ABSTRACT. The paper is compares the chronology of the monuments of the Scythian epoch located in the east and west of the Eurasian steppe zone on the basis of both archaeological and radiocarbon data. The lists of 14 C dates for the monuments located in different parts of Eurasia are presented according to the periods of their existence. Generally, the 14 C dates are confirmed the archaeological point of view and allow us to compare the chronological position of the European and Asian Scythian monuments on the united 14 C time scale.
This paper focuses on the chronological study of 2 Scythian period monuments that are the key to the chronology of the entire Eurasian Scythian culture. These are the unique monuments of Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 in Central Asia (Tuva Republic). The dating of both these monuments began immediately after their discovery, but discussion about their chronological position is still current. Both monuments contained considerable wooden material from their construction suitable for dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The first results for the Arzhan-1 barrow were obtained by wiggle-matching in 2004–2005, while the Arzhan-2 barrow was first dated in 2003. It is now possible to compare the chronological position of these barrows using the same methods. As postulated earlier, Arzhan-1 is the oldest Scythian period monument and is dated to the boundary of the 8–9th centuries BC. The position of the Arzhan-2 monument stretches to the middle of the 7th century BC. δ13C values for annual tree rings in logs from both barrows were also determined to gain a better understanding of the climatic conditions at the time of barrow construction.
We propose a new method of cross-dating the wood samples based on the classical methods of spectral estimation. This method uses the average cross-spectral density as a function of the relative position of the series. Because it is not sensitive to phase shifts in data it is appropriate for cross-dating samples originating from geographically distinct areas.The accuracy of cross dating depends on the integrity of the samples used, and in the case of well-preserved wood samples, the precision of relative age comparison may reach a single year. The method was tested on two dendrochronological series from Scythian barrows of known age in Southern Siberia: the Pazyryk barrows (the Altai Mountains) and the Dogee-Baary-2 burials (Western Sayan Mountains) separated by 450 km. The analysis has shown that the Pazyryk barrow is younger by 80 ± 4 yr than the Dogee-Baary −2 burials. This result is in agreement with the new chronology of Scythian-related sites suggested for Southern Siberia and Central Asia.
We present here new radiocarbon dates for the different barrows (burial mounds) of the nomadic tribes of the Scythian period in the Khakassia and Tuva regions (Central Asia). The time scale of these barrows is compared with the elite barrows of the Sayan-Altai. In agreement with archaeological evidence, some barrows in Khakassia are chronologically close in time to the Arzhan barrow. The first 14C dates produced for the barrows from the Tuva region belong to a later Scythian period, compared with the elite Arzhan barrow. We determined the final stage of the barrow construction, but to establish the starting time, more dates are necessary (both by dendrochronology and 14C).
We present a radiocarbon chronology of key Sayan-Altai monuments from the Scythian period, based on a statistical analysis of dates produced in the 1980s and now supplemented with new dates. These new 14C dates were produced for samples from the Tuekta-1 barrows (burial mounds) and were measured both in St. Petersburg and Groningen. These tree-ring samples were fitted to the calibration curve. Chronologies were established for the Arzhan, Tuekta-1 and Pazyryk-5 barrows. The time of the construction of the Arzhan and Pazyryk-5 barrows is the 9th and late 5th–4th centuries bc, respectively, and agrees with archaeology. According to new data obtained, the time of the Tuekta-1 barrow construction is some years older than has been accepted thus far by archaeologists.
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