Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries)
Abstract Along the coast of northwestern Alaska, architectural wood remains are well preserved in the Birnirk and Thule coastal sites of the early 2nd millennium CE . These structural wood elements are unique archives for documenting climatic variations and cultural transformations during this key d...
Published in: | International Journal of Wood Culture |
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crbrillap:10.1163/27723194-bja10029 2024-04-28T08:11:34+00:00 Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) Preliminary Results on Oxygen Isotope Cross-Dating Taïeb, Juliette Daux, Valérie Alix, Claire Division of Arctic Sciences Division of Arctic Sciences Division of Arctic Sciences World Wood Day Foundation World Wood Day Foundation 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10029 https://brill.com/view/journals/ijwc/4/1/article-p17_2.xml https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/ijwc/4/1/article-p17_2.xml unknown Brill https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ International Journal of Wood Culture volume 4, issue 1, page 17-38 ISSN 2772-3186 2772-3194 journal-article 2024 crbrillap https://doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10029 2024-04-02T06:53:13Z Abstract Along the coast of northwestern Alaska, architectural wood remains are well preserved in the Birnirk and Thule coastal sites of the early 2nd millennium CE . These structural wood elements are unique archives for documenting climatic variations and cultural transformations during this key development period of Inuit culture. Along this treeless Arctic coast, driftwood accumulates from the subarctic forests of interior Alaska. Except for northwestern Alaska, regional tree-ring chronologies are too short (at best 350–400 years) to successfully date archaeological wood remains from Birnirk and Thule coastal sites using conventional dendrochronology. This paper examines the potential of tree-ring derived δ 18 O signal to annually date eight architectural wood samples from the Rising Whale ( KTZ -304) site at Cape Espenberg, northwestern Alaska. We developed a δ 18 O master chronology, covering the period 935–1157 CE , using five wood samples from the KTZ -304 site. Blind isotope cross-dating of individual series belonging to this δ 18 O master chronology (one against the other four) showed conclusive dating and a very strong coherence of the isotopic signal. We, then, used the δ 18 O master chronology to cross-date three other wood samples for which we knew, from previous 14 C wiggle-matching procedure, the first measured ring to be in this time interval, within a ± 18 to 30-year precision. Oxygen isotope dendrochronology provided a plausible date for one of the samples (the first measured ring at 1073 CE ). This preliminary study encourages us to acquire additional data to extend in time and strengthen the δ 18 O master chronology of northwestern Alaska ( NWAK 18O ) and help refine our understanding of climate and culture change during the 2nd millennium CE . Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic inuit Subarctic Alaska Brill International Journal of Wood Culture 1 22 |
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Abstract Along the coast of northwestern Alaska, architectural wood remains are well preserved in the Birnirk and Thule coastal sites of the early 2nd millennium CE . These structural wood elements are unique archives for documenting climatic variations and cultural transformations during this key development period of Inuit culture. Along this treeless Arctic coast, driftwood accumulates from the subarctic forests of interior Alaska. Except for northwestern Alaska, regional tree-ring chronologies are too short (at best 350–400 years) to successfully date archaeological wood remains from Birnirk and Thule coastal sites using conventional dendrochronology. This paper examines the potential of tree-ring derived δ 18 O signal to annually date eight architectural wood samples from the Rising Whale ( KTZ -304) site at Cape Espenberg, northwestern Alaska. We developed a δ 18 O master chronology, covering the period 935–1157 CE , using five wood samples from the KTZ -304 site. Blind isotope cross-dating of individual series belonging to this δ 18 O master chronology (one against the other four) showed conclusive dating and a very strong coherence of the isotopic signal. We, then, used the δ 18 O master chronology to cross-date three other wood samples for which we knew, from previous 14 C wiggle-matching procedure, the first measured ring to be in this time interval, within a ± 18 to 30-year precision. Oxygen isotope dendrochronology provided a plausible date for one of the samples (the first measured ring at 1073 CE ). This preliminary study encourages us to acquire additional data to extend in time and strengthen the δ 18 O master chronology of northwestern Alaska ( NWAK 18O ) and help refine our understanding of climate and culture change during the 2nd millennium CE . |
author2 |
Division of Arctic Sciences Division of Arctic Sciences Division of Arctic Sciences World Wood Day Foundation World Wood Day Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Taïeb, Juliette Daux, Valérie Alix, Claire |
spellingShingle |
Taïeb, Juliette Daux, Valérie Alix, Claire Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
author_facet |
Taïeb, Juliette Daux, Valérie Alix, Claire |
author_sort |
Taïeb, Juliette |
title |
Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
title_short |
Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
title_full |
Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
title_fullStr |
Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries) |
title_sort |
dendroarchaeology of birnirk and thule architectural timbers (10–13th centuries) |
publisher |
Brill |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10029 https://brill.com/view/journals/ijwc/4/1/article-p17_2.xml https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/ijwc/4/1/article-p17_2.xml |
genre |
Arctic inuit Subarctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic inuit Subarctic Alaska |
op_source |
International Journal of Wood Culture volume 4, issue 1, page 17-38 ISSN 2772-3186 2772-3194 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10029 |
container_title |
International Journal of Wood Culture |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
22 |
_version_ |
1797578927437250560 |