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- Ashes with history: studying embers can help reconstruct ancient history
Ashes with history: studying embers can help reconstruct ancient history
Russian archaeologists have proposed a new way to analyze coals found at ancient human sites. Previously, these materials were considered unsuitable for research due to their fragility and poor preservation of wood. The new technique makes it possible to open samples without damage. In combination with radiocarbon analysis, this method helps to reconstruct events related to the burning of the wood under study with an approximation of 3-5 years. This will help to date historical episodes more accurately.
How burned wood is studied
Scientists from the Siberian Federal University (SFU) together with specialists from Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg have proposed a new way of studying archaeological coals - burnt wood remains, which are found at the sites of ancient people. The new method allows to specify the dates of historical events with an accuracy of several years.
As explained by experts, until now, coals were considered as low-informative sources of information. On the other hand, charred wood is one of the most common objects found at excavations. Therefore, the introduction of the new methodology will help to introduce a large class of archaeological material into the scientific turnover.
- It happens that wood does not completely burn and in some cases persists for centuries. We were interested in whether it is possible to use charred fragments for accurate dating of archaeological monuments, - said one of the authors of the methodology, leading researcher, head of the Siberian Dendrochronological Laboratory of SFU Vladimir Myglan.
According to him, the age of wooden objects is determined by the annual rings of the tree, which are visible on the cut. They are formed as the plant grows, and each corresponds to one year of its life. This method is widely used by archaeologists. However, there are difficulties in the study of coals, which are associated with poor preservation of wood material, fragility of samples and complexity of analysis.
As the scientists explained, in the proposed method, one of the most important steps is the proper preparation of samples, in which after grinding the spiles are thoroughly cleaned of dust. Otherwise, it clogs the tracheids (pores of the tree) and makes the image fuzzy. And it is important that the coals were dry, otherwise dust particles stick together.
At the next step, specialists scan the samples and perform their mathematical processing. It allows to compare different fragments and restore the chronology reflected in the annual rings. Finally, the results obtained are compared with the data of radiocarbon analysis.
- This method is based on measuring the concentration of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 in wood samples, but it gives an idea with an accuracy of plus or minus a century. In turn, our method helps to clarify the time when this or that event occurred with an approximation of the order of 3-5 years. It's like microscopes - with small and big magnification, - explained Vladimir Myglan.
What will help to study ancient coals
The scientist noted that the proposed method was tested on the material of archaeological monuments in the republics of Tyva and Altai. Now archaeologists are studying the remains of buildings on the territory of Yakutsk ostrog, which are usually dated to the XVII century. Specialists will have to find out when there appeared a palisade, a building for storing yasak, warehouses and other structures.
According to Vladimir Myglan, in the future the scientists plan to correlate the results obtained for each monument with the general "library" of already available chronology. This will open up possibilities of dating other archaeological sites.
- In the future, the developed approach will allow to establish with filigree accuracy when in Siberia appeared those or other rites, when new settlements were founded and when and what battles took place in this region. One way or another, all these processes are connected with the use of fire. It was used for getting heat, cooking, making tools and weapons, - explained the scientist.
In the future, he believes, the obtained data can be compared with ancient Chinese, Central Asian and Russian chronicles. At the moment, this region is largely a "white spot" on the historical map.
- The method itself has proved itself well. For example, with its help in the chronology of Veliky Novgorod was built more than a thousand-year scale, which helps to date with great accuracy cultural deposits containing wood structures. What is new is the proposal of the authors of the methodology to use not wood trunks, logs, log cabins or laths, but charcoals as the analyzed material,- shared his opinion Associate Professor, head of the school "Archaeology of the Lower Volga region" of the V.N. Tatishchev Astrakhan State University Dmitry Vasiliev.
Another positive point is the cross application of radiocarbon and dendrochronological dating methods. Together they allow to cover a large time range. Moreover, these methods reinforce and clarify each other.
The proposed approach, according to Dmitry Vasiliev, may be in demand at those sites where cremation was widely used in funeral rites. In this case, the base of comparative material is of great importance. It should be collected in advance to build a dendrochronological scale.
However, it will not be possible to extend the methodology to all the monuments of Siberia or the Great Steppe, because not everywhere you can get a sufficient number of coals for study, said the expert.
- The study proposes a solution that is elegant in its simplicity. It makes coal available for mass analysis by specialized archaeological laboratories," stressed Haris Mustafin, head of the Laboratory of Historical Genetics, Radiocarbon Analysis and Applied Physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
There are reasons to expect, he added, wide use of the new method by other laboratories and combining the results obtained into special databases. As a consequence, new important scientific results may be achieved.
