Radiocarbon Studies of Peat Bogs: an Investigation of South Kamchatka Volcanoes and Upper Volga Archeological Sites

• Published in: Radiocarbon
• Main Authors: Zaretskaia, N E, Ponomareva, V V, Sulerzhitsky, L D, Zhilin, M G
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2001
• Subjects: Kamchatka
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0033822200041229; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822200041229

We have undertaken extensive programs of natural radiocarbon measurement to date the evidence for various events buried in peat bogs. Two case studies are described here: 1) the chronological reconstruction of South Kamchatka volcanic eruptions and, 2) investigation of multi-layered archeological sites in the Upper Volga River Basin. Studies of sample composition and peat taphonomy allowed us to determine the source of 14 C age deviations and to reconstruct the environmental history of organic matter accumulation. Data sets, obtained from different types of peat bog and containing traces of these Holocene events, are discussed.