,and essential, throughout the volume (though an important synthesis, anunderstanding of some of the distributions described by Powers wouldhave greatly benefitted from a map of the locations of sites referredto). Whilst the nature of processes occurring at different scales is anexciting topic of research, it might be premature to attach too muchimportance to some of these distinctions as I suspect that the historyand intensity of archaeological research influences the scale at whichthese contrasts can be defined, perhaps as much as do the realdifferences between past populations. The issue of time-scales is also acritical one and again the history of research inevitably has an impactwith finer-scale temporal changes more readily identifiable in NorthAmerica and Europe. Borrero contrasts long-term climatic changes andslow adaptations with very rapid changes with dramatic effects onpopulations. The rapid climate changes at the Younger Dryas are one suchexample (with very rapid and potentially global changes in temperature,Kudras et al. 1991; Lowe et al. 1994; Peteet 1994; Walker 1995); otherswould include volcanic eruptions volcanic eruptionsdischarging of fumes, dust and lava from volcanoes. They have damaging potential in addition to those of being physically overpowering by the lava flow or the ash or dust fallout. or earthquakes (and resultanttsunamis). Eriksen suggests that the emptying of the ice-damned BalticIce Lake The Baltic ice lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that gradually formed in the Baltic Sea basin as the glacier retreated over that region at the end of the Pleistocene. would also have been extremely rapid and this event would alsohave been a major ecological disaster. Unfortunately, of course, theeffects of these very rapid environmental changes are very difficult toidentify archaeologically. Nevertheless, the interaction betweenclimatic and environmental variability on the short and long term andthe effects on human populations are an important area for futureresearch.Although the scale, severity and effects of climatic changes contrastgreatly between regions, and in some cases are relatively limited, oneenvironmental change which had pan-global effects was that of risingsea-level. Coastlines around the world will have been affected todifferent degrees by inundation INUNDATION. The overflow of waters by coming out of their bed. 2. Inundations may arise from three causes; from public necessity, as in defence of a place it may be necessary to dam the current of a stream, which will cause an inundation to the upper lands; , depending on glacial retreat, isostatic i��sos��ta��sy?n.Equilibrium in the earth's crust such that the forces tending to elevate landmasses balance the forces tending to depress landmasses. rebound and the character of the continental shelf, with sea-level risecutting off major land masses such as North America, and isolatingregions such as the Japanese archipelago. The variability in sea-levelsas well as the underlying trend also had an impact. Allen & Kershawsuggest that continuously unstable sea levels around theglacial-interglacial transition in Greater Australia would have produceda less productive coastal subsistence base (changes of 10-15 m per dayhave even been suggested in some areas). They suggest that significantcoastal re-alignments of human populations would have been likely. Oneeffect of sea-level changes on present interpretations is that coastalactivities contemporary with the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition havebeen submerged world-wide. Erlandson & Moss stress the complicationsof any interpretation of the archaeological record The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote all archaeological evidence, including the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyze and reconstruct the past. (in this case for thePacific coast of North America), when large areas have been inundated ordisturbed through post-glacial sea-level rise, the effects of tectonicactivity and deglaciation de��gla��ci��a��tion?n.The uncovering of glaciated land because of melting or sublimation of the glacier.deglaciation?The uncovering of land that was previously covered by a glacier. .The role of biasing factors in influencing interpretations is animportant issue. Erlandson & Moss note regional differences inpreservation conditions affected by such factors as the acidic soils ofnorthern coniferous forests, and Yesner notes missing evidence fromareas such as valley bottoms. Differential preservation conditions haveclearly influenced the nature of research in different regions; forexample cultural changes in the eastern United States are particularlybased on changing lithic lith��ic?1?adj.Consisting of or relating to stone or rock.Adj. 1. lithic - of or containing lithium2. lithic - relating to or composed of stone; "lithic sandstone" assemblages (Morse, Anderson & Goodyear) incontrast to an emphasis on subsistence practices in some other regions(such as for example Japan, eastern Beringia or northwest Europe).Contemporary and historical factors, particularly the intensity ofresearch, also influence apparent patterning in recorded sites. Biasescan affect issues from the interpretation of changing settlementpatterns and population densities to the process of colonization. Thoughcrucial to interpretations, and indeed referred to by several authors,the limitations of biased data-sets, a problem common to all theregions, are often overlooked.The problem of visibility of coastal sites is especially acute inconsidering the spread of population through the Americas, as onepossible route might have been across the now submerged coastal plain.The dating of sites is also a critical consideration both for issues ofcolonization (where the Pleistocene - Holocene transition may have beenan important time) and for wider issues such as the rate of change ofenvironments and of human adaptation (although both Schild and Borrerograph dates without using standard deviation which can be misleading).Dates throughout the volume are consistently expressed in radiocarbonyears; however radiocarbon calibration is clearly a crucial issueespecially given the series of radiocarbon plateaux (of up to nearly1000 years) in this period (Bard et al. 1990; Becker & Kromer 1986;Kromer & Becker 1993), Mitchell et al. and Straus note that thedating of sites at the Glacial-Interglacial Transition is problematicand suggest that calibration is likely to affect our understanding ofrates of cultural and environmental change. However only Schild (for theNorth European Plain and Eastern Sub-Balticum) attempts to use acalibration curve before interpreting archaeological sequences.Calibration programs are freely available, and the rate of change insubsistence and settlement is so crucial to discussions of humanadaptations that more widespread attempts to use real (rather thanradiocarbon) years might have been expected.The relative importance attached to different dates is a vitalelement of interpretations of the timing of colonization of the NewWorld. The process of colonization across the globe is one of the majorquestions which Jochim outlined for future work, alongside the nature ofadaptation, the relationship between local and regional patterns and thecauses and role of warfare, topics which the scope of the present volumecould only touch upon. Aside from the evidence for very early occupation(Adovasio 1996), the apparent incongruity in��con��gru��i��ty?n. pl. in��con��gru��i��ties1. Lack of congruence.2. The state or quality of being incongruous.3. Something incongruous.Noun 1. in the dating of thecolonization of North and South America is left somewhat unexplained.Yesner suggests that there is no solid evidence for the occupation ofinterior Alaska and the adjacent Yukon territory before about 12,000 BP;the other regions of North America covered also suggest dates sometimeafter 12,000 BP. But Borrero suggests that increasing evidence foroccupation before 11,500 BP in southern South America cannot be ignored,illustrating a sequence of dates from a few centuries after 13,000 BP.Future dates might help to resolve these issues.Alongside the problems of using dates in radiocarbon rather than'real' years, the problematic nature of environmental andecological changes is also often understated, and certain papers appearto present environmental data as the more solid 'background'to archaeological studies. In fact, environmental changes at theGlacial-Interglacial Transition are far from perfectly understood andare often contradictory (Eriksen for example notes that it is uncertainwhether the Baltic Ice Lake was 'dead' or in fact a salt sea).And although a number of researchers do discuss questions of thepossible rapidity and scope of environmental change, especially duringthe Younger Dryas, some discussion of the particularly relevantecological issues such as possible effects on ecosystems and thecharacteristics of areas most susceptible or resilient to changes wouldmake a valuable contribution. Personally I suspect that only limitedprogress can be made by archaeologists alone in tackling some of theseissues and that the solution lies in closer collaboration betweenarchaeologists and ecologists.Throughout this volume fascinating and important issues werepresented, and I would certainly agree that this work includes 'awealth of new information about a critical period of globalhistory' (Jochim). It is well presented, and extremely well editedwith a consistent approach to the main issues in each chapter andsummaries and discussions for each section and for the overall volume.The papers within also present a refreshingly dynamic view ofhunter-gatherers, and a coherent approach to a period in which newinterpretations and discoveries ensure that research perspectives areconstantly changing. Humans at the end of the Ice Age is an extremelyimportant book, which despite the cost (about [pounds]50) I can readilyrecommend to anyone interested in either the last Glacial-InterglacialTransition or wider issues in hunter-gatherer ecology.ReferencesADOVASIO, J.M. 1993. The ones that will not go away: A biased view ofpre-Clovis populations in the New World, in O. Soffer & N.D. Praslov(ed.), From Kostienki to Clovis; Upper Palaeolithic-Paleo-IndianAdaptations. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (NY): Plenum Press.BARD, E., B. HAMELIN, R. FAIRBANKS & A. ZINDLER. 1990.Calibration of the 14C timescale over the past 30,000 years using massspectrometric U-Th ages from Barbados corals, Nature 362: 527-9.BECKER, B. & B. KROMER. 1986. 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