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Brunner M, von Felten J, Hinz M, Hafner A. Central European Early Bronze Age chronology revisited: A Bayesian examination of large-scale radiocarbon dating. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0243719. [PMID: 33370331 PMCID: PMC7769557 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In archaeological research, changes in material culture and the evolution of styles are taken as major indicators for socio-cultural transformation. They form the basis for typo-chronological classification and the establishment of phases and periods. Central European Bronze Age material culture from burials reveals changes during the Bronze Age and represents a perfect case study for analyzing phenomena of cultural change and the adoption of innovation in the societies of prehistoric Europe. Our study focuses on the large-scale change in material culture which took place in the second millennium BC and the emergence at the same period of new burial rites: the shift from inhumation burials in flat graves to complex mounds and simple cremation burials. Paul Reinecke was the first to divide the European Bronze Age (EBA) into two phases, Bz A1 and A2. The shift from the first to the second phase has so far been ascribed to technical advances. Our study adopted an innovative approach to quantifying this phenomenon. Through regressive reciprocal averaging and Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon-dated grave contexts located in Switzerland and southern Germany, we modelled chronological changes in the material culture and changes in burial rites in these regions in a probabilistic way. We used kernel density models to summarize radiocarbon dates, with the aim of visualizing cultural changes in the third and second millennium BC. In 2015, Stockhammer et al. cast doubt on the chronological sequence of the Reinecke phases of the EBA on the basis of newly collected radiocarbon dates from southern Germany. Our intervention is a direct response to the results of that study. We fully agree with Stockhammer's et al. dating of the start of EBA, but propose a markedly different dating of the EBA/MBA transition. Our modelling of radiocarbon data demonstrates a statistically significant typological sequence of phases Bz A1, Bz A2 and Bz B and disproves their postulated chronological overlap. The linking of the archaeological relative-chronological system with absolute dates is of major importance to understanding the temporal dimension of the EBA phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirco Brunner
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Jonas von Felten
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin Hinz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Albert Hafner
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Bosman SH, Schwing PT, Larson RA, Wildermann NE, Brooks GR, Romero IC, Sanchez-Cabeza JA, Ruiz-Fernández AC, Machain-Castillo ML, Gracia A, Escobar-Briones E, Murawski SA, Hollander DJ, Chanton JP. The southern Gulf of Mexico: A baseline radiocarbon isoscape of surface sediments and isotopic excursions at depth. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231678. [PMID: 32294128 PMCID: PMC7159241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGoM) is home to an extensive oil recovery and development infrastructure. In addition, the basin harbors sites of submarine hydrocarbon seepage and receives terrestrial inputs from bordering rivers. We used stable carbon, nitrogen, and radiocarbon analyses of bulk sediment organic matter to define the current baseline isoscapes of surface sediments in the sGoM and determined which factors might influence them. These baseline surface isoscapes will be useful for accessing future environmental impacts. We also examined the region for influence of hydrocarbon deposition in the sedimentary record that might be associated with hydrocarbon recovery, spillage and seepage, as was found in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010. In 1979, the sGoM experienced a major oil spill, Ixtoc 1. Surface sediment δ13C values ranged from -22.4‰ to -19.9‰, while Δ14C values ranged from -337.1‰ to -69.2‰. Sediment δ15N values ranged from 2.8‰ to 7.2‰, while the %C on a carbonate-free basis ranged in value of 0.65% to 3.89% and %N ranged in value of 0.09% to 0.49%. Spatial trends for δ13C and Δ14C were driven by water depth and distance from the coastline, while spatial trends for δ15N were driven by location (latitude and longitude). Location and distance from the coastline were significantly correlated with %C and %N. At depth in two of twenty (10%) core profiles, we found negative δ13C and Δ14C excursions from baseline values in bulk sedimentary organic material, consistent with either oil-residue deposition or terrestrial inputs, but likely the latter. We then used 210Pb dating on those two profiles to determine the time in which the excursion-containing horizons were deposited. Despite the large spill in 1979, no evidence of hydrocarbon residue remained in the sediments from this specific time period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha H. Bosman
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SHB); (JPC)
| | - Patrick T. Schwing
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
- Eckerd College, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | | | - Natalie E. Wildermann
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Gregg R. Brooks
- Eckerd College, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | - Isabel C. Romero
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | - Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | | | - Adolfo Gracia
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Elva Escobar-Briones
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Steven A. Murawski
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | - David J. Hollander
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey P. Chanton
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SHB); (JPC)
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Crema ER, Habu J, Kobayashi K, Madella M. Summed Probability Distribution of 14C Dates Suggests Regional Divergences in the Population Dynamics of the Jomon Period in Eastern Japan. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0154809. [PMID: 27128032 PMCID: PMC4851332 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
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 6th 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico R. Crema
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- CaSEs Research Group (Complexity and Socio-Ecological Dynamics), Department of Humanities, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Junko Habu
- Research Institute of for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan
- Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | | | - Marco Madella
- CaSEs Research Group (Complexity and Socio-Ecological Dynamics), Department of Humanities, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
- IMF-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
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