Environmental Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis

The Late Bronze Age world of the Eastern Mediterranean, a rich linkage of Aegean, Egyptian, Syro-Palestinian, and Hittite civilizations, collapsed famously 3200 years ago and has remained one of the mysteries of the ancient world since the event’s retrieval began in the late 19^th century AD/CE. Iconic Egyptian bas-reliefs and graphic hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts portray the proximate cause of the collapse as the invasions of the “Peoples-of-the-Sea” at the Nile Delta, the Turkish coast, and down into the heartlands of Syria and Palestine where armies clashed, famine-ravaged cities abandoned, and countrysides depopulated. Here we report palaeoclimate data from Cyprus for the Late Bronze Age crisis, alongside a radiocarbon-based chronology integrating both archaeological and palaeoclimate proxies, which reveal the effects of abrupt climate change-driven famine and causal linkage with the Sea People invasions in Cyprus and Syria. The statistical analysis of proximate and ultimate features of the sequential collapse reveals the relationships of climate-driven famine, sea-borne-invasion, region-wide warfare, and politico-economic collapse, in whose wake new societies and new ideologies were created.     

Dendrochronology In Plains Prehistory: An Assessment

Abstract

Chronologies and climatological interpretations based upon annual growth rings of trees have been available to prehistorians within the Plains for more than half a century. Until the advent of radiocarbon dating, tree rings provided the only “absolute” chronology for most archeological complexes and subsequently, continued as an important adjunct to radiometric methods. Nonetheless, the validity of tree ring dates in the Plains must be questioned. Continuity of research has been lacking, there have been serious methodological problems, and the provenience of many specimens is in doubt. Moreover, there are significant conflicts between tree ring and recent radiocarbon dates.     

Changes in the Radiocarbon Reservoir Age in Lake Xingyun,Southwestern China during the Holocene

Chronology is a necessary component of paleoclimatology. Radiocarbon dating plays a central role in determining the ages of geological samples younger than ca. 50 ka BP. However, there are many limitations for its application, including radiocarbon reservoir effects, which may cause incorrect chronology in many lakes. Here we demonstrate temporal changes in the radiocarbon reservoir age of Lake Xingyun, Southwestern China, where radiocarbon ages based on bulk organic matter have been reported in previous studies. Our new radiocarbon ages, determined from terrestrial plant macrofossils suggest that the radiocarbon reservoir age changed from 960 to 2200 years during the last 8500 cal a BP years. These changes to the reservoir effect were associated with inputs from either pre-aged organic carbon or ¹⁴C-depleted hard water in Lake Xingyun caused by hydrological change in the lake system. The radiocarbon reservoir age may in return be a good indicator for the carbon source in lake ecosystems and depositional environment.     

High resolution radiocarbon spike confirms tree ring dating with low sample depth

Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) has been used to date carbon-rich objects in Earth science, archeology, and history since the 1940s. New methods, using spikes in ¹⁴C caused by solar proton events, can be used to annually date wood when crossdating is not possible, such as when sample size is low, samples are floating in time, or external disturbances lead to insecure dates. Here, we use a spike in radiocarbon during a solar energetic particle (SEP) event in 774/775 CE to confirm crossdating of a poorly-replicated King Billy pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides) chronology. Low sample depth between 1498 and 1523 CE (two trees) prevented confident dating of the early period of the chronology. Three core samples with strong correlation with the master chronology that likely included the 774/775 CE Miyake SEP event were identified for radiocarbon isotope analysis. We sectioned segments centered on the estimated 774/775 CE date and then isolated the holocellulose in each sample. Samples were sent to an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for radiocarbon measurements. The AMS data confirmed the crossdating accuracy of the tree ring series and reinforces the applicability of this technique to anchor poorly dated tree ring series in time. In addition, we found sample processing with a microtome proved superior for holocellulose extractions and yielded more accurate ¹⁴C measurements. We recommend sampling with a microtome, processing at least three samples per year, and including sample masses greater than 100 ug C to confirm dating using radiocarbon spikes.     

Dating the End of the Greek Bronze Age: A Robust Radiocarbon-Based Chronology from Assiros Toumba

Over 60 recent analyses of animal bones, plant remains, and building timbers from Assiros in northern Greece form an unique series from the 14^th to the 10^th century BC. With the exception of Thera, the number of ¹⁴C determinations from other Late Bronze Age sites in Greece has been small and their contribution to chronologies minimal. The absolute dates determined for Assiros through Bayesian modelling are both consistent and unexpected, since they are systematically earlier than the conventional chronologies of southern Greece by between 70 and 100 years. They have not been skewed by reference to assumed historical dates used as priors. They support high rather than low Iron Age chronologies from Spain to Israel where the merits of each are fiercely debated but remain unresolved.     

The Environmental Impact of Cambodia's Ancient City of Mahendraparvata (Phnom Kulen)

The Khmer kingdom, whose capital was at Angkor from the 9^th to the 14^th-15^th century, was founded in 802 by king Jayavarman II in a city called Mahandraparvata, on Phnom Kulen. Virtually nothing more is known of Mahandraparvata from the epigraphic sources, but systematic archaeological survey and excavation have identified an array of cultural features that point to a more extensive and enduring settlement than the historical record indicates. Recent remote sensing data have revolutionized our view, revealing the remains of a city with a complex and spatially extensive network of urban infrastructure. Here, we present a record of vegetation change and soil erosion from within that urban network, dating from the 8^th century CE. Our findings indicate approximately 400 years of intensive land use, punctuated by discrete periods of intense erosion beginning in the mid 9^th century and ending in the late 11^th century. A marked change in water management practices is apparent from the 12^th century CE, with implications for water supply to Angkor itself. This is the first indication that settlement on Mahendraparvata was not only extensive, but also intensive and enduring, with a marked environmental impact.     

Preferred Women’s Waist-to-Hip Ratio Variation over the Last 2,500 Years

The ratio between the body circumference at the waist and the hips (or WHR) is a secondary sexual trait that is unique to humans and is well known to influence men’s mate preferences. Because a woman''s WHR also provides information about her age, health and fertility, men''s preference concerning this physical feature may possibly be a cognitive adaptation selected in the human lineage. However, it is unclear whether the preferred WHR in western countries reflects a universal ideal, as geographic variation in non-western areas has been found, and discordances about its temporal consistency remain in the literature. We analyzed the WHR of women considered as ideally beautiful who were depicted in western artworks from 500 BCE to the present. These vestiges of the past feminine ideal were then compared to more recent symbols of beauty: Playboy models and winners of several Miss pageants from 1920 to 2014. We found that the ideal WHR has changed over time in western societies: it was constant during almost a millennium in antiquity (from 500 BCE to 400 CE) and has decreased from the 15^th century to the present. Then, based on Playboy models and Miss pageants winners, this decrease appears to slow down or even reverse during the second half of the 20^th century. The universality of an ideal WHR is thus challenged, and historical changes in western societies could have caused these variations in men’s preferences. The potential adaptive explanations for these results are discussed.     

Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: the radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle

The German site of Geißenklösterle is crucial to debates concerning the European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition and the origins of the Aurignacian in Europe. Previous dates from the site are central to an important hypothesis, the Kulturpumpe model, which posits that the Swabian Jura was an area where crucial behavioural developments took place and then spread to other parts of Europe. The previous chronology (critical to the model), is based mainly on radiocarbon dating, but remains poorly constrained due to the dating resolution and the variability of dates. The cause of these problems is disputed, but two principal explanations have been proposed: a) larger than expected variations in the production of atmospheric radiocarbon, and b) taphonomic influences in the site mixing the bones that were dated into different parts of the site. We reinvestigate the chronology using a new series of radiocarbon determinations obtained from the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels. The results strongly imply that the previous dates were affected by insufficient decontamination of the bone collagen prior to dating. Using an ultrafiltration protocol the chronometric picture becomes much clearer. Comparison of the results against other recently dated sites in other parts of Europe suggests the Early Aurignacian levels are earlier than other sites in the south of France and Italy, but not as early as recently dated sites which suggest a pre-Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans to Italy by ∼45000 cal BP. They are consistent with the importance of the Danube Corridor as a key route for the movement of people and ideas. The new dates fail to refute the Kulturpumpe model and suggest that Swabian Jura is a region that contributed significantly to the evolution of symbolic behaviour as indicated by early evidence for figurative art, music and mythical imagery.     

The Earliest Lead Object in the Levant

In the deepest section of a large complex cave in the northern Negev desert, Israel, a bi-conical lead object was found logged onto a wooden shaft. Associated material remains and radiocarbon dating of the shaft place the object within the Late Chalcolithic period, at the late 5^th millennium BCE. Based on chemical and lead isotope analysis, we show that this unique object was made of almost pure metallic lead, likely smelted from lead ores originating in the Taurus range in Anatolia. Either the finished object, or the raw material, was brought to the southern Levant, adding another major component to the already-rich Late Chalcolithic metallurgical corpus known to-date. The paper also discusses possible uses of the object, suggesting that it may have been used as a spindle whorl, at least towards its deposition.     

Bayesian Modeling and Chronological Precision for Polynesian Settlement of Tonga

First settlement of Polynesia, and population expansion throughout the ancestral Polynesian homeland are foundation events for global history. A precise chronology is paramount to informed archaeological interpretation of these events and their consequences. Recently applied chronometric hygiene protocols excluding radiocarbon dates on wood charcoal without species identification all but eliminates this chronology as it has been built for the Kingdom of Tonga, the initial islands to be settled in Polynesia. In this paper we re-examine and redevelop this chronology through application of Bayesian models to the questioned suite of radiocarbon dates, but also incorporating short-lived wood charcoal dates from archived samples and high precision U/Th dates on coral artifacts. These models provide generation level precision allowing us to track population migration from first Lapita occupation on the island of Tongatapu through Tonga’s central and northern island groups. They further illustrate an exceptionally short duration for the initial colonizing Lapita phase and a somewhat abrupt transition to ancestral Polynesian society as it is currently defined.     

A Pinus cembra L. tree-ring record for late spring to late summer temperature in the Rhaetian Alps,Italy

Ongoing climate change strongly affects high-elevation environments in the European Alps, influencing the cryosphere and the biosphere and causing widespread retreat of glaciers and changes in biomes. Nevertheless, high-elevation areas often lack long meteorological series, and global datasets cannot represent local variations well. Thus, proxy data, such as tree rings, provide information on past climatic variations from these remote sites. Although maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies provide better temperature information than those based on tree-ring width (TRW), MXD series from the European Alps are lacking. To derive high-quality temperature information for the Rhaetian Alps, Pinus cembra L. trees sampled at approximately 2000 m a.s.l. were used to build one MXD chronology spanning from 1647 to 2015. The MXD data were significantly and highly correlated with seasonal May-September mean temperatures. The MXD chronology showed a generally positive trend since the middle of the 19^th century, interrupted by short phases of climatic deterioration in the beginning of the 20^th century and in the 1970s, conforming with the temperature trends. Our results underline the potential for using Pinus cembra L. MXD to reconstruct mean temperature variations, especially during the onset and latter part of the growing season, providing additional information on parts of the growing season not inferred from TRW. Future studies on MXD for this species will increase the availability of temporal and spatial data, allowing detailed climate reconstructions.     

Multi-proxy crossdating extends the longest high-elevation tree-ring chronology from the Mediterranean

Annually precise dating is the cornerstone of dendrochronology. The accurate crossdating of relict wood is, however, frequently challenged during early chronology periods when sample replication is typically low. Here we present a multi-proxy approach in which stable carbon (δ¹³C) and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) isotope data are used to evaluate and correct dating errors in the early period of the longest high-elevation tree-ring chronology from the Mediterranean Basin. The record was initially developed using 878 tree-ring width (TRW) and 192 maximum latewood density (MXD) series from living and relict Bosnian pines (Pinus heldreichii) from Mt. Smolikas in Greece to reconstruct hydroclimate and temperature variability back to the 8th century. New annually resolved and non-pooled δ¹³C series now suggest a re-dating of first millennium relict pine samples during a period when sample replication was too low for proper TRW and/or MXD crossdating. The associated correction shifts the start of the Mt. Smolikas chronology from 575 back to 468 CE, a change independently confirmed by wiggle-matching annual ¹⁴C data along the 774/775 CE cosmic event. Our study demonstrates the importance of independent age validation for robust chronology development and shows how multi-proxy crossdating can improve dating success during periods of low sample replication.     

Direct Dating and Physico-Chemical Analyses Cast Doubts on the Coexistence of Humans and Dwarf Hippos in Cyprus

In the Mediterranean, the island dwarf megafaunas became extinct around the end of the Pleistocene, during a period of rapid and global climate change. In Cyprus, this coincided with the first human presence on the island, as attested by the rock shelter of Akrotiri-Aetokremnos where an Epipaleolithic anthropogenic layer (stratum 2) was found overlying a massive accumulation of pygmy hippopotamus (Phanourios minor (Desmarest, 1822)) [Boekschoten and Sondaar, 1972] bones (stratum 4). The relationship between the two layers is highly controversial and the role played by humans in hippo extinction remains fiercely debated. Here, we provide new, direct radiocarbon and physico-chemical analyses on calcined bones which elucidates the complex depositional history of the assemblage. Bone turquoise was identified using micro-PIXE analysis and depth-profiling together with Vis spectroscopy, demonstrating that these bones were not freshly burned. Bayesian modeling of the radiocarbon dates indicates that stratum 4 accumulated during the first half of the 13^th mill cal BP and that calcination occurred several hundred years later. We conclude that accumulation occurred naturally during the beginning of the Younger Dryas and that Epipalaeolithic visitors subsequently used the bones as fuel, starting from the mid-13^th mill cal BP. At that time, dwarf hippos were probably already extinct or at least highly endangered. Our results shed new light on the possible causes of hippo extinction, on the subsequent introduction of the wild boar and on the earliest occupation of the island by humans.     

The Sea Peoples, from cuneiform tablets to carbon dating

The 13(th) century BC witnessed the zenith of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations which declined at the end of the Bronze Age, ～3200 years ago. Weakening of this ancient flourishing Mediterranean world shifted the political and economic centres of gravity away from the Levant towards Classical Greece and Rome, and led, in the long term, to the emergence of the modern western civilizations. Textual evidence from cuneiform tablets and Egyptian reliefs from the New Kingdom relate that seafaring tribes, the Sea Peoples, were the final catalyst that put the fall of cities and states in motion. However, the lack of a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology for the Sea People event has led to a floating historical chronology derived from a variety of sources spanning dispersed areas. Here, we report a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology with anchor points in ancient epigraphic-literary sources, Hittite-Levantine-Egyptian kings and astronomical observations to precisely date the Sea People event. By confronting historical and science-based archaeology, we establish an absolute age range of 1192-1190 BC for terminal destructions and cultural collapse in the northern Levant. This radiocarbon-based archaeology has far-reaching implications for the wider Mediterranean, where an elaborate network of international relations and commercial activities are intertwined with the history of civilizations.     

Chronologie du Paléolithique supérieur dans le Nord-Est de la principale île du Japon

Palaeolithic archaeology in Tohoku region has long been discussed on constructing chronology, however it is difficult to build reliable chronological order because of poor stratigraphic excavations. In recent radiocarbon dating has advanced. In this paper I discuss the relation between chronology and radiocarbon dating in Tohoku region. At first, I categorize the Palaeolithic industries and establish the chronology by analyzing tool typology, lithic technology, and stratigraphic data. I correlate it with radiocarbon data from sites in Tohoku region. The result of analysis shows that Upper Palaeolithic industries are divided into 18 categories and 8 periods on chronology. The calibration curve IntCal 13 indicated that oldest Early Upper Palaeolithic site appeared around 37,000 cal BP, and late Upper Palaeolithic started about 27,000 cal BP. The pottery first appeared as far back as around 16,000 cal BP. Now we do not have enough radiocarbon data, so we have to gather and examine more ¹⁴C data.     

A Tentative Radiocarbon Chronology for the Middle Missouri Tradition

Abstract

Chronology has long been a major concern of researchers in the Middle Missouri Subarea. However, the paucity of radiocarbon dates, as well as the general lack of multiple dates for many components, has hampered comprehensive assessment and interpretation of culture-historical sequences. A large number of radiocarbon dates pertaining to the Middle Missouri Tradition has become available over the last several years, and presently at least 124 dates are available from both published and unpublished sources for 36 components of the tradition. Dates for each radiocarbon-dated Middle Missouri Tradition component in the Big Bend, Bad-Cheyenne, Cannonball, and Knife-Heart Regions – a total of 111 dates for 33 components – are assessed and averaged according to techniques recently advanced by Bruce Rippeteau and Austin Long. Tentative occupational sequences for each of these regions are offered and problems with specific date series are discussed. Dates for components in the Grand-Moreau Region and the James River valley are also discussed, but are not fitted into sequence. Lehmer’s earlier postulation of a gap in the Bad-Cheyenne sequence at about A.D. 1300 is supported by this analysis, and the presence of a similar hiatus is suggested for the Cannonball Region.     

Vertical stratification of testate amoebae in the Elatia Mires, northern Greece: palaeoecological evidence for a wetland response to recent climatic change, or autogenic processes?

The Elatia Mires of northern Greece are unique ecosystems of high conservation value. The mires are climatically marginal and may be sensitive to changing hydroclimate, while northern Greece has experienced a significant increase in aridity since the late twentieth century. To investigate the impact of recent climatic change on the hydrology of the mires, the palaeoecological record was investigated from three near-surface monoliths extracted from two sites. Testate amoebae were analysed as sensitive indicators of hydrology. Results were interpreted using transfer function models to provide quantitative reconstructions of changing water table depth and pH. AMS radiocarbon dates and ²¹⁰Pb suggest the peats were deposited within the last c. 50 years, but do not allow a secure chronology to be established. Results from all three profiles show a distinct shift towards a more xerophilic community particularly noted by increases in Euglypha species. Transfer function results infer a distinct lowering of water tables in this period. A hydrological response to recent climate change is a tenable hypothesis to explain this change; however other possible explanations include selective test decay, vertical zonation of living amoebae, ombrotrophication and local hydrological change. It is suggested that a peatland response to climatic change is the most probable hypothesis, showing the sensitivity of marginal peatlands to recent climatic change.     

Summed Probability Distribution of 14C Dates Suggests Regional Divergences in the Population Dynamics of the Jomon Period in Eastern Japan

Recent advances in the use of summed probability distribution (SPD) of calibrated ¹⁴C dates have opened new possibilities for studying prehistoric demography. The degree of correlation between climate change and population dynamics can now be accurately quantified, and divergences in the demographic history of distinct geographic areas can be statistically assessed. Here we contribute to this research agenda by reconstructing the prehistoric population change of Jomon hunter-gatherers between 7,000 and 3,000 cal BP. We collected 1,433 ¹⁴C dates from three different regions in Eastern Japan (Kanto, Aomori and Hokkaido) and established that the observed fluctuations in the SPDs were statistically significant. We also introduced a new non-parametric permutation test for comparing multiple sets of SPDs that highlights point of divergences in the population history of different geographic regions. Our analyses indicate a general rise-and-fall pattern shared by the three regions but also some key regional differences during the 6^th millennium cal BP. The results confirm some of the patterns suggested by previous archaeological studies based on house and site counts but offer statistical significance and an absolute chronological framework that will enable future studies aiming to establish potential correlation with climatic changes.     

Validation of yellowedge grouper, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Epinephelus flavolimbatus</Emphasis>, age using nuclear bomb-produced radiocarbon

Age validation and estimates of longevity of yellowedge grouper (Epinephelus flavolimbatus) from the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are needed to inform fishery management decisions. Yellowedge grouper sagittal otoliths (n = 100) were collected, aged using conventional means, and cores were submitted for radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurement. Radiocarbon values of yellowedge grouper otoliths were compared to established radiocarbon chronologies in the region to validate the age and ageing methodology of this species. The yellowedge grouper chronology displayed a similar sigmoidal trend as previously published chronologies. In addition to the core analysis, multiple areas on otolith sections from eight specimens were analyzed for Δ¹⁴C to validate age estimates for fish born prior to the ¹⁴C increase. Our results indicate that yellowedge grouper live longer than previously reported (minimum of 40 years based on radiocarbon measurements). The validated ageing methodology supported an estimated maximum longevity of 85 years and established that yellowedge grouper have the longest lifespan currently known for any species of grouper in the GOM. Results also indicate a depth-age interaction in that material extracted from adult otolith sections assigned to post-bomb dates exhibited lower Δ¹⁴C values than cores (juvenile material) assigned to the same post-bomb dates. This finding is likely explained by lower ¹⁴C levels reported from water masses at deeper depths (>100 m) which are inhabited by adults.     

Études du Paléolithique du Japon à partir des téphras

Many studies and discussions have been made on the problem of when the earliest human beings appeared in Japan. In general, hominid fossils in the latest Pleistocene are not preserved except for coralline limestone sequence in Ryukyu islands, but earlier Paleolithic tools were excavated from volcanic ash soil with a ¹⁴C age of about 30,000–35,000 yr. BP or younger at several archeological sites in almost all Japan. Recent studies, however, show a need for revision and refinement of these ages because calibration techniques have progressed from conventional to calendar ages and high-resolution oxygen isotope chronology has given a global standard sequence. Aïra-Tn tephra (AT), the most important time-marker of the Paleolithic age in Japan, was formerly dated at 21,000–22,000 yr ¹⁴C BP by conventional radiocarbon methods but was dated again at ca. 24,500 yr ¹⁴C BP by accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon methods. However, it has been further calibrated to a high-resolution calendar age of 30,000 cal yr. by varve chronology of lake sediments of Suigetsu of central Japan, well matched with combined date between oxygen isotope dates based and calibration from AMS radiocarbon dates. As the earliest Paleolithic tools in south Kanto are found in volcanic ash soil significantly below AT ash and above Sambe-Ikeda ash (SI, ca.46 ka), just above the oxygen isotopic stage 3.3, they are estimated to be dated slightly older than 40 ka. Palaeo-environment at that time is estimated mild to cool climate and relatively low sea level after the oxygen isotope stage 3.3. Sill land bridges between Japan islands and continents have not been formed at major straits. We have not yet obtained useful data for calibration older than ca. 45 ka. Also, correlation of oxygen isotopic fluctuation with the terrestrial sequences is incomplete in Stage 3.