AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF BONE FRAGMENTS FROM THE SONGBIRD RING SITE (24BH1126), BIG HORN COUNTY, MONTANA

The Songbird Ring site (24BH1126) is a stone ring camp located in a proposed mine permit area of Absaloka Mine in Big Horn County, Montana. The site was first recorded in 1975, when two stone rings, two bifacial lithic tools and three unifacial lithic tools and fragments were noted. Further investigations of the site in 2002 and 2005 identified additional stone rings along with lithic flakes and tools. Test excavations of a rock platform surface hearth (Feature B4-F2) revealed fire-cracked rock, two broken quartzite manuports, lithic debitage, and various bone fragments. A small collection of charred bone fragments was submitted for selection of an appropriate piece to yield an AMS radiocarbon date representative of the feature’s use.