Volumen 47 (2020): Heft 1 (January 2020)

Stable isotope analyses of oxygen are used in anthropology for such purposes as determination of origin of individuals, tracking migration routes or dynamics of human community relocation. The methodology related to oxygen isotope analysis has been founded on the relationship between its isotopic composition within phosphate groups of bone tissue (δ¹⁸O_p) in individuals being analysed and the water consumed by such individuals (δ¹⁸O_w). Such a relationship has been observed in many species of mammals, including humans. However, the influence of culinary practices on the isotopic delta values of apatite phosphates of individuals has not yet been researched. The present study, which was conducted using laboratory rats, is an investigation of the influence of the thermal processing of water drank by such rats on the isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O_p) of bone apatite. Increasing the value of the isotopic composition of water by about 6.1 ‰ during boiling resulted in an increase in the oxygen isotopic value δ¹⁸O_p of rats drinking the water by about 4 ‰ (29%). It can be expected that regular consumption of heavily isotopic drinks and foods by humans may cause the δ¹⁸O_p of individuals to exceed the range of isotopic environmental variability, even by a few per mille.

In this study, the mean temperature of June to July was reconstructed for the period of 1880 to 2014 by using the Larix gmelinii tree-ring width data for the Mangui region in the northern Daxing’an Mountains, China. The reconstruction accounts for 43.6% of the variance in the temperature observed from AD 1959–2014. During the last 134 years, there were 17 warm years and 17 cold years, which accounted for 12.7% of the total reconstruction years, respectively. Cold episodes occurred throughout 1887–1898 (average value is 14.2°C), while warm episodes occurred during 1994–2014 (15.9°C). Based on this regional study, the warmer events coincided with dry periods and the colder events were consistent with wet conditions. The spatial correlation analyses between the reconstructed series and gridded temperature data revealed that the regional climatic variations were well captured by this study and the reconstruction represented a regional temperature signal for the northern Daxing’an Mountains. In addition, Multi-taper method spectral analysis revealed the existence of significant periodicities in our reconstruction. Significant spectral peaks were found at 29.7, 10.9, 2.5, and 2.2 years. The significant spatial correlations between our temperature reconstruction and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Solar activity suggested that the temperature in the Daxing’an Mountains area indicated both local-regional climate signals and global-scale climate changes.

Quartz grains extracted from aeolian sand (LexCal2014) are tested for suitability as transfer material for radiation source calibration. After thermal pre-treatment, this quartz exhibits luminescence and dose-response properties which appear appropriate for transfer calibration purposes with little dependence of recovered β-dose on preheat temperature in the single aliquot (SAR) procedure and satisfying performance in β-dose recovery (0.98−1.00 given/measured β-dose for various experiments). Additional support is obtained by SARA and interpolation procedures, where OSL-data from γ-dosed LexCal2014 is interpolated on data obtained for zeroed LexCal2014 quartz, which is β-irradiated by the source to be calibrated. Initial results on fine-grain material agree with the coarse grain results presented.

The γ-dose of 3.00 ± 0.07 Gy is administered in a scatter-free geometry at the IAEA/WHO Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL) of the Helmholtz Zentrum München, with absorbed dose calculations obtained by Monte Carlo simulations.

As long-lived, slow-growing tree species, European yew (Taxus baccata L.) has considerable potential for dendrochronological use. The increasing probability of decline and the worsening of yew health status endanger the species diversity of temperate forests. In 2015–2017, we sampled adult yew populations with scattered occurrence in limestone beech forests (Fagetum dealpinum), in which yew trees exhibit the top growth performance. Altogether, 150 trees were sampled (294 cores) at four localities. By using the general linear model, we investigated the interactions between stem and crown status, sex and growth performance of yew trees. Based on the previous results and innovative measures of competition and canopy closure, we explored the promotion of silviculture care for female over the male trees and formulated exact release cutting rules. The results demonstrate divergent growth trends between male and female trees and the pronounced negative effects of crown and stem damage on growth performance of European yew. Expected decreases in radial growth of damaged female trees in comparison with male ones is less confirmed. Despite this, making silvicultural treatments for females as a priority is recommendable. Our findings can improve the effectiveness of forest management and restoration activities in European temperate forests, where yew adults are threatened by the higher degree of shading and herbivory pressure.

This research investigates the validity of the Schmidt hammer exposure dating (SHED) technique as a complementary means to date monuments according to the evaluation of the brick decay from masonry exposed to climatic conditions. The degree of surface weathering, I₅ (%) is calculated as an indicator of the ageing effect and compared to the absolute age of the churches constructed between 1600 and 1795. This paper discusses the results obtained with such a method and the use of the technique within the framework of historical research. Tests were done on exterior church walls built between the 17^th and 19^th centuries. All the churches were located within the limited geographical area of Hainaut, in the south of Belgium. Results indicate that SHED provides encouraging results for buildings constructed between 1790 and 1895, with a linear correlation (R²>0.8) between surface weathering of brick façades and their ages. However, the weathering indices show high variability of values for the period 1750−1790, which may confirm that the variable qualities of bricks were in use during this period of time because of the different production techniques. As such, the results highlight the probable influence of the entire manufacturing and construction process and technical improvements in traditional brick-making.

A geochronological and mineralogical study on the seafloor massive sulfides from the Pobeda hydrothermal cluster at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was carried out. To improve the reliability of geochronological data, the 230Th/U ages were measured for both the bulk samples and monomineral separates. The oldest age ca. 52 kyr within Pobeda-1 and ca. 107 kyr within Pobeda–2 fields have been obtained. Then, several episodes of hydrothermal activity were identified within both fields up to ca. 0.3 kyr ago and up to ca. 4.3 kyr ago, respectively.

Establishing a common standardised growth curve (SGC) can substantially reduce the instrumental time for equivalent-dose (D_e) measurements in optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Several studies have indicated that different samples have different dose–response curves (DRCs) and therefore that it is difficult to construct a common SGC, although an SGC has been proposed in some cases. In this study, our aims were to construct a regional SGC based on small aliquots of sedimentary quartz from more than 100 samples from different sedimentary environments in the Jilantai Basin in North China and to investigate the applicability of different methods of establishing an SGC for the area. The precision of the D_e values of aliquots which were obtained using the SGC was compared with those obtained using the single-aliquot regenerative (SAR) protocol. Our results indicate the following: (1) for establishing an SGC using the regenerative normalisation (Re-SGC) method, selecting a suitable re-normalisation dose that is close to double the characteristic saturation dose, 2D₀, can reduce the inter-aliquot/inter-sample variation in the form of DRCs within a larger dose range. (2) A common regional SGC can be established for the Jilantai area using the Re-SGC and least-squares normalisation (LS-SGC) methods, which provides reliable dating results within the 200 Gy D_e range.

St. George’s Orthodox Church in Drohobych is a wooden monument of sacral architecture, recently registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, clear, unequivocal written sources about the origins of the structure are lacking. Absolute dating was attempted with the dendrochronological method, and it was carried out in a noninvasive way due to the status and value of the object. Construction elements of the church were documented with over 40 macrophotographs. The studies were made for selected elements, displaying distinct perpendicular or tangential cross sections. Most of the elements examined represented fir wood. It turned out that the wood used for the construction of this church was contemporaneous and most likely represented a single construction phase. The 124-year chronology based on correlated curves covers the period 1464–1598 AD. Construction elements with the outermost rings retained indicate that the timber was harvested in the 1590s. In most cases, the outermost rings were lacking, which allowed only for dating terminus post quem. The youngest preserved rings (1598 AD) from the church wood apparently reveal the dates of both the wood harvesting and the structure’s construction. Such a dating may indicate that the church mentioned in the sources as purchased in Nadiyevo in 1657 AD could be the basis for the rebuilding of Drohobych St. George’s Orthodox Church, only adapted to the new conditions. The church later underwent renovation, consisting in reconstruction of the dome in 1821 AD.

Subfossil trunks of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from the Late Weichselian were discovered in the site Koźmin in the Koło Basin, central Poland (Dzieduszyńska et al., 2014a). Another part of organic sediments with trunks was excavated in the frame of the research project. Altogether 224 samples from Koźmin were analysed dendrochronologically; they represented generally young trees, 40 to 70 years old. Based on the most convergent sequences, the chronology 2KOL_A1 was produced, 210 years in length. With the wiggle-matching method, it was dated to ca. 13065–12855 cal BP. Dendrochronological dating of trunks buried in organic sediments, most of which occurred in situ, revealed that tree deaths occurred successively, over more than 100 years. That could have been due to unfavourable climatic conditions, as well as extreme events, e.g. strong winds.

A new system for the preparation of graphite samples for radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurement using an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) has been built in the Dendrochronological Laboratory at AGH-UST, Kraków. This system consists of three independent components. The first is the equipment for mechanical and chemical sample pre-treatment. The second is the vacuum line for sample sealing and the purification of CO₂. The third and central part of this system is a graphitization line, where graphite is produced from CO₂. In the first stage, chemical sample preparation was carried out to remove impurities. IAEA and NIST OxII standard materials were converted to CO₂ without pre-treatment. In the next step, samples were combusted to CO₂. The resulting CO₂ was released under vacuum and cryogenically purified for subsequent graphitization. The performance of the system was tested with NIST OxII, IAEA standards (IAEA C5, C6 and C7) and background samples. The test confirms good reproducibility of results obtained for the samples prepared using this system. The results of the 49 samples of NIST Ox-II, IAEA standards and blank samples were presented in this article.

Numerous ruins around the world lack the radiometric dating due to the scarcity of organic carbon. Here, we present results of radiocarbon dating of mortar samples from an early Medieval church Hohenrätien GR, Switzerland, which was dated to the early 6^th century, based on typology. The method of dating mortars, which is currently applied at the ETH laboratory, involves sieving the crushed mortar, selection of grain size 45−63 μm and sequential dissolution resulting in four fractions of CO₂ collected in a 3-second interval each. Two mortar samples, which were analyzed using sequential dissolution and one by dating a bulk of lime lump, resulted in a combined radiocarbon age of 1551±21 BP translating to the calendar age of 427−559 AD.

The stratigraphy of Late Pleniglacial and Late Glacial fluvio-to-aeolian succession was investigated in two sites located at the Niemodlin Plateau, SW Poland. Lithofacial analysis was used for the reconstruction of sedimentary environments. An absolute chronology for climatic change and the resulting environmental changes were determined based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL – nine samples) and radiocarbon (three samples) dating methods. Four phases of changes in sedimentary environments were established. The first depositional phase correlates with the Last Permafrost Maximum (24−17 ka) based on the type and size of the periglacial structures, which aggraded under continuous permafrost conditions. During 17.5−15.5 ka (upper Late Pleniglacial), a stratigraphic gap was detected, owing to a break in the deposition on the interfluve area. The second depositional phase took place during 15.5−13.5 ka. During this phase, the first part of the dune formation (Przechód site) and fluvio-aeolian cover (Siedliska site) was deposited. The sedimentary processes continued throughout the entire Bølling interstadial and Older Dryas. In the third phase (Allerød interstadial), soil formation took place. At the Siedliska site, palaeosol represented Usselo soil type, whereas at the Przechód site, there was a colluvial type of soil. The last phase (Younger Dryas) is represented by the main phase of dune formation in both sites. After the Younger Dryas, no aeolian activity was detected. High compliance with both absolute dating methods was noticed.

The high mountainous southeastern part of Russian Altai is characterized by complicated sedimentation history. As a result of tectonic movements, Paleogene, Neogene, and even more old Carboniferous and Jurassic organicrich deposits had been partly uplifted and exhumed on the ridge’s slopes, where during the Pleistocene, they were affected by various exogenous processes including glaciation, glacio-fluvial erosion, winnowing activity of ice-dammed lakes, sliding during lake-draining events, followed by further intensive Holocene erosion, pedogenesis, and permafrost formation/degradation.

Remobilized ancient organic matter had been involved into geomorphic and pedogenesis processes and affected the results of radiocarbon dating. Numerous radiocarbon ages obtained revealed several typical problems in interpretation of dating results, which was confirmed by multidisciplinary investigations of associated sediments in a wider regional context.

This article presents a discussion on obtained apparent radiocarbon dates of organic material from ten sections of the SE Altai. In addition to radiocarbon analysis, in each case multidisciplinary study was carried out in order to properly interpret obtained dates, as well as to explain the inability of directly using apparent ¹⁴C ages as a geochronological basis for paleogeographical reconstruction. The analysis presented is of vital importance for establishing the chronology of formation of large ice-dammed lakes and their cataclysmic draining; revealing chronology and paleoenvironmental conditions of pedogenesis in the highlands of the SE Altai; and estimating the range and magnitude of the tectonically driven topography rebuilding in the post-Neogene time.

Speleothems provide one of the most continuous terrestrial archives. However, due to changing conditions in temperature/humidity or the chemistry of percolating water, sedimentation breaks (hiatuses) and erosional events are possible and are commonly recorded in speleothems. Sedimentation breaks with durations longer than the resolution of the studied record should be considered in potential speleothem age-depth models. The most classic and reliable solution to the problem is the independent construction of age-depth models for the parts of speleothems separated by the hiatuses. However, in some cases, it is not possible to obtain a sufficient number of dating results for reliable age-depth model estimation. In such cases, the problem can be solved by the application of other sources of chronological information. Here, based on a few speleothem examples, an alternative approach – oxygen isotopic stratigraphy – is used to estimate the chronology for the parts of speleothems where there is not enough chronological information for classic age-depth models. As a result, the deposition break duration can be estimated.

The numerical ages available for the sediments on the Danube terraces in the Pest Plain are scarce. In this study, we present quartz OSL and K feldspar post-IR IRSL₂₉₀ ages for the sandy fluvial, aeolian and slope sediments collected from Danube terraces IIb, III and V.

The feldspar post-IR IRSL₂₉₀ ages without residual dose subtraction are older than the quartz OSL ages, except for one sample, but the two sets of ages are overlapping within one or two sigma errors.

In the bleaching experiment under natural sunlight during summer, an unbleachable component ranging from 2.5±0.7 Gy to 5.2±0.3 Gy after 30 h exposure to bright sunshine is observed and it corresponds to 3−8% of the measured K feldspar post-IR IRSL₂₉₀ equivalent doses. These facts indicate that residual dose subtraction would be necessary before age calculation, in most cases.

The saturated fluvial gravelly sand of terrace V of the Danube is older than ~ 296 ka based on feldspar post-IR IRSL₂₉₀ measurements. This age does not contradict the traditional terrace chronology and the earlier published age data of this terrace. The other studied sediments on the surface of the terraces V, III and IIb deposited much later than the formation of these terraces. They infer aeolian activity and fluvial sedimentation of small streams during the MIS 3 and MIS 2 periods. The age of the dated dune sands with coeval aeolian sediments in Hungary indicate the cold and dry periods with strong wind activity of the Late Weichselian.

Four lime mortar samples from the Mérida amphitheatre in Spain were dated in 2001 and re-dated in 2019 with refined dating methods and focus on carbon dioxide that was released in late CO₂ fractions when dissolved in phosphoric acid. The samples were difficult to date because they contained highly soluble, young carbonate contamination that dominated the carbon dioxide from the early stages of the reaction with the acid in the hydrolysis process. They were also rather hydraulic and rich in magnesium, which could have caused delayed hardening. However, there was very little dead carbon contamination so that late carbon dioxide fraction gave uniform ¹⁴C ages, pointing to a late 1^st c. AD Flavian, or later age of the amphitheatre.

In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two ¹⁴C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of ¹⁴C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.