Investigating the Potential of the Tree-ring δ18O Time Series of Pinus thunbergii in the Dendroarchaeological Study

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The main content of dendroarchaeology is to assign the exact calendar year to each tree ring in archaeological wood. Each tree ring can be assigned a year because the pattern of ring-width time series (hereafter, ring-width chronology) is unique for each time period and the same tree species share the pattern. However, the lack of agreement between ring-width chronologies of <i>Pinus thunbergii</i> compared to other tree species makes it difficult to use the chronologies for dating. This study was conducted to verify the dating possibility of archaeological woods using tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O time series (hereafter, tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O chronology) instead of ring-width chronology. For the study, 7 <i>P. thunbergii</i> were selected from coastal dunes, and the ring-width and tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O chronologies were compared. The results showed that the agreement between ring-width chronologies were large statistical deviations (<i>t</i>-value: 0.6~12.5 / G value: 38~70%) as much as difficult for dating. On the other hand, the tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O chronologies showed reliable agreement between them as statistically (<i>t</i>-value: 4.3~6.4 / G value: 77~84%) and visually. Based on the results, it has been verified that the dating possibility of archaeological woods for <i>P. thunbergii</i>, which is a difficult tree species for dating in dendrochronology, can be greatly improved if the tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O chronology is applied.