Abstract
In the current study we use methods in dendrochronological dating, radiocarbon dating and wiggle-matching analysis to accurately date charcoal samples collected from the archaeological site of Uşaklı Höyük, Yozgat, Turkey. These data contribute to the understanding of the stratigraphical relationships in three different contexts of this multi-period mound. The examined charcoal materials were identified as cedar (Cedrus sp.) and oak (Quercus sp.). The analysis of the cedar samples resulted in establishing a floating chronology with a length of 49 rings. Further analysis of the material revealed that secure dendrochronological dating against the existing reference chronologies cannot be achieved for any of the Uşaklı Höyük samples selected for dendrochronology. This is due to the insufficient length of the developed mean chronology (49 rings), the shortness of single tree-ring sequences (max. 34 rings for cedar and 23 for oak) and the scarcity of reference chronologies that can be used for cross-dating. Therefore, we use radiocarbon tests and wiggle-matching analysis as the main dating method. Radiocarbon testing and further analysis of absolute dating of the charcoal pieces point to three different archaeological periods: the wooden post found in Room 433 of Building III is dated to the range of 1415 – 1363 BCE (2σ), confirming the assumption that it was an architectural element of the original construction of this Late Bronze Age/Hittite building. Radiocarbon dating results of charcoal pieces from the filling of Pit 330, 1008 – 905 BCE (2σ), can only be used tentatively and require cross-checking against additional samples and other organic material from the same context. The results of radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples associated with the Iron Age stone glacis built on top of Building III (763 – 486 BCE, 2σ) confirm that they are associated with the Iron Age occupation at Uşaklı Höyük.
Highlights
Central Anatolia and neighboring areas witnessed the rise and fall of major administrative centers and complex societal events during the course of the second millennium BCE due to reasons not fully under stood
Further analysis of the material revealed that secure dendrochronological dating against the existing reference chronologies cannot be achieved for any of the Usaklı Hoyük samples selected for dendrochronology
Radiocarbon testing and further analysis of absolute dating of the charcoal pieces point to three different archaeological periods: the wooden post found in Room 433 of Building III is dated to the range of 1415 – 1363 BCE (2σ), confirming the assumption that it was an architectural element of the original construction of this Late Bronze Age/Hittite building
Summary
Central Anatolia and neighboring areas witnessed the rise and fall of major administrative centers and complex societal events during the course of the second millennium BCE due to reasons not fully under stood. Recent archaeological survey and excavation work in the region, have been reshaping our knowledge about this dynamic time period by providing fresh new chronological evidence from a number of Bronze and Iron Age sites. In this paper we present new absolute dating evidence from Usaklı Hoyük that would shed further light on the chronology of the site and beyond. The archaeological site of Usaklı Hoyük is a multi-period settlement located in the province of Yozgat in central Turkey, about 50 km from the Hittite capital, Ḫattusa (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). The site, composed of a high mound and a lower terrace covering an area of nearly 10 ha, was first identified by the 20th century archaeologists as a potential Hittite
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