Dating

Question 1

ka

Answer 1

= 1,000 years

Question 2

14C-Age

Answer 2

= Carbon dated age
* Conventional 14C-Age = non-calibrated

Question 3

BP

Answer 3

= Before Present [Present = 1950]
* Cal BP = Calibrated carbon date before 1950

Question 4

BC

Answer 4

= Before Christ
* BCE = Before Current Era
* Cal BC = Calibrated carbon date in terms of BC/BCE

Question 5

AD

Answer 5

Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord)
* Cal AD = Calibrated carbon date in terms of AD

Question 6

“Cal”:

Answer 6

solely refers to physical objects which are based on 14C-dating; not on, e.g., written sources and coins

Question 7

Dating methods applicable to the Holocene (7)

Answer 7

1. “Archives” based dating:
2. Archaeology based contextual dating
3. Sediment core
4. Ice core dating
5. Vulcanic ash dating
6. Dendrochronology
7. 14C-dating

Question 8

“Archives” based dating

Answer 8

Museum collection, species can be used to indicate presence in a specific time

Question 9

Archaeology based contextual dating

Answer 9

Animal / plant remains close or in archaeological findings.
- Gives an indication that they are from the same time period

Question 10

Sediment core

Answer 10

older layers contain older remains, relative comparison

Question 11

Ice core dating

Answer 11

Deeper layers contain older remains, relative comparison

Question 12

Vulcanic ash dating

Answer 12

If you know when it erupted, you know everything below has a specific age
-Vulcanic eruptions identified in GISP2 ice core

Question 13

Dendrochronology

Answer 13

Using the tree rings can be used to indicate a time.
-In dry years rings are thinner, and in wet years they are wider
-Wood is used as a building, and it is present in the sediments. By comparing wood from different spots can create a timeline

Question 14

14C-dating: decay curve for radiocarbon

Answer 14

14C is taken up during your living life.
- 14C is not stable, it slowly decays
- 14C-concentration is relatively stable in the atmosphere
- The 14C-concentration is like the atmosphere till death
- After death this 14C starts to decay
- Only possible for organic matter

You need to calibrate the curve, because the concentration of 14C has not always been constant. Tree rings contain a certain 14C-concentration depending on each year.

Question 15

How does the calibration of radiocarbon work?

Answer 15

Calibration of radiocarbon determinations is in principle very simple. If you have a radiocarbon measurement on a sample, you can try to find a tree ring with the same proportion of radiocarbon. Since the calendar age of the tree rings is known, this then tells you the age of your sample.

Question 16

two factors that complicate the calibration of radiocarbon

Answer 16

1. the measurements on both the tree rings and the samples have a limited precision and so there will be a range of possible calendar years
2. given the way the atmospheric radiocarbon concentration has varied, there might be several possible ranges
   These effects are most clearly seen by looking at a specific example.

This plot shows how the radiocarbon measurement 3000+-30BP would be calibrated. The left-hand axis shows radiocarbon concentration expressed in years `before present’ and the bottom axis shows calendar years (derived from the tree ring data). The pair of blue curves show the radiocarbon measurements on the tree rings (plus and minus one standard deviation) and the red curve on the left indicates the radiocarbon concentration in the sample. The grey histogram shows possible ages for the sample (the higher the histogram the more likely that age is).

-The results of calibration are often given as an age range. In this case, we might say that we could be 95% sure that the sample comes from between 1375 cal BC and 1129 cal BC

Question 17

On what 4 dimensions can a chronology be based?

Answer 17

1. climate based
2. Vegetation based
   * Resulting from climate change and plant species responses
   * Different species and compositions at different layers.
3. Archaeology based
   * Based on material culture, resource use and societal structure
4. History based
   * Based on historical events

Question 18

What are the climate based factors that you can base your chronology on?

Answer 18

• Glacials <-> Interglacials
• Stadial <-> Interstadial (cold vs warmer)
• Within the Holocene interglacial
  -Roman warm period
  -Medieval climate optimum
  -Little ice age

Question 19

What is the traditional 6 period classification in The Netherlands?

Answer 19

1. <12.500 BP = paleolithic
   Nomadic hunters
2. 12.500- 7.300 BP = Mesolithic
   Seasonal hunter-gatherers
3. 7.300 - 3.900 BP= Neolithic
   Agriculture
4. 3.900 - 2.800 BP = bronze age
   Bronze tools
5. 2.800 BP - 2.000 BP = iron age
   Iron Tools
6. > 2.000 BP historical period

Question 20

What are the 8 (but actually 9) Holocene subperiods?

Answer 20

8. Sub-Atlantic
   7b. Sub-Boreal
   7a. Atlantic
9. Later boreal
10. Early boreal
11. Pre-Boreal
12. Younger Dryas
13. Allerod interstadial
14. Older dryas

Question 21

Older dryas

Answer 21

Zone: I
Date BC: 12.000
Characteristic vegetation: Park Tundra

Question 22

Allerod Interstadial

Answer 22

Zone: II
Date BC: 10.000
Characteristic vegetation: Birch with park tundra

Question 23

Younger Dryas

Answer 23

Zone: III
Date BC: 8.800
Characteristic vegetation: Park Tundra

Question 24

Pre-Boreal

Answer 24

Zone: IV
Date BC: 8.300
Characteristic vegetation: Birch, pine forest

Question 25

Early Boreal

Answer 25

Zone: V Date BC: 7.600 Characteristic vegetation: Hazel, birch, pine

Question 26

later boreal

Answer 26

Zone: VI Date BC: 7.000 Characteristic vegetation: hazel pine, oak, elm, lime

Question 27

Atlantic

Answer 27

Zone: VIIA Date BC: 5.500 Characteristic vegetation: alder, oak, elm, lime (mixed oak forest)

Question 28

sub-boreal

Answer 28

Zone: VIIb Date BC: 3.000 Characteristic vegetation: Alder, oak, lime (elm decline)

Question 29

Sub-atlantic

Answer 29

Zone: 500 Date BC: VIII Characteristic vegetation: Alder, oak, birch

Question 30

What are the 5 historical periods in The Netherlands?

Answer 30

1. Roman period (only south of the Rhine): 1st– 4th century 2. Early Middle Ages: 330 – 950 AD -Merovingian: 447 – 751 AD -Carolingian: 751 – 987 AD 3. High Middle Ages: 950 – 1270 AD 4. Late Middle Ages: 1270 – 1500 AD 5. Modern Times: 16th century - present