Christopher M Stevenson
Biographic Data
| ID | 75960 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christopher M Stevenson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christopher M |
| FAMILY NAME | Stevenson |
| SIGNATURE | STEVENSON C M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3575-2363 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 52 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 264 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 52 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Structural Water Content and Hydration Rates for Mount Hicks, Truman-Queen, Eureka Dunes Unknown-1, and Saline Obsidians
Obsidian hydration dating (OHD) has become a commonly employed method for establishing chronology at archaeological sites containing obsidian flaked-stone components. Since its initial archaeological application, methodological advancements have refined the OHD process increasing its accuracy and precision. It is now well established that intrinsic water content coupled with temperature account for most of the observed variation in the rate of hy…
Ceramic rehydroxylation dating by infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
Obsidian hydration dating by infrared transmission spectroscopy
The obsidian dating method converts the quantity of diffused molecular water within a near‐surface hydration layer to elapsed time using an experimentally derived diffusion coefficient predicted from the structural water content of the glass. Infrared spectroscopic transmission measurements on transparent archaeological samples record vibrational responses of water bands in the near‐infrared region, permitting determination of structural water co…
Examining the Seventeenth-Century Copper Trade
When the colonists who made up the Virginia Company of London established James Fort on the banks of the James River in 1607, they brought with them sheets of scrap copper. Based in large part on the experience of the earlier Roanoke Colony, the English knew that copper was a highly prized material among Native peoples of the Chesapeake, and they brought it with them as a trade item. Artifacts made from European smelted copper (impure copper and …
Obsidian Hydration Dating
Obsidian hydration dating (OHD) is a method of computing archaeological ages based on measuring water absorption by obsidian artifacts, and is widely used in the western United States. This paper provides a single resource for the OHD user, including advances over the past decade. We describe obsidian mineralogy as it affects OHD; the effects of structural water content on hydration; the mathematical form of the hydration law; methods to control …
A novel approach to documenting water diffusion in ancient obsidian artifacts via the complexity analysis of microscope images
Temporal patterns in the economization of obsidian use in Aotearoa New Zealand
Māori discovered and used a range of obsidian sources throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Temporal patterns in the economic use of obsidian are investigated with geochemical data, a technological analysis, and use-wear analysis of obsidian artifacts. We examined 11 metrics related to geologic source, flake size, fragmentation ratio, and use-wear on assemblages of artifacts over 20 mm in size from seven North Island assemblages dating to the Early/Mi…
A molecular model for obsidian hydration dating
Colonial rainfed farming strategies in an extremely arid insular environment
The island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands was first settled by people from northern Africa in the first millennium BC and then colonized by Spain in the late fifteenth century. This colonial legacy reflects an intensive land use driven by a European commodities market that experienced a series of boom-and-bust cycles. Although arid and seemingly resource limited, colonial farmers in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries copied water capture t…
Another Look at Expedient Technologies, Sedentism, and the Bow and Arrow
The transition from the dart to the arrow, and the commensurate changes in lithic technology is poorly understood in the American Southwest. This transition has often been linked to shifts in sedentism and the increasing use of expedient flake tools. However, the relationship between the use of bifacial and core reduction strategies are conditioned by a variety of factors, and not primarily in response to the use of the bow-and-arrow, or simply s…
Geochemical Sourcing of New Zealand Obsidians by Portable X-Ray Fluorescence from 2011 to 2018
This dataset includes 4,582 obsidian artefacts matched to their natural geological source from 45 archaeological sites in New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is a compilation of a number of independent projects conducted in the laboratories of the University of Auckland and University of Otago from 2011 to 2018 [1–13]. It combines previously published studies [3, 5–13], an MA thesis [1], a BA(Hons) dissertation [2], a site report [4], and other previously…
Re-examining trade networks in Late Woodland Virginia (900–1600 CE)
Variability in obsidian structural water content and its importance in the hydration dating of cultural artifacts
The temporal occurrence and possible uses of obsidian mata'a on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)
One of the more visible tools in the Rapa Nui archaeological record is a large flake modified to form a broad blade and tang. Referred to as mata'a, these implements have conventionally been interpreted as “spear points”, or weapons of war, which are proposed to have been made in large numbers during a period of internal conflict in the late seventeenth century. Obsidian hydration dating of 63 mata'a fragments from the southern coast of Rapa Nui …
The Cult of the Birdman
On the island of Rapa Nui the Cult of the Birdman reflected a very visible expression of political competition and cooperation at the island-wide level. This paper synthesizes recent archaeological and chronological information for the cult’s central site – ‘Orongo, in order to document the temporal shift in ideology from an emphasis on lineage autonomy to a more integrated leadership. While Rapa Nui was experiencing internal pressures from the l…
Protocols for laboratory hydration of obsidian, and their effect on hydration rate accuracy
Calibrations for the determination of water species in bulk and hydrated obsidian by infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy
Structural collapse in kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite clay and its role in the ceramic rehydroxylation dating of low-fired earthenware
Hair-dressing residues on wig hair curlers from George Washington's boyhood home, a FTIR–ATR and SEM–Edax analysis
Farming the Rock
In pre-contact Hawai‘i, large and intensive rainfed agricultural systems were established only where ongoing weathering of basalt-derived minerals could provide a sustained source of nutrients to crop plants. We demonstrated that the high-elevation, high- rainfall boundary of the Leeward Kohala Field System corresponded to a well-defined threshold in soil fertility, above which soils were acidic and infertile and rock weathering was depleted as a…
Transient and equilibrium solubility of water in rhyolitic glass
The surface hydration of soda-lime glass and its potential for historic glass dating
Sourcing Rapa Nui mata'a from the collections of Bishop Museum using non-destructive pXRF
Prehistoric Obsidian Exchange on Rapa Nui
The four sources of rhyolitic obsidian on Rapa Nui (Maunga Orito, Moti Iti, Rano Kau I [Te Manavai], Rano Kau II) were differentially utilized throughout prehistory (ca. AD 1200–1860). In order to document the nature of quarry exploitation and obsidian distribution, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence was used to characterize the elemental composition of each source. The classification of 331 archaeological samples from inland habitation sites, …
Prehistoric settlement chronology on Rapa Nui, Chile
The Experimental Hydration of Obsidian as a Function of Relative Humidity and Temperature
The experimental hydration of obsidian for up to 30 days is described at relative humidities (RH) of 60, 90, 95, and 100 percent and at temperatures of 150, 160, and 175°C. Under isothermal conditions, the rate of hydration increased by as much as 25 percent between 60 and 100 percent RH. The RH dependence is nonlinear, with the majority of the rate increase occurring between 90 and 100 percent RH. The effect of RH can be related to the driving f…
Evidence Concerning the Origin of Maiz de Ocho
Obsidian hydration dating by infrared spectroscopy
Soil nutrient analysis of Rapa Nui gardening
Prehistoric Rapa Nui farmers used a variety of rock veneer and mulch gardens to increase crop productivity. These cultural features ranged from small ca. 10 × 10 m gardens, to much larger expanses of continuous rock concentrations covering many hectares. The rock gardens probably served several purposes, including protecting crops and soils from high winds, promoting water penetration, maintaining ground moisture, and reducing temperature fluctua…
Obsidian Dating
Advances in the Hydration Dating of New Zealand Obsidian
Homogeneity of water content in obsidian from the coso volcanic field
Users of the obsidian hydration dating method have routinely assumed that artifacts which originate from the same geological flow will be of the same chemical composition and thus hydrate at the same rate under equivalent conditions of temperature and relative humidity. Recent laboratory experimentation into the hydration process has shown that the intrinsic water content of the glass is the dominant factor in establishing the rate of hydration. …
La–icp–ms, Sem–eds and Epma Analysis of Eastern North American Copper‐based Artefacts
This study discusses the relevance of compositions obtained using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) for the purpose of identifying the provenance of copper‐based artefacts found in Virginia at Native American sites dated from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Ten artefacts were investigated by scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) to visualize the corrosion and characterize…
Prehistoric and early historic agriculture at Maunga Orito, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile
A long section adjacent to a former obsidian quarry on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) reveals a sequence of agricultural strategies, beginning with the clearing of palm trees in the twelfth century AD, and the making of an open garden growing yams and taro, that continued through the fifteenth century. The later phases between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries include veneer and boulder gardens that reflect the broader strategy employed by the i…
Prehistoric agricultural production on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile
A survey of the Easter Island landscape has resulted in the recognition of numerous lithic mulched household gardens and fields. It is proposed that lithic mulching was a technological innovation introduced to enhance the moisture retention capacity of the excessively drained island soils, and was an innovation incorporated into élite managed field systems which arose in the early 15th century to meet the demands for surplus production
Obsidian procurement and consumption on Easter Island
Structural collapse in kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite clay and its role in the ceramic rehydroxylation dating of low-fired earthenware
The Role of Resolution and Sample Preparation in Hydration Rim Measurement
The role of the theoretical limit of resolution of optical microscopes is discussed in relation to obsidian rim age-date determinations. The resolution of the optics is shown to contribute an error of ± 20 percent. The error analysis identified the determination of the activation energy as the single step in the dating process that introduces the largest error
An upland agricultural residence on Rapa Nui
Beginning in the early 14th century, Rapanui agriculturalists established remote field systems in the upland regions of Easter Island. The excavation of a hare oka, or circular house, reveals that many of the fields were tended by task‐groups of two or three persons living in small dwellings. The use of the house over four centuries was followed by abandonment in the late 17th or early 18th century. These dates correlate with the chronology estab…
Infra-red Photoacoustic and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Measurements of Obsidian Hydration Rims
X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Obsidian Sources in Arizona and New Mexico
Major, minor, and trace element values for 19 obsidian sources located in New Mexico and Arizona have been obtained through energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis. The sample preparation methods and analytical procedures are described. A discriminant analysis on the data indicates that most of the obsidians were correctly assigned to their geological source. Several potential problem areas in the procedure were identified
Prehistoric settlement chronology on Rapa Nui, Chile
The distribution of rock gardens on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) as determined from satellite imagery
Hopewell Obsidian Studies
Specific questions regarding the antiquity of major midwestern Hopewell culture sites and their role in regional exchange systems are addressed in this paper through the dating (obsidian hydration) and compositional characterization (neutron activation analysis [NAA] and atomic absorption spectroscopy [AAS]) of obsidian artifacts. The analysis of 34 specimens from the Seip, Mound City, and Hopewell sites, Ohio, and the Naples site, Illinois, incr…
Mogollon Village Revisited
In 1933 Emil Haury conducted excavations at Mogollon Village that began to establish the Mogollon as a distinct region and to develop the current phase sequence. Haury's tree-ring cutting dates document occupation at the site for roughly 160 years (a.d. 736 to 898). Recent chronometric dates from Mogollon Village, including archaeomagnetic, radiocarbon, and obsidian hydration, identify occupations prior to a.d. 700 and document structures that sp…
Chemical characterization and hydration rate development for New Mexican obsidian sources
The obsidian hydration dating of prehistoric sites requires that each type of natural glass be identified on the basis of its elemental constituents in order that the appropriate hydration rate constants may be applied. In New Mexico, obsidian occurs in the form of in situ flows and as secondarily deposited detrital material in the sediments of ancestral watercourses. the chemical analysis of 153 geological and archaeological samples from both co…
The Age and Evolutionary Significance of Southwestern Maiz de Ocho
Variability in obsidian structural water content and its importance in the hydration dating of cultural artifacts
Sourcing Rapa Nui mata'a from the collections of Bishop Museum using non-destructive pXRF
Prehistoric Obsidian Exchange on Rapa Nui
The four sources of rhyolitic obsidian on Rapa Nui (Maunga Orito, Moti Iti, Rano Kau I [Te Manavai], Rano Kau II) were differentially utilized throughout prehistory (ca. AD 1200–1860). In order to document the nature of quarry exploitation and obsidian distribution, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence was used to characterize the elemental composition of each source. The classification of 331 archaeological samples from inland habitation sites, …
Obsidian procurement and consumption on Easter Island
Obsidian Hydration Dating
A simple optical method is described that will enhance the color contrast between the outer birefringent hydration rind and the inner unhydrated core on obsidian thin sections used for hydration dating. The technique utilizes a gypsum nccessory plate. The gypsum plate rotates all incoming light by 550nm causing the black isotropic core of the nhsidian to become transparent first‐order pink and interacting with the transmitted light from the biref…
Evidence Concerning the Origin of Maiz de Ocho
The Role of Resolution and Sample Preparation in Hydration Rim Measurement
The role of the theoretical limit of resolution of optical microscopes is discussed in relation to obsidian rim age-date determinations. The resolution of the optics is shown to contribute an error of ± 20 percent. The error analysis identified the determination of the activation energy as the single step in the dating process that introduces the largest error
The Age and Evolutionary Significance of Southwestern Maiz de Ocho
Obsidian Dating
Chemical characterization and hydration rate development for New Mexican obsidian sources
The obsidian hydration dating of prehistoric sites requires that each type of natural glass be identified on the basis of its elemental constituents in order that the appropriate hydration rate constants may be applied. In New Mexico, obsidian occurs in the form of in situ flows and as secondarily deposited detrital material in the sediments of ancestral watercourses. the chemical analysis of 153 geological and archaeological samples from both co…
X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Obsidian Sources in Arizona and New Mexico
Major, minor, and trace element values for 19 obsidian sources located in New Mexico and Arizona have been obtained through energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis. The sample preparation methods and analytical procedures are described. A discriminant analysis on the data indicates that most of the obsidians were correctly assigned to their geological source. Several potential problem areas in the procedure were identified
Hopewell Obsidian Studies
Specific questions regarding the antiquity of major midwestern Hopewell culture sites and their role in regional exchange systems are addressed in this paper through the dating (obsidian hydration) and compositional characterization (neutron activation analysis [NAA] and atomic absorption spectroscopy [AAS]) of obsidian artifacts. The analysis of 34 specimens from the Seip, Mound City, and Hopewell sites, Ohio, and the Naples site, Illinois, incr…
The Experimental Hydration of Obsidian as a Function of Relative Humidity and Temperature
The experimental hydration of obsidian for up to 30 days is described at relative humidities (RH) of 60, 90, 95, and 100 percent and at temperatures of 150, 160, and 175°C. Under isothermal conditions, the rate of hydration increased by as much as 25 percent between 60 and 100 percent RH. The RH dependence is nonlinear, with the majority of the rate increase occurring between 90 and 100 percent RH. The effect of RH can be related to the driving f…
Obsidian Hydration Dating and Temperature Controls in the Punta Negra Region of Northern Chile
Effective hydration temperature (EHT) is essential for the computation of obsidian hydration dates. In the Atacama Desert, the scarcity of air-temperature records combines with extremes of elevation and local temperature to encourage, or even require, the use of buried thermal cells to record on-site mean annual temperatures. Compositional analysis (sourcing) and hydration rate development in the laboratory are also necessary, especially where ot…
Reply to Hughes
Hughes (1992) raises two points in his evaluation of our paper on Hopewell obsidian studies (Hatch et al. 1990): (a) Why did we not attempt to identify the several possible western United States sources from which our Hopewell specimens were derived, and (b) was it legitimate to report hydration-rim measurements with a.1 μm or less level of accuracy? These issues are addressed within the context of our initial research goals and through reference…
Homogeneity of water content in obsidian from the coso volcanic field
Users of the obsidian hydration dating method have routinely assumed that artifacts which originate from the same geological flow will be of the same chemical composition and thus hydrate at the same rate under equivalent conditions of temperature and relative humidity. Recent laboratory experimentation into the hydration process has shown that the intrinsic water content of the glass is the dominant factor in establishing the rate of hydration. …
Advances in the Hydration Dating of New Zealand Obsidian
Mogollon Village Revisited
In 1933 Emil Haury conducted excavations at Mogollon Village that began to establish the Mogollon as a distinct region and to develop the current phase sequence. Haury's tree-ring cutting dates document occupation at the site for roughly 160 years (a.d. 736 to 898). Recent chronometric dates from Mogollon Village, including archaeomagnetic, radiocarbon, and obsidian hydration, identify occupations prior to a.d. 700 and document structures that sp…
Prehistoric agricultural production on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile
A survey of the Easter Island landscape has resulted in the recognition of numerous lithic mulched household gardens and fields. It is proposed that lithic mulching was a technological innovation introduced to enhance the moisture retention capacity of the excessively drained island soils, and was an innovation incorporated into élite managed field systems which arose in the early 15th century to meet the demands for surplus production
Infra-red Photoacoustic and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Measurements of Obsidian Hydration Rims
High Precision Measurement of Obsidian Hydration Layers on Artifacts from the Hopewell Site Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
Obsidian hydration dating has served as one of the chronological indicators for the Hopewell Culture earthworks (ca. 200 B.C.-A.D. 500) in central Ohio. This work presents new obsidian hydration dates developed from high precision hydration layer depth profiling using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). These data suggest that long-distance exchange in obsidian occurred throughout the Hopewell period
The impact of moderate to marginal land suitability on prehistoric agricultural production and models of adaptive strategies for Easter Island (Rapa Nui, Chile)
Prehistoric and early historic agriculture at Maunga Orito, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile
A long section adjacent to a former obsidian quarry on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) reveals a sequence of agricultural strategies, beginning with the clearing of palm trees in the twelfth century AD, and the making of an open garden growing yams and taro, that continued through the fifteenth century. The later phases between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries include veneer and boulder gardens that reflect the broader strategy employed by the i…
A New Dating Method for High‐calcium Archaeological Glasses Based Upon Surface‐water Diffusion
The first European settlers came to North America in the early 17th century using glass in the form of containers and decorative objects. Thus, glass is a horizon marker for all historic period settlements and a potential source of chronometric dates at archaeological sites belonging to the historic period in the Americas. We have developed a new absolute dating method based upon water diffusion into the surface of manufactured glasses that predi…
An upland agricultural residence on Rapa Nui
Beginning in the early 14th century, Rapanui agriculturalists established remote field systems in the upland regions of Easter Island. The excavation of a hare oka, or circular house, reveals that many of the fields were tended by task‐groups of two or three persons living in small dwellings. The use of the house over four centuries was followed by abandonment in the late 17th or early 18th century. These dates correlate with the chronology estab…
La–icp–ms, Sem–eds and Epma Analysis of Eastern North American Copper‐based Artefacts
This study discusses the relevance of compositions obtained using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) for the purpose of identifying the provenance of copper‐based artefacts found in Virginia at Native American sites dated from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Ten artefacts were investigated by scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) to visualize the corrosion and characterize…
Soil nutrient analysis of Rapa Nui gardening
Prehistoric Rapa Nui farmers used a variety of rock veneer and mulch gardens to increase crop productivity. These cultural features ranged from small ca. 10 × 10 m gardens, to much larger expanses of continuous rock concentrations covering many hectares. The rock gardens probably served several purposes, including protecting crops and soils from high winds, promoting water penetration, maintaining ground moisture, and reducing temperature fluctua…
Obsidian hydration dating by infrared spectroscopy
Archaeology (36 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (32 works) · Geography (31 works) · Geology (28 works) · Mineralogy (23 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (19 works) · Materials Science (18 works) · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis (16 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (15 works) · Chemistry (14 works)