Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin

Margot Kuitems; Andrei Panin; Andrea Scifo; Irina Arzhantseva; Yury Kononov; Petra Doeve; Andreas Neocleous; Michael Dee

doi:10.1073/pnas.1921301117

Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin

Margot Kuitems^*, Andrei Panin, Andrea Scifo, Irina Arzhantseva, Yury Kononov, Petra Doeve, Andreas Neocleous, Michael Dee

^*Corresponding author for this work

Isotope Research

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

45 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Inadequate resolution is the principal limitation of radiocarbon dating. However, recent work has shown that exact-year precision is attainable if use can be made of past increases in atmospheric radiocarbon concentration or so-called Miyake events. Here, this nascent method is applied to an archaeological site of previously unknown age. We locate the distinctive radiocarbon signal of the year 775 common era (CE) in wood from the base of the Uyghur monument of Por-Bajin in Russia. Our analysis shows that the construction of Por-Bajin started in the summer of 777 CE, a foundation date that resolves decades of debate and allows the origin and purpose of the building to be established.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	14038-14041
Number of pages	4
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	117
Issue number	25
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921301117
Publication status	Published - 23-Jun-2020

Keywords

radiocarbon dating
exact-year precision
archaeology
Miyake event
Por-Bajin
SINGLE-YEAR
TREE-RINGS
C-14
CHRONOLOGY
INCREASE

Access to Document

10.1073/pnas.1921301117Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolvesFinal publisher's version, 947 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Kuitems, Margot ; Panin, Andrei ; Scifo, Andrea ; Arzhantseva, Irina ; Kononov, Yury ; Doeve, Petra ; Neocleous, Andreas ; Dee, Michael. / Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2020 ; Vol. 117, No. 25. pp. 14038-14041.

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abstract = "Inadequate resolution is the principal limitation of radiocarbon dating. However, recent work has shown that exact-year precision is attainable if use can be made of past increases in atmospheric radiocarbon concentration or so-called Miyake events. Here, this nascent method is applied to an archaeological site of previously unknown age. We locate the distinctive radiocarbon signal of the year 775 common era (CE) in wood from the base of the Uyghur monument of Por-Bajin in Russia. Our analysis shows that the construction of Por-Bajin started in the summer of 777 CE, a foundation date that resolves decades of debate and allows the origin and purpose of the building to be established.",

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Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin. / Kuitems, Margot; Panin, Andrei; Scifo, Andrea; Arzhantseva, Irina; Kononov, Yury; Doeve, Petra; Neocleous, Andreas; Dee, Michael.

In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 117, No. 25, 23.06.2020, p. 14038-14041.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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