scholarly journals Preceramic, Aceramic or Early Ceramic? The radiocarbon dated beginning of the Neolithic in the Aegean

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agathe Reingruber
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Human History ◽  
Precise Description ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Aegean Prehistory ◽  
Early Ceramic

The Pre-Pottery-Neolithic refers to a period in the Eastern Mediterranean when ceramic containers were not yet in use (although small objects made of clay were already being created). This concept, which reflects a specific and quite unique stage in the development of human history, was introduced to Aegean prehistory under the term of Preceramic during the 1950’s (e.g., in Argissa Magoula and Sesklo). Shortly thereafter, a different term, the Aceramic, was applied in the Aegean (e.g., in Knossos) for levels devoid of pottery, although ceramic products were supposedly used in the wider region. In some cases, the thin levels interpreted as Preceramic or as Aceramic contained sherds that were regarded as being intrusive from above (e.g., Argissa-Magoula, Franchthi Cave). The new sequences of radiocarbon dates allow a more precise description of this early period and thereby contribute, not least, also to the clarification of terminological issues.

scholarly journals The Minoan Santorini Eruption and its14C Position in Archaeological Strata: Preliminary Comparison Between Ashkelon and Tell El-Dabca

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1295-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik J Bruins ◽  
Johannes van der Plicht
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Political History ◽  
Human History ◽  
Volcanic Event ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
Minoan Eruption ◽  
Temporal Occurrence ◽  
Geological Event ◽  
Mega Event

ABSTRACTThe volcanic mega event of the Minoan Santorini eruption constitutes a time anchor in the 2nd millennium BCE that is inherently independent of archaeology and political history. It was a geological event. Yet the dimension of time in geology is not different than in archaeology or human history. Why then does archaeological dating usually place the Minoan Santorini eruption in the 18th Dynasty around 1500 BCE, whilst radiocarbon dating of the volcanic event at Akrotiri (Thera) yielded a calibrated age of 1646–1603 cal BCE, a difference of more than a century? The crux of the problem lies apparently in the correlation between archaeological strata and political history. We present radiocarbon dates of Ashkelon Phases 10 and 11 in comparison to Tell el-Dabca and the Santorini eruption, based only on14C dating. Tell el-Dabca Phase D/2 is slightly older than the volcanic event. But Phase D/1 or Phase C/2-3 could have witnessed the eruption. Ashkelon Phase 11 has similar radiocarbon dates as Tell el-Dabca Phases E/2, E/1 and D/3, all being significantly older than the Minoan eruption. It seems that the duration of Ashkelon Phase 10 includes the temporal occurrence of the Minoan Santorini eruption within the Second Intermediate Period.

The Chronological Position of the Cambered Jar at Cahokia and Its Implications

1969 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Early Period ◽  
Parallel Line ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Late Period ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Central Plains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Mississippian

AbstractThe cambered rim jar is stylistically unique and should be especially useful as a time indicator if its place in Cahokia's ceramic history can be ascertained. On the basis of the broken-down interlocking scroll motif, a parallel line motif, and the scalloped rim found on some of these vessels, it is suggested that this vessel form occurs in periods III and IV of the basic ceramic sequence established for the Powell Tract section of the Cahokia site. It is further suggested that at Powell, late in period III and early in period IV, we have approximately the same time range as at the Mitchell site, whose radiocarbon dates cluster about A.D. 1000-1200.Finally, the similarities between the cambered rim jar at Cahokia and the S-shaped rim types in the Cambria and Mill Creek manifestations to the northwest of Cahokia suggest not only a sharing of ceramic ideas, but also contemporaneity between these three cultural groups during late period III and early period IV times as reflected in the Powell Tract sequence. These relationships would date in calendric years ca. A.D. 1000-1200. Furthermore, this vessel form probably represents a borrowing of ceramic notions on the part of the potters of Cahokia because the form (the S-shaped rim) is both old and widespread in the Central Plains and Middle Missouri regions, while it is rare or missing in the widespread Middle Mississippian manifestations in the Southeast.

scholarly journals Late-Holocene coastal depositional environments and climate changes in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Emmanouilidis ◽  
Ingmar Unkel ◽  
Maria Triantaphyllou ◽  
Pavlos Avramidis
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Salt Pond ◽  
Gulf Of Corinth ◽  
Holocene Period

Multidisciplinary studies in coastal systems of the eastern Mediterranean region have proven to be excellent tools in understanding paleoenvironmental, paleoecological, and paleoclimatic changes that took place during the Holocene period, and how these changes interacted with urban development and growth. This paper presents sedimentological, high-resolution x-ray fluorescence (XRF scanning), micropaleontological, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) data from three shallow sediment cores that were retrieved from Aliki (ancient Siphai or Tipha) salt pond. The study area is located in a unique, highly tectonic geographical region, at the northeast part of the Gulf of Corinth in Greece. Beachrock deposits that form a barrier between the salt pond and the marine environment seem to play an important role in the evolution of the area. The chronological framework was set at around 3100 cal. BP by four 14C radiocarbon dates, and the evolutionary model that was established indicates four different changes taking place during this period at the study area. From around 3100 to 1600 cal. BP, a transition from a closed to an open lagoonal environment was identified, interrupted by a fluvial terrestrial deposit at around 2500 cal. BP. A shift toward a closed lagoonal system at around 1600 cal. BP and the establishment of a salt pond environment seem to correlate with tectonic activity. The study provides important information about the evolution of coastal landscape in such a tectonic active region and points the interaction between regional human activity and climatic changes during the late-Holocene period.

scholarly journals The Minoan Santorini Eruption and Tsunami Deposits in Palaikastro (Crete): Dating by Geology, Archaeology, 14C, and Egyptian Chronology

Radiocarbon ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik J Bruins ◽  
Johannes van der Plicht ◽  
J Alexander MacGillivray
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Nile Delta ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Tsunami Deposits ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Airborne Deposition

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 deposits 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 archaeological 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 youngest element in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits, fitting with the LM IA archaeological date for the Santorini eruption, conventionally linked at ~1500 BCE with Dynasty XVIII of the historical Egyptian chronology. The reasons for the discrepancy of 100–150 yr between 14C dating and Egyptian chronology for part of the 2nd millennium BCE are unknown. 14C dates from Tell el-Dabca in the eastern Nile Delta show that the 14C age of the Santorini eruption matches with 14C results from 18th Dynasty strata C3 and C2, thereby confirming grosso modo the conventional archaeo-historical correlations between the Aegean and Egypt. We propose that a dual dating system is used in parallel: (1) archaeological material-cultural correlations linked to Egyptian chronology; (2) 14C dating. Mixing of dates from the 2 systems may lead to erroneous archaeological and historical correlations. A “calibration curve” should be established between Egyptian chronology and 14C dating for the 2nd millennium BCE, which may also assist to resolve the cause of the discrepancy.

scholarly journals First evidence of a lake at Ancient Phaistos (Messara Plain, South-Central Crete, Greece): Reconstructing paleoenvironments and differentiating the roles of human land-use and paleoclimate from Minoan to Roman times

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1225-1244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Ghilardi ◽  
David Psomiadis ◽  
Valérie Andrieu-Ponel ◽  
Maxime Colleu ◽  
Pavlos Sotiropoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Regional Climate Change ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Impact

Phaistos was one of the most important Minoan palaces in Crete and previous studies have addressed its relationship with the paleo-seashore position during historical times. Here, we reconstruct the environmental evolution of Phaistos from Early Minoan to Roman times. Study of two stratigraphic sections and nine boreholes drilled in the westernmost part of the Messara Plain has revealed the stratigraphy of the Mid- to Late-Holocene sediments. Laboratory analyses comprise granulometry, magnetic susceptibility measurements and identification of mollusks, diatoms and pollen grains. Eighteen radiocarbon dates provide a robust chronostratigraphy. In addition, a geophysical survey (electric resistivity tomography (ERT) method) was conducted to reveal the sub-surface morphology in the coring area. The results reveal that a freshwater lake existed from ca. 2100–2000 BC to ca. 1200–1100 BC, which subsequently became swampland until ca. 700 BC. A lake retreat is identified at ca. 1200–1000 BC and can be interpreted as resulting from the 3.2 cal kyr BP rapid climate change (RCC) dry event, observed elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. Subsequently, from the 7th to the 5th century BC, there was the input of detrital material and fluvial dynamics prevailed until at least Roman times. The origin of the lake and its disappearance are discussed in the context of regional climate change and local tectonic activity, without excluding possible human influences. We also reconstruct the vegetation history for the period from the Late Minoan to the Early Archaic period. Pollen analysis reveals a Mediterranean maquis landscape dominated by Olea, together with hygrophilous vegetation, and highlights a clear transition from limnic to swampy environmental conditions around 1100 BC. The pollen sequence is also important for assessing the impact of the 3.2 cal. kyr BP RCC event and for assessing the possibility of an abrupt discontinuity in human activity around Phaistos after the demise of the Minoan Civilization.

Paraglacial origin for terraced river sediments in Bow Valley, Alberta

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2219-2231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel E. Jackson Jr. ◽  
Glen M. MacDonald ◽  
Michael C. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
River Sediments ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Fluvial Terraces ◽  
Mountain Front ◽  
Main Period ◽  
Glacial Advance

Fluvial terraces flank the course of the Bow River for 100 km from the eastern margin of the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges to Calgary and beyond. The terraces are cut predominantly in gravel fill, which ranges in thickness from approximately 10 m in the Calgary area to 30 m near the mountain front. Sedimentary structures in the gravels indicate a braided stream sedimentary environment in contrast to the present quasi-stable, sinuous, single-channel form of the Bow River. Radiocarbon dates on ungulate remains from the gravels indicate the main period of fill occurred ca. 11 500–10 000 RCYBP (radiocarbon years before present). Previous workers have postulated that the gravels originated directly as outwash from a glacial advance to or beyond the mountain front. This explanation has been refuted by recent stratigraphic and palynological investigations. A complex nonglaciofluvial origin is proposed for these terraces and the sediments that form them. The last glacial advance to reach the mountain front was well into retreat by as early as ca. 13 400 RCYBP. Spruce and pine forest was established in the Bow River drainage by ca. 10 400–10 000 RCYBP and glaciers were restricted to high cirques. It is probable that the early period of fill deposition (ca. 11 500–10 000 RCYBP) was initiated when mountain tributary trunk streams of the Bow River were choked with debris-flow-delivered sediment during the construction of paraglacial debris fans and related phenomena. The debris flows were distinctive features of early nonglacial times, when landforms left unstable by ice retreat mass-wasted into the valleys. Paraglacial processes explain the early postglacial history of the Bow drainage and this example provides a model readily applicable to other drainages in formerly glaciated terrain.

scholarly journals New 14C evidence for the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age transition in Southeast Europe

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannis Maniatis ◽  
Zoï Tsirtsoni ◽  
Christine Oberlin ◽  
Pascal Darcque ◽  
Chaido Koukouli-Chryssanthaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Human History ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The One ◽  
Neighbouring Island

The transition from the Late Neolithic (LN) period (locally also called Final Neolithic or Chalcolithic) to the Early Bronze Age (EBA) in Greece and the Southeast Balkans is an obscure period in human history. Previous radiocarbon evidence showed that in settlements with stratigraphical sequences stretching out on both periods, the absolute dates featured a gap ranging from 700 to 1000 years (roughly between 4000 and 3300/3000 cal. BC). On the other hand, there is only scarce evidence about settlements that would have been founded during the missing period, thus arising questions of paramount importance about the human occupational strategies in this period. Investigation tackling this particular problem is carried out within the framework of a broader research project (Balkans-4000) funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). Here we discuss the latest radiocarbon results from three recently excavated multilayer settlements on the continental Greek Eastern Macedonia: Dikili Tash, Kryoneri and Sidirokastro. In all cases, the existing LN radiocarbon dates do not go beyond about 4000 BC, whereas the earliest EBA layer dates begin at around 3300 BC. A date in the last 1/3rd of the 4th millennium BC is also the date suggested for the one-layer transitional settlement on the neighbouring island of Thasos (Aghios Ioannis). The fact that the gap affects settlements of different types and locations, although there are no signs of major environmental changes, suggests that the reasons of their possible total or partial abandonment are more likely to be social than strictly environmental.

Histoire de l'evolution tectonique de la zone plissee alpine de l'Europe orientale et de l'Asie-Mineure

1962 ◽  
Vol S7-IV (2) ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
M. V. Muratov
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Tectonic History ◽  
Third Phase ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second Period

Abstract Recent literature on the tectonic evolution of the Alpine chain in eastern Europe and Asia Minor is reviewed. Two major periods are recognized in describing the tectonic history of the region. The first embraces all the Paleozoic, ending with the Hercynian orogeny, and probably represents an early period of geosynclinal evolution. The second period is represented by a geosynclinal stage, including the Mesozoic and part of the Paleogene up to the end of the Oligocene, and a terminal stage of orogenesis embracing the Neogene and Quaternary. The geosynclinal stage of the second period can be divided into three phases--an early phase embracing the Triassic, lower and middle and perhaps the upper Jurassic and Cretaceous, and characterized by formation of the first Triassic basins on the peneplaned Paleozoic landscape; a second phase, Cretaceous-middle Eocene, characterized by enlargement of the geosynclines and deposition of flysch; and a third phase which began after the end of the middle Eocene, characterized by closing of the geosynclines. Oceanic trenches which developed in the Black Sea and the southern Caspian, Marmara, Aegean, Ionian and eastern Mediterranean seas are recent structures not connected with the geosynclinal evolution and are superimposed on the continental surface of the geosynclinal structures. The arrangement of the depressions and the uplift during the geosynclinal stage were determined by abyssal faults imposed during the Paleozoic. Magmatic intrusions and volcanism developed in the late geosynclinal phases.

scholarly journals 14C Dates and the Iron Age Chronology of Israel: A Response

Radiocarbon ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amihai Mazar ◽  
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Bayesian Models ◽  
Age Dating ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
Mediterranean Archaeology ◽  
Historical Periods ◽  
Probability Range

Boaretto et al. (2005) published 68 radiocarbon dates relating to 30 samples from 10 Iron Age sites in Israel as part of their Early Iron Age Dating Project. Though the main goal of their paper was an interlaboratory comparison, they also presented results of Bayesian models, calculating the transition from Iron Age I to Iron Age II in Israel to be about 900 BCE instead of the conventional date of about 1000 BCE. Since this date has great importance for all of Eastern Mediterranean archaeology, in this paper we examine the results in light of the dates published in the above-mentioned article. Our paper was revised in light of new data and interpretations published by Sharon et al. (2007).Following a survey of the contexts and specific results at each site, we present several Bayesian models. Model C2 suggests the date range of 961–942 BCE (68% probability) for the transition from Iron Age I to Iron Age II, while Model C3 indicates a somewhat later date of 948–919 BCE (compare the date 992–961 BCE calculated at Tel Rehov for the same transition). In our Model D, we calculated this transition date at Megiddo as taking place between 967–943 BCE. Finally, we calculated the range of dates of major destruction levels marking the end of the Iron Age I, with the following results: Megiddo VIA: 1010–943 BCE; Yoqne'am XVII: 1045–997 BCE; Tell Qasile X: 1039–979 BCE; Tel Hadar: 1043–979 BCE (all in the 68.2% probability range). Figure 4 indicates that the transition between Iron I and II probably occurred between these above-mentioned destruction events and the dates achieved in our Models C2 or C3, namely during the first half of the 10th century BCE.This study emphasizes the sensitivity of Bayesian models to outliers, and for reducing or adding dates from the models. This sensitivity should be taken into account when using Bayesian models for interpreting radiometric dates in relation to subtle chronological questions in historical periods.

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