Chronology Of Site Research Articles

New insights on the fauna of Ireland's Younger Dryas and Early Holocene from Alice & Gwendoline Cave

The nature of the mechanisms that have shaped the animal communities of the island of Ireland remains a pervasive question in the study of the Quaternary of north-western Europe. Archived Quaternary faunal bone assemblages from antiquarian excavations of cave sites are a direct line of evidence with demonstrable potential to shed light on this issue, but are currently constrained by limited publication, understanding of early excavation protocols, and a lack of chronological reference. Alice and Gwendoline Cave in the west of Ireland was the subject of extensive excavations in 1902, which yielded a substantial faunal assemblage and the first evidence of an Upper Palaeolithic human presence on the island during the terminal Pleistocene. Here, we report further results from this important site. Archaeological excavations and a radiocarbon dating programme in 2019-2020 have shed light on the environmental context of the faunal assemblage, the cave taphonomy and site chronology. Nineteen radiocarbon dates are now available, including new direct dates for brown bear (Ursus arctos), giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). The archaeological excavations and the analysis of sedimentary lipids – the first of its kind for an Irish cave site, both suggest that the sediments are primarily of exogenous origin, likely carried into the cave through fissures and openings by runoff or colluvial movements. Our analyses indicate that there were at least three main ‘pulses’ of bone-bearing sediment accumulation: at the beginning of the Younger Dryas (c. 12,700 cal. BP), in the aftermath of the Younger Dryas (11,300 cal. BP) and in the Early Holocene (c. 10,000 cal. BP), with a hiatus in sediment deposition after 9700 cal. BP.

Southbound transmission of metallurgy: new excavations at Jicha in the Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan

AbstractJicha is a Bronze Age settlement located next to the upper Mekong River in the Hengduan Mountains of Yunnan, south-west China. Recent excavations have revealed details of successive occupation and copper-base industrial activity. The site's position and chronology provide evidence of north–south demographic movement and technological transmission along the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau corridor.

Pre-Turkic Burial in the Northern Altai: Cultural and Chronological Interpretation

Purpose. One of the problems in the archeology of Altai of the Great Migration period remains the chronology of funerary sites. The article concerns the materials of one of representative burials of the Choburak-I necropolis in the Northern Altai, demonstrating the wide possibilities of research in this direction.Methods and Results. A man of 25–30 years old was buried in the grave of barrow № 38. The key features of the object are a small mound with a crepe, the western orientation of the deceased person, as well as the burial of a horse «at the feet» of the man. The accompanying inventory included numerous weapons, tools, equipment for a man and a horse. The analysis of the finds testifies to the period of the construction of mound № 38 not earlier than the middle of the 4th century AD. The results of radiocarbon dating were obtained, which supplement this information and indicate the upper chronological boundary no later than the beginning of the 5th century AD.Conclusion. The correlation of the available data makes it possible to determine the chronology of mound no. 38 with-in the middle – second half of the 4th century AD. The recorded characteristics of the funeral rite indicate that this object belongs to the Dialyan tradition of ritual practice of the Bulan-Koby culture. The set of items found with the de-ceased man testifies to his high status in the nomadic society during his lifetime.

New age of the Dingcun 54:100 hominin site in northern China

The Dingcun locality 54:100 site was first excavated in 1950 s and has since yielded abundant stone artefacts and the famous ‘Dingcun human’ fossils, including three teeth and a parietal fragment. The Dingcun teeth has been regarded as a potential evidence of early emergence and development of ‘modern’ anatomic characters, making them key to understanding the origin and evolution of our species. However, there has been considerable debate regarding the chronology of the Dingcun site. Here we establish a new chronology for the site, based on optical dating of the fossil-bearing sediments and U-series dating of fauna fossils from the cultural layers. Our study shows that the age of the Dingcun human fossil ranges from 298,000 to 225,000 years ago (at 95.4 % confidence interval). This new dating result suggest that the Dingcun hominins represent a Late Middle Pleistocene population in East Asia who had borne some modern dental traits.

Testing scale-dependent temporal and spatial biases in relative chronology using AMS 14C dating: A case study of Early–Middle Cucuteni-Tripolye sites in Southeastern Europe

Aiming at developing a syncretic chronology for Eneolithic sites in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, this paper tests the hypothesis that relative material culture sequences will be preserved within lower-order taxonomic units and collapse within higher-order units. We examine relative sequences for sub-groups of the Cucuteni-Tripolye cultural complex (ca. 5050–2950 BCE) using Bayesian sequencing of extant and newly obtained radiocarbon dates. The traditional archaeological perspective holds that the space-time expansion of this cultural complex occurred in rapidly disseminated horizons, with little cross-regional variability in dating. Absolute dating efforts from the 1960s–2000s did little to clarify the situation, especially in the upper section of the Dniester river valley in Ukraine, where numerous older radiometric 14C dates present an improbably early chronology for sites of the Early and early Middle Tripolye periods (Tripolye A and BI). Here we present 21 new AMS 14C dates from early settlements in Southwestern Ukraine and Moldova, with results dating to the latter half of the fifth millennium and the beginning of the fourth millennium BCE. Eschewing the concept of monolithic horizons, we compile both old and new data into regionally distinct sequences, enabling a more nuanced examination of material synchronization and cross-regional settlement dynamics.

The Radiocarbon Chronology of Late Upper Palaeolithic Sites in the Center of the Russian Plain: New Data

The Radiocarbon Chronology of Late Upper Palaeolithic Sites in the Center of the Russian Plain: New Data

Chronology of the Upper Palaeolithic Sites of Byki (Centre of the East European Plain) According to 14C and OSL Dating

Chronology of the Upper Palaeolithic Sites of Byki (Centre of the East European Plain) According to 14C and OSL Dating

Late Middle Palaeolithic and Early Upper Palaeolithic in Poland in the light of new numerical dating

Although the first numerical dating of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in Poland was applied at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, it has only been in the last two decades that a data increase has been recorded, making it possible to discuss both the development of human behaviour and cultural phenomena in time perspective. This paper aims to show the chronological diversity of sites dating from the beginning of the Weichselian glaciation (MIS 5a – MIS 5d, GI-19 – GI-23, Greenland Interstadials) to the middle part of MIS 3 (GI-8 – GI-10). We considered sites dated mainly by thermoluminescence dating (OSL) and radiocarbondating. We relied on a series of recent datings. We attempted to analyse the stratigraphic integrity, the archaeological finds and the numerical dating results. Through OSL dating, we could establish the chronology of Micoquian sites, previously regarded as middle Pleistocene, to the last glaciation. The dating compilation also shows that the Late Middle Palaeolithic and Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) sites are unlikely to overlap, or if they do, it is only over a small period. Unfortunately, this period is poorly interpreted because it spans the limit of the radiocarbon dating reliability and goes beyond the bounds of the calibration curve. Confronting the datings of the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) complex and the oldest finds associated with Aurigniacian sites in Poland lead to the conclusion that these sites may have co-occurred for some time.

Integrating legacy survey data into GIS‐based analysis: The rediscovery of the archaeological landscapes in Grevena (Western Macedonia, Greece)

AbstractSurface archaeological survey has been widely established as the principal method for the regional study of Mediterranean diachronic landscapes. Before the introduction of GPS and digital, GIS‐based recordings in the late 1990s, survey projects employed analogue recording strategies (e.g. personal notebooks, printed forms and cartographic materials) resulting in low‐precision spatial datasets. These archives, termed here as legacy survey data, can today be visualized and analysed using computational tools. The aim of the present work is to exemplify how legacy data can be reused and reproduced to explore unknown aspects of past survey projects. It showcases a multi‐source, GIS‐structured workflow to manage and re‐evaluate data from the region of Grevena, north‐western Greece, where a largely unpublished all‐period extensive survey titled the Grevena Project has pinpointed a rich, yet unavailable to the archaeological community cultural record. The publications lacked critical evaluation of the survey results and significance, such as accurate site locations, size and chronology as well as a description of the field collection strategies used. To recover and combine these data into a single geodataset, a three‐step workflow was created, including the systematic recording of collected artefacts, the deployment of archival and remote‐sensing resources (e.g. georeferenced cartographic and photographic materials and satellite imagery) and the development of a new extensive survey in selected areas for validation purposes. Results indicated heterogeneity in the techniques employed by the Grevena Project for site recognition. They also brought an important assemblage of Palaeolithic finds unrecorded before. Furthermore, large‐scale geomorphological analysis using geomorphometric approaches demonstrated an irregularly high density of sites in elevated areas, which is considered a surveying bias. Remote sensing sources including archival aerial photographs highlighted regional landscape changes (e.g. in forest coverage) revealing architectural remains unmapped before. Finally, the new survey around Ayios Georgios showed the discovery of several new sites, emphasizing a case study of much more complex dynamics than originally considered during the Grevena Project.

Chronological Hygiene and Bayesian Modeling of Poverty Point Sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley, circa 4200 to 3200 cal BP

AbstractDevelopments in radiocarbon dating and analysis provide new opportunities to develop high-resolution chronologies to explore changes through time. We explore the temporality of what has been called the Poverty Point culture of the lower Mississippi Valley circa 4200 to 3200 cal BP, especially the chronology of the type site, Poverty Point. Because of its complicated material culture elaboration without evidence of agriculture, Poverty Point has been identified as the political and economic center of a complex archaeological culture. The duration of site occupation and the historical relationship between the type site and those assumed to be contemporary are critical variables for explaining the emergence of complexity at this time. Most interpretations require political or evolutionary processes that accumulate gradually over hundreds of years. Our data show, however, that there is no temporal coherence among so-called Poverty Point culture sites; among such sites, Poverty Point was occupied for a relatively short period, and it is younger than many sites thought to be derived from it. Using explicit radiometric hygiene and Bayesian analyses of dates, we reject the idea of a unified Poverty Point culture and argue instead that the Poverty Point site earthworks developed through rapid, punctuated events occurring circa 3300 to 3200 cal BP.

First AMS radiocarbon dating of Río Chico style paintings (southernmost Patagonia, Argentina): Older than expected

This paper presents the first AMS 14C dating of the Río Chico Style from southernmost Patagonia (52°S). These paintings are characterised by the dominance of geometric linear motifs and a low frequency of figurative ones. According to a few indirect radiocarbon dating of stratified pigments and the chronology of nearby sites, the Río Chico Style has traditionally been dated to ca. 2000 BP, although an earlier chronology (ca. 8000 BP) has also been proposed according to Fell Cave (Magallanes, Chile) stratigraphy. Here we present the first AMS 14C dating for this style from three rock paintings at Romario Barría Rockshelter (Pali Aike volcanic field, Santa Cruz province, Argentina). The main objectives of this work are, first, to discuss the chronology of the Río Chico style from direct and indirect datings, second, evaluate the use of the site according to painting manufacture, and finally, analyse the distribution of Río Chico style at the regional scale and its connections with other lines of evidence, such as lithic assemblages, to discuss the role of rock art in highly mobile southern Patagonia hunter-gatherer societies.

Transgression Related Holocene Coastal Glendonites from Historic Sites

This study examines the occurrence of glendonite along coastlines since 1825, which have been previously referred to under different names such as Pseudogaylussite, Fundylite, and Kool Hoot across eleven sites. By utilising element ratios and 14C radiometric dating techniques, we establish a more accurate chronology for these varied sites ranging from 10 to 1 thousand years before the present (Ky BP). Sites include tidal flats, coastal barrier islands, and Wadden Sea environments. While some sites still exist, others are only known through publications and museum collections. Our research expands upon previous findings by presenting petrographic evidence that correlates with glendonite formation. Through the examination of the Olenitsa site on the Kola Peninsula, we demonstrate that marine bioclasts enclosed within concretions surrounding glendonites provide temporal context, suggesting that these outcrops were formed during a single event under changing conditions. Notably, certain sediment structures at selected sites indicate the occurrence of cold-water ice-raft storm events and the presence of drop stones. Furthermore, our paper explores the association of historic coastal sites with the formation of ikaite, highlighting the limitations of relying solely on geochemistry and isotopic analysis for interpretation. Intriguingly, we observe that pseudomorphs are abundant in specific areas but absent in adjacent regions with similar environmental, physical, and chemical conditions. No apparent connection is found between volcanic dust cloud-induced cold spells and glendonite. The distribution of coastal glendonites is more likely related to periods of climatic cooling through other means. We show that radiometric dating with 14C provides an indication of age, but the results can be erroneous due to the inclusion of older carbon sources in the analysis. The oldest locations discussed in this study are Kool Hoot (Alaska) and the river Clyde (Scotland), and the youngest glendonites discussed are from the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Occurrences from the Wadden Sea are intermediate in age and sit between the other two groups. The age of the Olenitsa site on the Russian Kola Peninsula is uncertain and still debated. We show that measuring the ratio of Mg/Ca can indicate how much the recrystallised ikaite preserved as calcite is influenced by diagenetic pore waters.

Geological mapping and chronology of lunar landing sites: Apollo 14

The lunar cratering chronology function is based on the careful and systematic correlation of crater size-frequency distributions (CSFDs) with radioisotopic ages of samples from the Apollo, Luna, and Chang'e landing sites. The link between the samples and the CSFDs requires a detailed understanding of the landing site geology. Therefore, in this study, we have created a new detailed regional geological map of the Apollo 14 landing site using LRO, M3, and SELENE/Kaguya data. The geologic map allows us to define homogeneous areas for new CSFD measurements, from which updated N(1) values (i.e., cumulative number of craters with diameter ≥ 1 km) can be determined for the sampled geologic units. In particular, at the Apollo 14 landing site we measured the N(1) of the Imbrian Fra Mauro Formation (Ifm), which is interpreted to be ejecta from the Imbrium basin, and can be correlated with the Apollo 14 Imbrium ejecta samples. This new calibration point can be compared with the lunar chronology of Neukum (1983). We find that the new calibration point is consistent with the lunar cratering chronology of Neukum (1983). Together with our previous studies, this result supports the validity of this chronology.

Dating of Stratified Settlement Remains in Faid Pilgrim Station, Northwest of Saudi Arabia

Faid was a major pilgrim Islamic oasis located 120 km southeast of the Ha’il Province, northwest of Saudi Arabia. It was founded on the major Hajj Road between Baghdad/Kufa and Medina and was developed by Zubaydah bint Ja'far, granddaughter to the Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (the founder of Baghdad) and wife to the fifth Abbasid Caliph, Harun Ar-Rašid 775–785 CE. Therefore, during the reign of Harun Ar-Rašid Caliph, the major pilgrim road was renamed from Darb Heerah to Darb Zubaydah. The archaeological site in Faid was referenced and described by several travellers and scholars and excavated by the Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia 1998–2012. From 2014–2022, the University of Ha’il conducted nine fieldwork seasons at the site. The authors directed the last four seasons, which revealed numerous new discoveries from stratified excavations. This study aims to reconstruct the occupation chronology at the site based on stratigraphic contexts and supported by radiocarbon dating, artefact studies, and written resources. Three occupation horizons were identified at the site; the early Abbasid period was the dominant occupation. The resulting radiocarbon calibrated ages were consistent with the preliminary archaeological studies carried out by the authors. The results presented in this paper represent an attempt to reconstruct the chronology of the study site.

On the Significance of Divje babe I Cave for the Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Chronology of Palaeolithic Cave Sites in Slovenia


 
 
 The article reviews the development and interpretation of procedures used in the study of the sedimentary sequence of the Divje babe I Palaeolithic cave site. The data were obtained from publications, archives, and personal information provided by Ivan Turk, who directed the excavations and directed the laboratory investigations. The profile of Divje babe I is currently the best researched and chronologically defined Late Pleistocene cave profile in Slovenia. For the first time, various sedimentological and other data from the standard profile were upgraded with the same data obtained on standardized ground plan surfaces and depths. A large spatial (lateral) variability was discovered, associated with generally contemporaneous but different cave microenvironments, which were crucially influenced by different amounts of water in all aggregate states. Without taking into account temporal and spatial dimensions, it would not be possible to combine all statistical sets of collected data on sediments, their contents, and climatic parameters into a unified system.
 
 

Modeling the Chronology of a Late Precontact Site Using Radiocarbon and Trade Good Dates: Middle Grant Creek

Abstract Late precontact- and contact-period sites often produce multiple sources of chronological information, including stratigraphy, radiocarbon dates, European trade goods, and pottery seriation patterns. In this article, we describe a step-by-step approach to incorporating such information in an OxCal-based Bayesian chronology model, with special emphasis on incorporating trade-good dating into radiocarbon-based modeling. The Middle Grant Creek site in Illinois is an American Indian site that has yielded a number of European copper and brass trade goods along with extensive ceramic, faunal, floral, and lithic artifacts. Our modeling addresses issues resulting from an inversion in the radiocarbon calibration curve during the late precontact period and produces surprisingly different results depending on the boundary conditions applied to the model. We consider the probabilities produced by the models, propose the most likely chronology for Middle Grant Creek, and provide detailed OxCal scripts and examples that other researchers may adapt to their circumstances and preferences. We also describe lessons learned related to chronological modeling of sites where the radiocarbon curve contains significant inversions.

Settlement Patterns of Bronze-Age Sites of the Upper and Middle Atrak Basin in Northeastern Iran

In archaeological studies of Southwestern Asia, during the period from the late fourth millennium BC to the beginning of the Iron Age (second half of the second millennium BC), phenomena such as growth of settlements in terms of area and population, emergence of early cities, trans-regional trade, formation of government institutions, emergence and spread of gray-and-black pottery, extensive changes in technology, dramatic development of smelting and use of bronze tools were identified. In this process, an extensive communication network aimed at controlling trade routes and access to raw materials across the plateau, by land and sea, connected many areas. Economically, remote trade was established in this period of time, various communities establishing ties with places located thousands of miles away in order to obtain their needed resources. Bronze-Age cultures are well-known in most parts of Iran, but Khorasan is an exception since the data are rare and insufficient. Moreover, information about the chronology and distribution of sites during different periods of prehistoric times in different parts of it is minimal. Thirty-eight sites from the Bronze Age have been studied in this research. These sites were identified in the archaeological surveys of the upper and middle Atrak during the last decade. This study was done using the descriptive-analytic method. GIS and SPSS software and Correlation and Cluster analysis methods were used for data analysis. The settlement pattern in the upper and middle Atrak basin is similar. It consists of two-rank models with a large main site and several small sites around it. The results of this study indicate that due to the lack of water resources in the region, access to constant water resources has been an essential factor in the shaping of Bronze-Age settlements. Most sites were also formed during the early Bronze Age, and we also faced a decrease in the number of sites in the middle and late Bronze Ages.

The effect of climate on tree-ring of Fir, Spruce and Scotch pine in Karçal Mountains

This study aims to analyze the effects of temperature and precipitation on tree-ring growth in the lower and upper growing borders of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. subsp. hamata), Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana (Stev.) Spach. subsp. nordmanniana) and Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis L.carr.) in the Karçal Mountains (Artvin). This area hosts the first and pioneering biosphere reserve area of Türkiye in terms of biodiversity. This area is also one of the rare areas in Türkiye where Scots pine Fir and Spruce trees coexist. For dendrochronological analysis, 2 core samples were taken from each of the 15 trees using an increment borer from the lower and upper growth limits of Fir, scotch pine and Spruce. Tree-ring series are standardized. To reveal the statistical relationships between tree-ring growth and temperature and precipitation, Response functions were calculated separately for each site chronology. The rainy month of September has a positive effect on the tree-ring growth of Spruce. In the study area, a generally positive relationship was determined between July precipitation and the tree-ring growth for the lower and upper growing limits of Scots pine. In the study area, the precipitations of April and October affect the tree ring negatively for all regional chronologies, and May and June precipitation positively. The average temperatures between October of the previous year and May-June of the current year were negative; The positive relationship between the average temperatures of February, March and July and the growth of the ring predominates.

SURVEY AT HOLOSKIV 1 SITE

The results of archaeological research carried out at the two-layered Сucuteni-Trypillia settlement of Holoskiv 1 in the Middle Dniester region are described in the paper. The study establishes the relative chronology of the Middle Trypillia sites of this territory, basing on the analysis of ceramic material.
 New archaeological data, discovered through the surveys of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Historical Museum-Reserve expedition, makes it possible to add and revise certain elements in the scheme of the relative chronology of the Middle Trypillia on the Dniester.
 The analysis of ceramic finds (study of the morphology and ornamentation of painted ware) make it possible to distinguish two chronological horizons at the Holoskiv 1 settlement. The lower one was assigned to the final stage BI. This horizon included the pottery decorated with polychrome and bichrome painting, which refers to the Kadyivtsi type of sites (according to T. Movsha). Analogies to these finds made it possible to expand a number of similar sites, which may later be considered within the Kadyivtsi local group. It included Kadyivtsi-Bavky A, Kudryntsi I, Schipenitz A, Nezvysko II, Frydrivtsi, Havrylivtsi-Stinka, Pidpylyp’ya (lower horizon), Hrynchuk (lower horizon), Tymkiv I, Kubachivka (lower horizon), Kozak I, Holoskiv 1 (lower horizon), Hlybochok, possibly Velyka Slobidka-Khreschate (lower horizon), Babyn-Yama, Zinkivtsi 4, Zinkivtsi 5 and Zinkivtsi 6.
 The upper horizon was mostly represented by samples of tableware with monochrome black ornament. Following N. Vynohradova, S. Ryzhov, T. Tkachuk, it was assigned to the stage Trypillia B II. The analysis of the discovered material confirms Tkachuk’s opinion that the settlement belongs to the Mereşeuca-Schipenitz contact zone. Only further archaeological research on wide areas, and obtaining a consistent series of C14-dates for representative closed assemblages of the region sites will improve the local-chronological division of the Cucuteni-Trypillia settlements in the Middle Dniester region.

The times they are a-changing. Reconsidering the occupation history and character of a 3rd millennium BCE settlement in the Lower Rhine Area

A re-analysis of soil micromorphology samples and radiocarbon dates was undertaken at the Middle to Late Neolithic settlement of N11, Hazerswoude-Rijndijk, in the Netherlands. The site, located on crevasse deposits of the river Rhine, was previously dated between 3200 and 2500 BCE. Our re-analysis allows us to place the occupation firmly in the 3rd millennium BCE, which holds implications for our understanding of a pivotal transformation process in Northwest European prehistory. At the same time, it presents us a very informative picture of domestic activities including both the remains of combustion next to a dwelling structure, dating to the first phase of occupation, and the dumping of organic waste with varying degrees of intensity throughout the whole habitation period. Finally, we have shown that a combined approach of archaeological soil micromorphology and a critical analysis of radiocarbon dating, can strengthen interpretations of site chronology and characterising socio-cultural processes.