IDENTIFICATION AND AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF CHARRED BOTANIC REMAINS FROM MONTANO PUEBLO, SITE LA 33223, NEW MEXICO

Charcoal and charred botanic samples recovered from excavations at site LA 33223, Montano Pueblo, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were submitted for identification and AMS radiocarbon dating. This pueblo consists of a kiva and two roomblocks and is believed to represent a Classic Period (Pueblo IV) occupation. Identification of charcoal will provide information concerning woods burned as fuel by the site occupants and the shortest-lived taxa for AMS radiocarbon dating. Charred material from sediments in a prehistoric pond (oxbow lake) on the west side of the Rio Grande floodplain also were AMS radiocarbon dated to determine the temporal relation between the pond deposits and the prehistoric occupation, as well as to assist with determining the history (timing, rates, etc.) of episodes of downcutting and aggradation of the Rio Grande during the most recent glacial-interglacial climate cycle.