Contribution of 14C wiggle-matching to dendroarchaeology of coastal Birnirk and Thule sites in northern Alaska

Along the coast of Northern Alaska, wood remains from Birnirk and Thule archaeological sites are extremely well-preserved and have the potential to document climatic variations and cultural transformations in the early 2nd millennium CE in northwest Alaska. In this treeless coastal tundra, the prima...

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Published in:Archéologie, société et environnement
Main Authors: Taïeb, Juliette, Daux, Valérie, Alix, Claire, Hatté, Christine
Other Authors: Archéologies environnementales, Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UFR Histoire de l'art et archéologie (UP1 UFR03), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1), Archéologie des Amériques (ArchAm), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie (GEOTRAC), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Silesian University of Technology
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04339095
https://doi.org/10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1025
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Summary:Along the coast of Northern Alaska, wood remains from Birnirk and Thule archaeological sites are extremely well-preserved and have the potential to document climatic variations and cultural transformations in the early 2nd millennium CE in northwest Alaska. In this treeless coastal tundra, the primary wood resource is driftwood that come from the boreal forest carried by major interior rivers and ocean currents. While in northern Alaska, some Birnirk and Thule archaeological wood samples can be dated using the rare existing millennial tree ring master chronologies, many come from geographical areas where tree-ring master chronologies are too short (250-300 years). Here, we explore the potential of high-resolution wiggle-matching to accurately date tree-ring series that cannot be dated by conventional dendrochronology and develop preliminary tree-ring chronologies. We present the wiggle-matching results based on 75 radiocarbon dates for eight archaeological timbers from the Piġniq, Rising Whale and Pingusugruk coastal sites in northern Alaska. Wiggle-matching makes it possible to reduce the calendrical interval of these timbers’ last growth ring from centennial to decadal range and position 22 timbers in calendar time. These results open new insights into tree-ring dating of others Birnirk and Thule architectural treering samples and analyzing climatic variations of the early 2nd millennium CE, in different regions of Alaska. Le long des littoraux nord alaskiens, les bois d’architecture des sites archéologiques des cultures Birnirk et Thulé sont extrêmement bien conservés et ont le potentiel de documenter les variations climatiques et les transformations culturelles du début du IIe millénaire de notre ère dans le nord-ouest de l’Alaska. Dans ce milieu de toundra sans arbres, les bois flottés provenant de la forêt boréale et transportés par les principaux fleuves de l’intérieur et les courants océaniques constituent la principale ressource en bois. Si, dans le nord de l’Alaska, certains bois archéologiques ...