CARBON- 14 AGE DETERMINATION — F. H. H. ROBERTS 339 



years (Antevs, 1949). It is possible, of course, that some of the ma- 

 terial at Clovis is older than the Lubbock site, because the Folsom 

 culture undoubtedly lasted over a reasonably long period. Also, cer- 

 tain faunal differences' suggest a greater age for some of the Clovis 

 manifestations. The difference between the carbon-14 date and Dr. 

 Antevs' estimate is not too great, however, and it seems a fair assump- 

 tion that the general idea that the Folsom complex is about 10,000 

 years old is not far out of line. 



The late Dr. Kirk Bryan and Dr. Louis L. Ray, after completing 

 their studies at the Lindenmeier site in northern Colorado, another 

 Folsom location, estimated its age as from 10,000 to 25,000 years, with 

 the statement that they believed it nearer the latter than the former 

 (Bryan and Ray, 1940). Thus far it has not been possible to obtain 

 charcoal or other material suitable for carbon-14 tests from tlie cul- 

 tural level at that location and it is not known if the estimate is too 

 great or if perhaps the occupation there was earlier than at the simi- 

 lar sites farther south. Geologically the age appears to be somewhat 

 older. Bryan and Ray concluded that the occupation at the Linden- 

 meier site was in Wisconsin III times or late Mankato. Of interest in 

 this connection is the fact that some early sites on Lime Creek in 

 western Nebraska have been correlated with the Mankato (Schultz 

 and Frankfurter, 1949) and carbon-14 dates of 9,524 ±450, and 

 10,493 ±1,500 have been announced for them. The cultural material 

 is not Folsom, but pi-ojectile points of the types found there have 

 been collected elsewhere at sites where the characteristically fluted 

 Folsom type occurs in a lower and older stratum. Dates for the 

 Mankato, based on materials from other localities, have consistently 

 run between 11,000 and 12,000, or an average age of 11,400 years before 

 the present. 



Other archeological remains of about the same age on the basis of 

 carbon-14 dates are Gypsum Cave in Nevada, with an average of 

 10,455 ±340 for the 6-foot 4-inch level and an average of 8,527 ±250 

 for the 2-foot 6-inch level ; the Fort Rock Cave in Oregon, 9,053 ±350 ; 

 and Palli Aike Cave at the tip of South America, with 8,639 ±450. 

 The deposits in Gypsum Cave where the oldest artifacts were found 

 have been correlated with a dry period immediately following the 

 Provo Pluvial and the age estimate was placed from 7,000 to 9,000 

 years ago (Antevs, 1948) . In that particular case it appears that the 

 estimated and the carbon-14 dates are in fairly close agreement. 

 Archeologically such an age would not be unreasonable, although 

 there is still some question as to the contemporaneity of the associated 

 wooden objects and the sloth dung from which the date was obtained. 

 In connection with the (jypsum Cave dates it might be noted that the 

 accumulation of material between the 6-foot 4-inch level and the 



