Securing timelines in the ancient Mediterranean using multiproxy annual tree-ring data.

Area of Science:

• Paleoclimatology
• Dendrochronology
• Archaeological Science

Background:

• Calendar-dated tree-ring sequences are crucial for high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstruction and establishing timelines for past human-environmental interactions.
• Existing records are geographically limited and cover the last 8,000-12,000 years.
• New methods are needed to date "floating" tree-ring sequences, which lack absolute calendar dates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply novel approaches for dating a critical floating tree-ring chronology from the East Mediterranean Bronze-Iron Age.
• To refine the chronological placement of this sequence using multiple dating techniques.
• To investigate potential paleoenvironmental markers within the dated sequence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized annually resolved patterns of Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) to constrain the chronology between 1700 and 1480 BC.
• Employed an anticorrelation analysis between tree-ring growth responses to volcanic events in North American bristlecone pine and Mediterranean trees.
• Applied X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to analyze the newly dated Mediterranean tree-ring sequence (1630-1500 BC).

Main Results:

• Successfully refined the dating of a floating East Mediterranean tree-ring chronology.
• Identified an unusual calcium anomaly around 1560 BC within the 1630-1500 BC sequence.
• The refined chronology and anomaly provide a potential marker for the Thera eruption.

Conclusions:

• The developed methods enhance the ability to date floating tree-ring sequences, expanding paleoenvironmental reconstruction capabilities.
• The identified calcium anomaly presents a promising, though preliminary, indicator for the Thera eruption event.
• Further research and replication are necessary to confirm the anomaly as a definitive marker for the Thera eruption.