Radiocarbon Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Deposits from the Minoan Santorini (Thera) eruption in the eastern Mediterranean region constitute the most important regional stratigraphic marker in the chronological perplexity of the 2nd millennium BCE. Extensive tsunami depos- its... more

Deposits from the Minoan Santorini (Thera) eruption in the eastern Mediterranean region constitute the most important regional stratigraphic marker in the chronological perplexity of the 2nd millennium BCE. Extensive tsunami depos- its were discovered in Crete at the Minoan archaeological site of Palaikastro, containing reworked volcanic Santorini ash. Hence, airborne deposition of volcanic ash, probably during the 1st (Plinian) eruption phase, preceded the tsunami, which was apparently generated during the 3rd or 4th phase of the eruption, based on evidence from Thera. Average radiocarbon dates (uncalibrated) of animal bones in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits along the coast (3350 ± 25 BP) and at the inland archaeo- logical site (3352 ± 23 BP) are astoundingly similar to the average 14C date for the Minoan Santorini eruption at Akrotiri on Thera (3350 ± 10 BP). The wiggle-matched 14C date of the eruption in calendar years is 1627-1600 cal BCE. Late Minoan IA pottery is the younges...

Iroquoians become recognizable in the archaeological record of southern Ontario about AD 500, with the appearance of Princess Point sites and maize agriculture in the lower Grand River valley. AfterA.D. 1000, Iroquoians lived in longhouse... more

Iroquoians become recognizable in the archaeological record of southern Ontario about AD 500, with the appearance of Princess Point sites and maize agriculture in the lower Grand River valley. AfterA.D. 1000, Iroquoians lived in longhouse villages situated in the interior, north ...

ABSTRACT. Fifteen years of research on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of non-hydraulic mortar has now led to the establishment of a chronology for the medieval stone churches of the Åland Islands (Finland), where... more

ABSTRACT. Fifteen years of research on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of non-hydraulic mortar has now led to the establishment of a chronology for the medieval stone churches of the Åland Islands (Finland), where no contemporary written records could shed light on the first building phases. In contrast to other material for dating, well-preserved mortar is abundantly available from every building stage.

One of the most impressive structures in Jerusalem’s ancient landscape is the tower that was built to surround and protect the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s perennial water source. The structure, first discovered by Reich and Shukron (2004),... more

One of the most impressive structures in Jerusalem’s ancient landscape is the tower that was built to surround and protect the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s perennial water source. The structure, first discovered by Reich and Shukron (2004), encompasses the cave in which the spring sprouts from, with walls 7 m thick built of large boulders. The Spring Tower, along with the other features relating to it, were all attributed to the Middle Bronze Age II, based on their architectural and stratigraphical relationship, the type of architecture, and the pottery found. In the continued excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority along the outer, eastern face of the Spring Tower, it was noted that at least the northeast side of the tower was not built on bedrock, but rather on layers of sediment, which were sealed by the massive boulders at the base of the tower. In order to provide an absolute dating for the structure, two sections were sampled for radiocarbon (14C) dating benea...

ABSTRACTTollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no... more

ABSTRACTTollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no attempts to reconstruct his general diet through isotope analyses have been conducted. Furthermore, previous radiocarbon (14C) analyses have only been able to date him broadly to the 3rd–4th century BC. In this study, stable isotope measurements (δ13C, δ15N) on bone collagen from Tollund Man’s femur and rib showed that the diet of Tollund Man was terrestrial-based and that the crops he ate probably were grown on manured fields. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates were obtained on both the <30kDa and >30kDa fractions of ultrafiltered collagen. Results showed that the ultrafiltration removed contamination from older substances from the burial environment. The femur was dated to 2330±23 BP, the rib to 2322±30 BP. These dates statistically agr...

This paper provides a summary overview of the current state-of-art in the radiocarbon dating of groundwater. While the use of natural14C measurements in applied hydrogeology still presents a difficult challenge, meaningful dates can be... more

This paper provides a summary overview of the current state-of-art in the radiocarbon dating of groundwater. While the use of natural14C measurements in applied hydrogeology still presents a difficult challenge, meaningful dates can be achieved if they are determined and interpreted in conjunction with the analyses of other isotopic species that occur in the natural environment. Although14C dating of groundwater can be, and often is, carried out as a matter of routine, any specific case study requires its own scientific design and effort. As is widely recognized, and discussed in considerable detail throughout the scientific literature, there are many hydrogeochemical reactions and/or physical processes that can alter the natural14C enrichment measured in environmental materials. Fortunately, for fresh groundwater resources such effects are in general well defined and therefore of limited significance. The primary challenge in applied groundwater dating is with the development of th...

Since its invention in the late 1940s, radiocarbon (14C) dating has become an important tool for absolute dating. A prerequisite for the acceptance of this method is consistency between, and compatibility of, 14C dates from different... more

Since its invention in the late 1940s, radiocarbon (14C) dating has become an important tool for absolute dating. A prerequisite for the acceptance of this method is consistency between, and compatibility of, 14C dates from different laboratories. To meet these requirements, international laboratory intercomparison studies with different sample materials are frequently performed (e.g. TIRI, FIRI, VIRI and, most recently, SIRI).Intercomparison is especially relevant and difficult for samples close to the dating limit of ~50 kBP, not least for bone samples. A 14C intercomparison study between the Leibniz-Laboratory in Kiel (Germany), the Center for Isotope Research (CIO) in Groningen (the Netherlands), and the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU, United Kingdom) was performed on three Pleistocene (MIS3) mammal bone samples from the Brick Quarry site Coenen (BQC) in Germany. The comparison of individually prepared and measured bone collagen 14C activities, results from shared collagen measurements, and respective background signatures and correction points to the latter as the main factor responsible for observed differences in final given radiocarbon estimates.

This study estimates the maximum and minimum degrees of autocompaction for radiocarbon-dated Holocene mangrove sediments in Singapore, in order to correct apparent sediment accretion rates for the effects of sediment compression due to... more

This study estimates the maximum and minimum degrees of autocompaction for radiocarbon-dated Holocene mangrove sediments in Singapore, in order to correct apparent sediment accretion rates for the effects of sediment compression due to autocompaction. Relationships developed for a suite of modern (surface) sediment samples between bulk density, particle-size distribution, and organic matter content were used to estimate the initial (uncompacted) bulk density of buried and variably compressed Holocene sediments, based on the grain-size distribution and organic matter content of the sediment. The difference between measured (compacted) and initial (uncompacted) bulk density of each buried sediment interval can be interpreted as the amount of length shortening experienced by each interval since burial. This allows the elevation of samples selected for 14C dating to be corrected for the effects of autocompaction of the underlying sediment sequence, so that accurate estimates of vertical...

The article concerns results of radio-carbon dating of the horse bones found during excavation of funeral complexes in Altai dated by II century BC – V century AD. It is part of system studying of ancient and medieval horses from... more

The article concerns results of radio-carbon dating of the horse bones found during excavation of funeral complexes in Altai dated by II century BC – V century AD. It is part of system studying of ancient and medieval horses from archaeological sites. This work is carried out for two last decades with involvement of different experts from the natural-science sphere of knowledge. The analysis of osteological materials from the necropolises Yaloman-II and Stepushka-I relating to various stages of Bulan-Koby culture is so far carried out. The received data have essential value not only for definition of date of creation of each object and specification of a chronological framework of certain animal populations existence. It also gives the chance for consideration of the fixed objective information in a historical context with an exit to private and general reconstruction.

Les datations absolues realisees au radiocarbone ont permis de conferer un contexte et d'elaborer une carte chronoculturelle des occupations diverses et successives du site de Can Roqueta, depuis les structures du Neolithique ancien... more

Les datations absolues realisees au radiocarbone ont permis de conferer un contexte et d'elaborer une carte chronoculturelle des occupations diverses et successives du site de Can Roqueta, depuis les structures du Neolithique ancien cardial et postcardial en passant par celles des periodes du Bronze initial, du Bronze final, la transition au Fer et la premiere moitie de l'Âge de Fer. Elles permettent d'etablir des correlations entre la culture materielle, les morphologies des structures et leurs fonctionnalites au sein de ce site archeologique du Valles pendant la Prehistoire recente.

UPS AND DOWNS AT KANESH proposes a revised sequence of Old Assyrian eponyms and establishes a relative and an absolute chronology by way of linking textual evidence, dendrochronology and archaeological stratigraphy. This chronological... more

UPS AND DOWNS AT KANESH proposes a revised sequence of Old Assyrian eponyms and establishes a relative and an absolute chronology by way of linking textual evidence, dendrochronology and archaeological stratigraphy. This chronological framework is used to trace broader historical and social developments of political and territorial centralisation in Anatolia, as well as to offer new insights in the social and commercial history of the Old Assyrian trade.
A number of economic and social transformations in Assyrian society over the course of two centuries are identified by way of a statistical and prosopographical analysis. It is shown how the economic system that drove the well-known overland trade of the early Colony Period collapsed in a dramatic fashion after only thirty years (c. 1895-1865 BC), and that a series of changes in administrative organisation were created in immediate response. A primary vehicle in financing the trade – the joint-stock enterprise – was abandoned, and exchange came to be organised by way of venture trade. A distinct community of hybrid Assyrian-Anatolian households grew more prominent as mixed families came to be engaged mainly in local Anatolian trade and agriculture. In turn, a small and wealthy Assyrian elite functioned as permanently settled foreign trading agents, and a distinctive group of itinerant merchants continued to engage in the caravan trade and connect the Anatolian colonies to the mother city of Assur.

Dietz, Søren, Fanis Mavridis, Žarko Tankosić, and Turan Takaoğlu, eds. (2018) Communities in Transition: The Circum-Aegean Area during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, Vol. 20, Oxbow, Oxford.... more

Dietz, Søren, Fanis Mavridis, Žarko Tankosić, and Turan Takaoğlu, eds. (2018) Communities in Transition: The Circum-Aegean Area during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, Vol. 20, Oxbow, Oxford. Chapter 5, p. 33-66.
ISBN: 978-1-7857-7210-9

This paper synthesizes the currently available data on the radiocarbon chronology of the south-western Iberian Bronze Age. First, the bulk of c. 1000 existing dates for southern Iberian Late Prehistory is analysed, and its main issues... more

This paper synthesizes the currently available data on the radiocarbon chronology of the south-western Iberian Bronze Age. First, the bulk of c. 1000 existing dates for southern Iberian Late Prehistory is analysed, and its main issues discussed. Secondly, a discussion is presented of the main features of settlement and funerary patterns in the south-western Bronze Age as dated by radiocarbon, with special emphasis in issues such as their temporal evolution and synchrony with the south-eastern record.

High-quality data from appropriate archives are needed for the continuing improvement of radiocarbon calibration curves. We discuss here the basic assumptions behind 14C dating that necessitate calibration and the relative strengths and... more

High-quality data from appropriate archives are needed for the continuing improvement of radiocarbon calibration curves. We discuss here the basic assumptions behind 14C dating that necessitate calibration and the relative strengths and weaknesses of archives from which calibration data are obtained. We also highlight the procedures, problems, and uncertainties involved in determining atmospheric and surface ocean 14C/12C in these archives, including a discussion of the various methods used to derive an independent absolute timescale and uncertainty. The types of data required for the current IntCal database and calibration curve model are tabulated with examples.

Archaeological interpretations of continuity and abandonment can have significant implications for descendent communities. Such interpretations are contingent on the social and spatial scale of analysis. We assess the evidence for... more

Archaeological interpretations of continuity and abandonment can have significant implications for descendent communities. Such interpretations are contingent on the social and spatial scale of analysis. We assess the evidence for continuity among the Coast Salish at four of social-spatial scales using a suite of radiocarbon dates derived from Tsleil-Wat (Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm) and the Fraser Valley (∼3500–250 cal BP). We define continuity as the ability to pass on place-based knowledge inter-generationally – conservatively a span of 60 years. For each social-spatial scale, we evaluate whether we have the minimum number of radiocarbon dates required to assess continuity. We also utilize demographic modeling of the radiocarbon dates to evaluate whether there are significant gaps in the data that would indicate discontinuities in occupation. Overlapping radiocarbon dates suggest continuity at various social-spatial scales, but our ability to detect long-term continuity increases with sample size and size of the social-spatial unit. The modeling did not reveal gaps in occupation , but low statistical power limits our ability to make conclusive interpretations. These analyses highlight both the importance of choosing appropriate scales of analysis and the potential limitations of archaeological data sets for evaluating continuity at culturally meaningful scales in the past.

Traditional archaeological approaches in the central Negev Desert used to employ excavation techniques in post-prehistoric periods in which stratigraphy is based on architecture, while material culture forms the basis for dating... more

Traditional archaeological approaches in the central Negev Desert used to employ excavation techniques in post-prehistoric periods in which stratigraphy is based on architecture, while material culture forms the basis for dating assessment and chronology. Such an approach was understandable, as it focused on the most visible remains of past human habitation. However, the detailed habitation record is in the soil rather than in the walls. Moreover, ceramics and stone tools in desert cultures often have limited time resolution in terms of absolute chronology. The rural desert site of Horvat Haluqim in the central Negev yielded 2 habitation periods with the traditional methodology: (1) Roman period, 2nd–3rd centuries CE; (2) Iron Age IIA, 10th century BCE. We have conducted at Horvat Haluqim initial excavations in small building remains that were never excavated before. Our excavation methodology focuses on detailed examination of the archaeological soil in building structures, coupled...

Rock art worldwide has proved extremely difficult to date directly. Here, the first radio-carbon dates for rock paintings in Botswana and Lesotho are presented, along with additional dates for Later Stone Age rock art in South Africa. The... more

Rock art worldwide has proved extremely difficult to date directly. Here, the first radio-carbon dates for rock paintings in Botswana and Lesotho are presented, along with additional dates for Later Stone Age rock art in South Africa. The samples selected for dating were identified as carbon-blacks from short-lived organic materials, meaning that the sampled pigments and the paintings that they were used to produce must be of similar age. The results reveal that southern African hunter-gatherers were creating paintings on rockshelter walls as long ago as 5723–4420 cal BP in southeastern Botswana: the oldest such evidence yet found in southern Africa.

ABSTRACT This article is a rejoinder to a recent paper in this journal by van der Plicht et al. (2009) who use radiocarbon determinations from several sites in Israel, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia to advocate a High Chronology system for the... more

ABSTRACT This article is a rejoinder to a recent paper in this journal by van der Plicht et al. (2009) who use radiocarbon determinations from several sites in Israel, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia to advocate a High Chronology system for the entire Mediterranean Basin. We contend that they reached mistaken conclusions due to problematic selection of sites and data. We argue that a reliable way to provide absolute dates for the Iron Age in the central and western Mediterranean is by employing a combination of well-identified Greek pottery found in well-stratified sites and radiometric results from short-lived samples. For the time being, this combination exists only in the Levant, and provides an anchor for Greek chronology, which supports the Conventional Chronology for the Aegean Basin, which corresponds to the Low Chronology in the Levant.

We review the archaeological, chronological, and biological data from multiple karst caves in southern China that date to the late-Paleolithic to early-Neolithic transition. Our review shows that the radiocarbon dates, although having a... more

We review the archaeological, chronological, and biological data from multiple karst caves in southern China that date to the late-Paleolithic to early-Neolithic transition. Our review shows that the radiocarbon dates, although having a large quantity, do not align with the known cultural sequences correlated among the cave sites (based on the degree of sophistication of artefact manufacturing) and they conflict with the corresponding paleoclimatic conditions revealed by the biological data. Most of these radiocarbon dates are older than expected, and their samples probably incorporate dead carbon through the reaction with groundwater. We argue that, when correlated with global paleoclimate records, the chronological framework provided by the biological datasets provides a more robust chronology than the available radiocarbon dates. Accordingly, all the Neolithic layers reviewed, with their plentiful biological remains of tropical/subtropical and aquatic/water-loving species, are likely to have been deposited in Holocene, and the Paleolithic cultural layers likely date to the Younger Dryas or the Bølling-Allerød. Our review suggests that the late-to-postglacial climate change helped initiate the development of Neolithic cultures in East Asia. We attribute this development to the growth of creeks/wetlands and their associated ecosystems (including the spreading of wild rice) during the period of climate warming and wetting, which greatly increased accessible food, water, and mud resources, providing opportunities for ancient peoples to recognize wild rice and to invent polishing stone tools and making pinched earthenware.