AMS RADIOCARBON DATES ON BONE SAMPLES FROM SHEEP ROCK SPRING (24JF292), JEFFERSON COUNTY, MONTANA

Sheep Rock Spring (24JF292) is a deeply stratified Middle to Early Precontact occupation site located northeast of Whitehall in Jefferson County, Montana. This stratified alluvial/colluvial locality is situated on the southeast-facing slope of Bull Mountain near Sheep Rock Spring in the Sheep Creek Valley. The spring is currently used as a water source for cattle. The existing radiocarbon chronology on bone indicates that the zone of fluctuating water table has introduced contaminants (Wilson 2002). Five bone samples were submitted for AMS radiocarbon dating to establish a temporal sequence for the site.