Sturt Manning
Cornell University, Classics, Faculty Member
- Classical Archaeology, Egyptian Archaeology, Aegean Prehistory (Archaeology), Levantine Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Dendrochronology, and 10 moreRadiocarbon Dating (Earth Sciences), Bayesian Radiocarbon Dating, Radiocarbon, Levantine prehistory, East Mediterranean Prehistory, Palaeoclimate, Classics, Archaeology, Archaeological Method & Theory, and Near Eastern Archaeologyedit
- Research interests: 1. Aegean Prehistory, Archaeological fieldwork (survey and excavation), Archaeological theory, C... moreResearch interests:
1. Aegean Prehistory, Archaeological fieldwork (survey and excavation), Archaeological theory, Classical archaeology, Cypriot Prehistory, East Mediterranean Prehistory, e.g. landscapes, cultural connections, trade, art, chronology, and identities in Aegean, Cypriot and east Mediterranean prehistory
2. Archaeological science, Dendrochronology, Dendrochemistry, Dendroclimatology, Environmental and climate change science, Radiocarbon calibration and archaeological dating. Areas of current or recent work and research include: Armenia, China, East Mediterranean and Levant, Mexico, North America.
I list on this site:
(i) books published;
(ii) papers published since the start of 2009 (some with pdf downloads);
(iii) pdfs of some older papers which are in somewhat obscure, or less than obvious, places for the relevant readership, or where a pdf has been made available by the publisher;
(iv) a few original submission versions (or "author's cut" - i.e. longer versions) of what, after editing, later became a published or finished text, or unpublished texts;
(v) a list of publications before 2009 under the CV tab.
*NOTE* - If there is no pdf shown for download then in most cases there is no pdf available to me - either as very explicitly ruled out by the relevant publisher or because no pdf version is available.edit
This volume brings together scholars to reflect on the pioneering work of Professor A. Bernard Knapp, to explore the impact of – and to consider and confront the challenges and questions posed by – his extensive scholarship. Knapp is a... more
This volume brings together scholars to reflect on the pioneering work of Professor A. Bernard Knapp, to explore the impact of – and to consider and confront the challenges and questions posed by – his extensive scholarship. Knapp is a central, generation defining figure in the pre- and proto-history of the Mediterranean, and the essays in this volume will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students of the region. Topics include studies of sites, places, materials and texts in the Levant, Cyprus, Crete, Greece and Sicily, and wider critiques of theory and method addressing themes of connectivity and mobility, maritime archaeology, landscapes, climate and environment, and publication history and practice in the overall Mediterranean field. The authors comprise a mixture of senior, mid-career and rising junior scholars, from various backgrounds, who offer a broad range of perspectives on the state and future of the
archaeology of Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean.
archaeology of Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean.
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New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology highlights current scholarship that employs a range of new techniques, methods, and theoretical approaches to questions related to the archaeology of the prehistoric and protohistoric periods on the... more
New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology highlights current scholarship that employs a range of new techniques, methods, and theoretical approaches to questions related to the archaeology of the prehistoric and protohistoric periods on the island of Cyprus. From revolutions in radiocarbon dating, to the compositional analysis of ceramic remains, to the digital applications used to study landscape histories at broad scales, to rethinking human-environment/climate interrelationships, the last few decades of research on Cyprus invite inquiry into the implications of these novel archaeological methods for the field and its future directions. This edited volume gathers together a new generation of scholars who offer a revealing exploration of these insights as well as challenges to big questions in Cypriot archaeology, such as the rise of social complexity, urban settlement histories, and changes in culture and identity. These enduring topics provide the foundation for investigating the benefits and challenges of twenty-first-century methods and conceptual frameworks. Divided into three main sections related to critical chronological transitions, from earliest prehistory to the development of autonomous kingdoms during the Iron Age, each contribution exposes and engages with a different advance in studies of material culture, absolute dating, paleoenvironmental analysis, and spatial studies using geographic information systems. From rethinking the chronological transitions of the Early Bronze Age, to exploring regional craft production regimes of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, to locating Iron Age cemeteries through archival topographic maps, these exciting and pioneering authors provide innovative ways of thinking about Cypriot archaeology and its relationship to the wider discipline.
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If this project is supported at: https://experiment.com/projects/mapping-and-dating-one-of-the-most-important-early-human-settlements-in-eastern-north-america? Then: with geophysical techniques, we will search for Paleo-Indian... more
If this project is supported at:
https://experiment.com/projects/mapping-and-dating-one-of-the-most-important-early-human-settlements-in-eastern-north-america?
Then: with geophysical techniques, we will search for Paleo-Indian archaeological features around the famed Bull Brook site. Though recognized among the largest and oldest Paleo-Indian sites the U.S. (ca. 12,000 years old), the surrounding areas have not been fully investigated. We presently don't know how large Bull Brook really was. We will attempt to answer this question, and additionally seek to clarify the site's age, which is also a point of contention.
https://experiment.com/projects/mapping-and-dating-one-of-the-most-important-early-human-settlements-in-eastern-north-america?
Then: with geophysical techniques, we will search for Paleo-Indian archaeological features around the famed Bull Brook site. Though recognized among the largest and oldest Paleo-Indian sites the U.S. (ca. 12,000 years old), the surrounding areas have not been fully investigated. We presently don't know how large Bull Brook really was. We will attempt to answer this question, and additionally seek to clarify the site's age, which is also a point of contention.
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"Now available (May 2014) See Table of Contents of Part 2: A TEST OF TIME REVISITED in the file available for download. The file also lists some known typos and updates to the book since it went to press (document originally dated 3... more
"Now available (May 2014)
See Table of Contents of Part 2: A TEST OF TIME REVISITED in the file available for download.
The file also lists some known typos and updates to the book since it went to press (document originally dated 3 March 2014)"
See Table of Contents of Part 2: A TEST OF TIME REVISITED in the file available for download.
The file also lists some known typos and updates to the book since it went to press (document originally dated 3 March 2014)"
For information on the book, see: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/87538 Note: for known errata in this book, see: http://dendro.cornell.edu/treeringskingserrata.php For a review of this book, see:... more
For information on the book, see: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/87538
Note: for known errata in this book, see:
http://dendro.cornell.edu/treeringskingserrata.php
For a review of this book, see:
http://dainst.academia.edu/FelixH%C3%B6flmayer/Papers/839189/Review_of_Manning_and_Bruce_2009_Tree-rings_Kings_and_Old_World_Archaeology_and_Environment
Note: for known errata in this book, see:
http://dendro.cornell.edu/treeringskingserrata.php
For a review of this book, see:
http://dainst.academia.edu/FelixH%C3%B6flmayer/Papers/839189/Review_of_Manning_and_Bruce_2009_Tree-rings_Kings_and_Old_World_Archaeology_and_Environment
For information on this book, see: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/35831
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Determining calendar ages for radiocarbon dates, or ordered sequences of radiocarbon dates, that intersect with a plateau on the radiocarbon calibration curve can be problematic since, without additional prior constraints, the calendar... more
Determining calendar ages for radiocarbon dates, or ordered sequences of radiocarbon dates, that intersect with a plateau on the radiocarbon calibration curve can be problematic since, without additional prior constraints, the calendar age ranges determined will tend to spread across the plateau, yielding wide and less than useful calendar age probability densities and age ranges. Where possible, modeling analysis should seek to identify informative priors that act to restrict the otherwise poorly controlled spread of probability across plateaus. Such additional information may be available, among other sources, from the stratigraphy, the context, or the samples themselves. The recent dating of ordered sequences of radiocarbon dates on sections of branches of the same olive (Olea europaea) shrub from Therasia (southern Aegean) associated with the Minoan eruption of the Thera (Santorini) volcano (Pearson et al. 2023), which intersect with the plateau in the radiocarbon calibration curve ca. 1620-1540 BC, offers an example of the problem. A re-analysis adding some plausible informative priors offers a substantially better defined likely dating range and different conclusions. Instead of finding an inconclusive probability range "encompassing the late 17th and entire 16th century BC" followed by arguments for "indications of increased probabilities for a mid-16th century BC date for the eruption," a re-analysis incorporating appropriate informative priors identifies the likely date range as falling between the late 17th to early 16th centuries BC.
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The rich architectural heritage of Cyprus from the period of Byzantine and Latin rule includes 10 churches inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Most of these monuments preserve wooden elements: whether structural, decorative or... more
The rich architectural heritage of Cyprus from the period of Byzantine and Latin rule includes 10 churches inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Most of these monuments preserve wooden elements: whether structural, decorative or furnishings. Many preserve wall paintings that are considered among the best examples of Byzantine and Medieval art in the Eastern Mediterranean. The dating of these paintings as well as the church buildings themselves, has been based mainly on style, with occasional dedicatory inscriptions and related historical interpretation. We report early results from a project investigating the wooden cultural heritage of Cyprus and in particular the combined use of dendrochronology with radiocarbon via tree-ring sequenced 14 C wiggle-matching to help place initial tree-ring sequences. This includes a floating 264-year Pinus brutia chronology from several monuments, which, with a ca. 5-year gap, suggests prospects for >700-years of P. brutia chronology for Cyprus, and, with one gap of several decades to fill, ca. 1100 years of Pinus nigra chronology for Cyprus. Several currently floating elements from the multi-phase UNESCO-listed Timios Stravros church at Pelendri, including a terminus post quem for the celebrated liturgical wooden cross, are approximately dated across the 11th to 16th centuries AD.
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pp.37-68
Not open access - www link below.
Not open access - www link below.
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The potential of climate change to substantially alter human history is a pressing concern, but the specifc effects of different types of climate change remain unknown. This question can be addressed using palaeoclimatic and... more
The potential of climate change to substantially alter human history is a pressing concern, but the specifc effects of different types of climate change remain unknown. This question can be addressed using palaeoclimatic and archaeological data. For instance, a 300-year, low-frequency shift to drier, cooler climate conditions around 1200 BC is frequently associated with the collapse of several ancient civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. However, the precise
details of synchronized climate and human-history-scale associations are lacking. The archaeological–historical record contains multiple instances of human societies successfully adapting to low-frequency climate change. It is likely that consecutive multi-year occurrences of rare, unexpected extreme climatic events may push a population beyond adaptation and centuries-old resilience practices. Here we examine the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BC. The Hittites were one of
the great powers in the ancient world across five centuries, with an empire centred in a semi-arid region in Anatolia with political and socioeconomic interconnections throughout the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, which for a long time proved resilient despite facing regular and intersecting sociopolitical, economic and environmental challenges. Examination of ring width and stable isotope records
obtained from contemporary juniper trees in central Anatolia provides a high resolution dryness record. This analysis identifies an unusually severe continuous dry period from around 1198 to 1196 (±3) BC, potentially indicating a tipping point, and signals the type of episode that can overwhelm contemporary risk-buffering practices.
details of synchronized climate and human-history-scale associations are lacking. The archaeological–historical record contains multiple instances of human societies successfully adapting to low-frequency climate change. It is likely that consecutive multi-year occurrences of rare, unexpected extreme climatic events may push a population beyond adaptation and centuries-old resilience practices. Here we examine the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BC. The Hittites were one of
the great powers in the ancient world across five centuries, with an empire centred in a semi-arid region in Anatolia with political and socioeconomic interconnections throughout the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, which for a long time proved resilient despite facing regular and intersecting sociopolitical, economic and environmental challenges. Examination of ring width and stable isotope records
obtained from contemporary juniper trees in central Anatolia provides a high resolution dryness record. This analysis identifies an unusually severe continuous dry period from around 1198 to 1196 (±3) BC, potentially indicating a tipping point, and signals the type of episode that can overwhelm contemporary risk-buffering practices.
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The historical relevance of the Thera (Santorini) volcanic eruption is unclear because of major dating uncertainty. Long placed ~1500 BCE and during the Egyptian New Kingdom (starts ~1565–1540 BCE) by archaeologists, 14C pointed to dates... more
The historical relevance of the Thera (Santorini) volcanic eruption is unclear because of major dating uncertainty. Long placed ~1500 BCE and during the Egyptian New Kingdom (starts ~1565–1540 BCE) by archaeologists, 14C pointed to dates ≥50–100 years earlier during the preceding Second Intermediate Period. Several decades of debate have followed with no clear resolution of the problem—despite wide recognition that this uncertainty undermines an ability to synchronize the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean in the mid-second millennium BCE and write wider history. Recent work permits substantial progress. Volcanic CO2 was often blamed for the discrepancy. However, comparison of 14C dates directly associated with the eruption from contemporary Aegean contexts—both on and remote from Thera—can now remove this caveat. In turn, using Bayesian analysis, a revised and substantially refined date range for the Thera eruption can be determined, both through the integration of the larg...
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This chapter considers what we know about climate in ancient Greece and how this structures our thinking. The issue of very different local environments and interannual variation is observed, both its challenges but also the potential for... more
This chapter considers what we know about climate in ancient Greece and how this structures our thinking. The issue of very different local environments and interannual variation is observed, both its challenges but also the potential for exploitation. The question of whether and when climate can be related to history is then discussed – the case of 541 CE and the plague under Justinian is considered as an example of what we do and do not know – and some of the main climate proxy evidence available for ancient Greece are briefly reviewed. The Greek to Roman period is mainly notable for a relatively benign and stable climate regime over a number of centuries.
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Studies of ancient Mediterranean trade and economy have made increasing use of sophisticated modelling and network analyses of shipwreck evidence. The dating of most of these wrecks, however, is based solely on assessments of associated... more
Studies of ancient Mediterranean trade and economy have made increasing use of sophisticated modelling and network analyses of shipwreck evidence. The dating of most of these wrecks, however, is based solely on assessments of associated ceramic material, especially transport amphorae. The resulting dates are approximate at best, and, as the example of the recently investigated Mazotos ship highlights, sometimes incorrect. Here, the authors describe a widely applicable independent approach based on the integration of tree-ring analysis and radiocarbon dating. Interrogating the subjective assumptions and stepwise logic transfers involved in ceramic-based dating, the authors demonstrate how to produce a more robust and better-defined basis for the analysis of the ancient Mediterranean shipwreck record.
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Details on volume available at: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415837460/
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ABSTRACT. A new calibration curve for the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages has been constructed and internationally ratified to replace IntCal98, which extended from 0–24 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD... more
ABSTRACT. A new calibration curve for the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages has been constructed and internationally ratified to replace IntCal98, which extended from 0–24 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950). The new calibration data set for terrestrial samples extends from 0–26 cal kyr BP, but with much higher resolution beyond 11.4 cal kyr BP than IntCal98. Dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples cover the period from 0–12.4 cal kyr BP. Beyond the end of the tree rings, data from marine records (corals and foraminifera) are converted to the atmospheric equivalent with a site-specific marine reservoir correction to provide terrestrial calibration from 12.4–26.0 cal kyr BP. A substantial enhancement relative to IntCal98 is the introduction of a coherent statistical approach based on a random walk model, which takes into account the uncertainty in both the calendar age and the 14C age to calculate the underlying calibration curve (Buck and Blac...
The timeframe of Indigenous settlements in Northeast North America in the 15th-17th centuries CE has until very recently been largely described in terms of European material culture and history. An independent chronology was usually... more
The timeframe of Indigenous settlements in Northeast North America in the 15th-17th centuries CE has until very recently been largely described in terms of European material culture and history. An independent chronology was usually absent. Radiocarbon dating has recently begun to change this conventional model radically. The challenge, if an alternative, independent timeframe and history is to be created, is to articulate a high-resolution chronology appropriate and comparable with the lived histories of the Indigenous village settlements of the period. Improving substantially on previous initial work, we report here high-resolution defined chronologies for the three most extensively excavated and iconic ancestral Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) village sites in New York (Smith-Pagerie, Klock and Garoga), and a fourth early historic Indigenous site, Brigg’s Run, and re-assess the wider chronology of the Mohawk River Valley in the mid-15th to earlier 17th centuries. This new chronology conf...
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, North American archaeology, Prehistoric Settlement, and 15 moreMedicine, Bayesian Radiocarbon Dating, Multidisciplinary, Archaeological Methodology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Great Lakes Archaeology, Mohawk, Chronology, Contact Period Archaeology, New York Archaeology, PLoS one, Human Settlement, Mohawk Archaeology, Archeology, and Indigenous
We review evidence for near-absolute calendar date estimates for the Warsama Palace at Kultepe and the Sarikaya Palace at Acemhoyuk (Turkey) in light of a forensic examination of the radiocarbon calibration curve. Both palaces can be... more
We review evidence for near-absolute calendar date estimates for the Warsama Palace at Kultepe and the Sarikaya Palace at Acemhoyuk (Turkey) in light of a forensic examination of the radiocarbon calibration curve. Both palaces can be linked indirectly (but closely) to the Assyrian Revised Eponym List (REL) and can thus be connected with the Mesopotamian historical chronology. The possible relevance of some apparent features of detail in the radiocarbon calibration dataset is noted. In particular, we explore a wiggle-match of the dendro-14C sequences from the palaces employing the IntCal98 calibration curve, which better represents what we argue seems to be a pronounced “wiggle” in contemporary atmospheric 14C ages around 1835 BCE. This “wiggle” is missing in the more smoothed IntCal13 curve (the current standard northern hemisphere radiocarbon calibration curve). Using IntCal98, we find a best fit 8 years later than previously suggested. We suggest that this issue of “detail” requir...
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The Noceto ‘Vasca Votiva’ (votive tank), discovered in excavations on a terrace at the southern edge of the Po Plain, northern Italy, is a unique well-preserved wooden (primarily oak) structure dated to the advanced through late Middle... more
The Noceto ‘Vasca Votiva’ (votive tank), discovered in excavations on a terrace at the southern edge of the Po Plain, northern Italy, is a unique well-preserved wooden (primarily oak) structure dated to the advanced through late Middle Bronze Age (~1600–1300 BCE). This complex monument, comprising two super-imposed tanks, is generally linked with an important but uncertain ritual role involving water. The context provides extraordinary preservation of both wooden, other organic, and cultural finds. The key question until now, hindering further interpretation of this remarkable structure, has been the precise date of the tanks. Initial work pointed to use of the two tanks over about a century. Using dendrochronology and radiocarbon ‘wiggle-matching’ we report near-absolute construction dates for both of the tanks. The lower (older) tank is dated ~1444±4 BCE and the upper (more recent) tank is dated 12 years later at ~1432±4 BCE. This dating of the construction of the Noceto tanks in ...
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Tell el-Amarna was the short-lived Egyptian capital city founded by Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) and then abandoned about 15 years later. This brief Amarna episode in the mid-14th century BC represents one of the best known, historically... more
Tell el-Amarna was the short-lived Egyptian capital city founded by Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) and then abandoned about 15 years later. This brief Amarna episode in the mid-14th century BC represents one of the best known, historically attested, and historically dated periods in the ancient Near East for the whole of the second millennium BC. Preserved royal correspondence from the site provides specific links between the rulers of, and so the historical chronologies of, Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. It is thus an obvious test case for assessing the reliability of radiocarbon dating. At the same time, it seems likely that a 'wiggle' in the radiocarbon calibration curve might be relevant to calendar dating around this time period. We report linked investigations of (i) the dating of the Tell el-Amarna site by radiocarbon, and (ii) the 14C calibration record 1360-1200 BC.
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Research Interests: History, Near Eastern Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Levantine Archaeology, and 14 moreAnatolian Archaeology, Ancient Near East, Medicine, Bayesian Radiocarbon Dating, Multidisciplinary, Inflection, Climate Change and Environmental Archaeology, Syria (Archaeology), Chronology, Early Bronze Age Archaeology, Late Bronze Age, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), PLoS one, and Bronze Age Collapse
This article presents results to date of the Dating Iroquoia project. Our objective is to develop high-precision radiocarbon chronologies for northeastern North American archaeology. Here, we employ Bayesian chronological modeling of 184... more
This article presents results to date of the Dating Iroquoia project. Our objective is to develop high-precision radiocarbon chronologies for northeastern North American archaeology. Here, we employ Bayesian chronological modeling of 184 AMS radiocarbon dates derived from 42 Northern Iroquoian village sites in five regional sequences in order to construct new date estimates. The resulting revised chronology demands a rethinking of key assumptions about cultural process in the region regarding the directionality and timing of processes of coalescence and conflict and the introduction of European trade goods. The results suggest that internal conflict may have preceded confederacy formation among the Haudenosaunee but not the Wendat, as has been previously assumed. External conflict, previously thought to have begun in the early seventeenth century, began more than a century earlier. New data also indicate that the timing and distribution of European materials were more variable betwe...
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Extensively worked in antiquity, Skouriotissa remains the only active copper mine on the island of Cyprus. The modern, open-cast operation, however, has almost completely obliterated the earlier mining landscape. Here the authors report... more
Extensively worked in antiquity, Skouriotissa remains the only active copper mine on the island of Cyprus. The modern, open-cast operation, however, has almost completely obliterated the earlier mining landscape. Here the authors report the results of investigations, including dating, of the ancient topography of the mine. They incorporate spatial data derived from archival sources, recent fieldwork and absolute dating into a geographical information system to reconstruct the ancient mining landscape around Skouriotissa. Their approach holds promise for understanding other mining regions in Cyprus and beyond, by providing an example of how diverse source material can be used to reconstruct landscapes now destroyed or buried by open-cast mining operations.
Research Interests: Engineering, Civil Engineering, Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, and 14 moreArchaeological GIS, Cyprus, Archaeology of Mining, Archaeometallurgy, Late Roman Archaeology, Antiquity, Copper extraction and production, Ancient Mining, Copper, Ancient Mining and Metallurgy, Engineering and Technology, Archaeology of Cyprus, Multidisciplinary Approach, and GIS
The new IntCal20 radiocarbon record continues decades of successful practice by employing one calibration curve as an approximation for different regions across the hemisphere. Here we investigate three radiocarbon time-series of... more
The new IntCal20 radiocarbon record continues decades of successful practice by employing one calibration curve as an approximation for different regions across the hemisphere. Here we investigate three radiocarbon time-series of archaeological and historical importance from the Mediterranean-Anatolian region, which indicate, or may include, offsets from IntCal20 (~0–22 14C years). While modest, these differences are critical for our precise understanding of historical and environmental events across the Mediterranean Basin and Near East. Offsets towards older radiocarbon ages in Mediterranean-Anatolian wood can be explained by a divergence between high-resolution radiocarbon dates from the recent generation of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) versus dates from previous technologies, such as low-level gas proportional counting (LLGPC) and liquid scintillation spectrometry (LSS). However, another reason is likely differing growing season lengths and timings, which would affect the...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Geology, Dendrochronology, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Aegean Prehistory (Archaeology), and 15 moreMedicine, Mediterranean archaeology, Tree Rings, Bronze Age, Chronology, Wood, Radiocarbon Dating, Calibration, Volcano, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Dates, Article, Record, Period, and Eruptions
ABSTRACT Dutch exploitation of the upper Hudson River Valley initiated with Henry Hudson’s voyage in 1609 a.d. This began a period of resource exploitation by the Dutch that lasted until 1664 when the English took what had become known as... more
ABSTRACT Dutch exploitation of the upper Hudson River Valley initiated with Henry Hudson’s voyage in 1609 a.d. This began a period of resource exploitation by the Dutch that lasted until 1664 when the English took what had become known as New Netherland from the Dutch. The Dutch formed trade relations with Native Americans in the upper Hudson Valley and beyond that focused primarily on beaver and other animal pelts. No Dutch archaeological sites dating to before 1624 with the construction of Fort Orange at present-day Albany, New York, have been documented. However, archaeological evidence from strata pre-dating the Fort’s construction and Bayesian analysis of a series of radiocarbon dates from these strata establish a probable location of Dutch activities. These results suggest that the Fort was sited at a place of established Dutch-Native American interactions, a location utilized by Native Americans for centuries prior to the arrival of the Dutch.
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Intra-annual offsets in Northern Hemisphere atmospheric radiocarbon levels challenge and complicate Old World radiocarbon dating.
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Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeological Science, North American archaeology, and 15 moreLate Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Medicine, Bayesian Radiocarbon Dating, Multidisciplinary, Iroquoian Archaeology, Prehistory, Great Lakes Archaeology, Mohawk, Prehistoric Archeology, Radiocarbon Dating, New York Archaeology, PLoS one, Archaeology of Eastern North America, New York State Archaeology, and Archaeological Chronology
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The Cypriot Late Bronze Age (referred to as Late Cypriot and LBA, 1680/1650–1100 b.c.e.) has attracted particular attention due to textual and material evidence that suggests engagement with the international maritime trade networks of... more
The Cypriot Late Bronze Age (referred to as Late Cypriot and LBA, 1680/1650–1100 b.c.e.) has attracted particular attention due to textual and material evidence that suggests engagement with the international maritime trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean. A longstanding scholarly preoccupation with interregional trade has encouraged the development of theoretical models that aim to reconstruct the economy of the island and generally view Late Cypriot coastal sites as gateway communities channeling copper to the eastern Mediterranean. Studies have also highlighted the local and regional significance of these communities and have shed light on their complex economic networks. In this paper, we use data from coastal Tochni-Lakkia, an actively eroding site located near two major Late Bronze Age centers (Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios and the Maroni Complex) to add nuance to smaller-scale regional interaction networks along the south-central coast of the island. To do that, we engage evidence from trial excavations and archaeological and geophysical surveys at Tochni-Lakkia in the form of a preliminary report with theoretical approaches that highlight the potential for and role of regional maritime networks and the concept of coastscape.
Research Interests: History, Ancient History, Cultural Studies, Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, and 15 moreNear Eastern Archaeology, Remote Sensing, Coastal Management, Coastal Processes, Landscape Archaeology, Maritime History, Levantine Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Coastal Geomorphology, Coastal and Island Archaeology, Cyprus, Aegean Archaeology, Bronze Age, Cyprus and the East Mediterranean, and Maritime and Underwater Archaeology
Radiocarbon dating is rarely used in historical or contact-era North American archaeology because of idiosyncrasies of the calibration curve that result in ambiguous calendar dates for this period. We explore the potential and... more
Radiocarbon dating is rarely used in historical or contact-era North American archaeology because of idiosyncrasies of the calibration curve that result in ambiguous calendar dates for this period. We explore the potential and requirements for radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis to create a time frame for early contact-era sites in northeast North America independent of the assumptions and approximations involved in temporal constructs based on trade goods and other archaeological correlates. To illustrate, we use Bayesian chronological modeling to analyze radiocarbon dates on short-lived samples and a post from four Huron-Wendat Arendarhonon sites (Benson, Sopher, Ball, and Warminster) to establish an independent chronology. We find that Warminster was likely occupied in 1615–1616, and so is the most likely candidate for the site of Cahiagué visited by Samuel de Champlain in 1615–1616, versus the other main suggested alternative, Ball, which dates earlier, as do the Sopher and...
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Research Interests: Ancient History, Geography, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Art, and 15 moreSpace and Place, Urban History, Cypriot Archaeology, Cyprus, Ancient Near East, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Cypriot Bronze Age, Archaeological Geophysics, Aegean Archaeology, Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Cyprus and the East Mediterranean, Place Making, Archaeology of Cyprus, and American Archaeology
Research Interests: Geography, Physical Geography, Palaeoclimatology, Earth Sciences, Palaeoenvironment, and 11 moreLandscape Archaeology, Greek Archaeology, Ancient Greek History, Palaeoclimate, Ancient Greece, Lakes, Palaeolimnology, History and archaeology, Greek and Roman Archaeology, Quaternary Science Reviews, and Archaeological Survey Greek Archaeology Mediterranean Archaeology Landscaoe Archaeology Medieval Archaeology
Research Interests: Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Geology, Arctic Archaeology, Archaeological Prospection, and 15 moreExploration Geophysics, Arctic Anthropology, Pleistocene, Thule Archaeology, Use of fire, Alaska Archaeology, Pergamon, The peopling of the Americas, History and archaeology, Beringia, Hearths, Paleoindian archaeology, Peopling of the New World, Quaternary Science Reviews, and Gradiometer
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Radiocarbon data suggest the need to reconsider current dates and assumptions for contact-era Iroquoian history.
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Carbon, Science, Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), and 14 moreMedicine, Bayesian Radiocarbon Dating, Prehistory, Bayesian Analysis, Chronology, Communities, Bronze, Radiocarbon Dating, Calibration, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Artifacts, Ontario, AMS, and offsets
Research Interests: Geography and Archaeology
The cemetery in the Riparo Valtenesi rockshelter at Manerba del Garda in northern Italy is well known for its wooden burial chambers. These chambers are some of the best sources of evidence for 3rd millennium BC collective burial in... more
The cemetery in the Riparo Valtenesi rockshelter at Manerba del Garda in northern Italy is well known for its wooden burial chambers. These chambers are some of the best sources of evidence for 3rd millennium BC collective burial in Europe. To further refine the absolute dating of burial activity at the site (beyond the approximate data provided by a previous series of routine radiocarbon measurements), a charred construction oak timber was sampled from Chamber 133 for 14C dendro wiggle-matching (DWM). We present the results from the DWM analysis, the first of its kind for the Italian Copper Age as a whole, establishing a terminus post quem for construction of Chamber 133 ∼2955–2872 cal BC.
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Research Interests: Geology, Geoarchaeology, Archaeological Science, Wood Science, Archaeometry, and 11 moreUnderwater Archaeology, Nautical Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Middle Kingdom, Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology, Provenance studies of archaeological material, Cyprus and the East Mediterranean, Shipbuilding, Dendroarchaeology, Watercraft, and Ancient and Medieval Shipbuilding
Single-year spikes in radiocarbon production are caused by intense bursts of radiation from space. Supernovae emit both high-energy particle and electromagnetic radiation, but it is the latter that is most likely to strike the atmosphere... more
Single-year spikes in radiocarbon production are caused by intense bursts of radiation from space. Supernovae emit both high-energy particle and electromagnetic radiation, but it is the latter that is most likely to strike the atmosphere all at once and cause a surge in 14C production. In the 1990s, it was claimed that the supernova in 1006 CE produced exactly this effect. With the 14C spikes in the years 775 and 994 CE now attributed to extreme solar events, attention has returned to the question of whether historical supernovae are indeed detectable using annual 14C measurements. Here, we combine new and existing measurements over six documented and putative supernovae, and conclude that no such astrophysical event has yet left a distinct imprint on the past atmospheric 14C record.
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The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (inter-)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured the 14C ages of a number of sets of tree rings from the Gordion Area dendrochronology from central Anatolia at the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Laboratory. In... more
The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (inter-)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured the 14C ages of a number of sets of tree rings from the Gordion Area dendrochronology from central Anatolia at the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Laboratory. In several cases, multiple measurements were made over a period from the 1980s to 2009. This paper presents the final data set from this work (128 high-precision measurements), and considers (i) the relationship of these data against the standard Northern Hemisphere 14C calibration data set (IntCal09), and (ii) the optimum calendar dating of this floating tree-ring record on the basis of the final set of high-precision 14C data. It finds good agreement between the Anatolian data and IntCal09 in some important intervals (e.g. ∼1729 to 1350 cal BC) and observes one period (9th–8th centuries BC) where there appears to be some indication of a regional/growing season signal, and another period (later 14th–13th centuries BC) where IntCal09 may not best reflect...
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Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Climate Change, and 15 moreEnvironmental Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Climate Change Adaptation, Levantine Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Abrupt Climate Change, Near East, North Africa, North African Archaeology, Mesopotamia, History and archaeology, Middle Holocene, Abrupt Drying, and Eastern Mediterranean
11 Maritime Commerce and Geographies of Mobility in the Late Bronze Age of the Eastern Mediterranean: Problematizations Sturt W. Manning and Linda Hulin Introduction One of the main and longstanding areas of study and interest in the... more
11 Maritime Commerce and Geographies of Mobility in the Late Bronze Age of the Eastern Mediterranean: Problematizations Sturt W. Manning and Linda Hulin Introduction One of the main and longstanding areas of study and interest in the archaeology of the Late Bronze ...
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In the Aegean a wave of collapse and change in the later third millennium BC has long been recognised in the archaeological record (Forsen 1992). In general terms, a date for these events c.2200BC is feasible given conventional... more
In the Aegean a wave of collapse and change in the later third millennium BC has long been recognised in the archaeological record (Forsen 1992). In general terms, a date for these events c.2200BC is feasible given conventional interpretations and chronologies (Manning 1995a; Warren and Hankey 1989). This offers the potential hypothesis of contemporaneity with the c.2200BC climate change event in the Near East (Weiss et al. 1993). The question is whether, on a detailed and independent analysis, the precise date of c.2200BC is correct for episodes of change in the Aegean? The problem is the lack of high-resolution data. Modern, high-quality, radiocarbon series are rare (dendrochronology does not yet apply), and connections with the historical Near East and Egypt are problematic, or non-existent, at this time. Further, we must consider the major anomaly: Crete. There is no similar collapse on Crete, and, indeed, significant developments appear from around this same time on the island, and the state-level Old Palace civilisation emerges c.2000BC. An explanation couched in terms of prestige goods economies, control of resources (monopolisation, exclusivity), and geographic location on the periphery of multiple world-systems is offered (following Manning 1995b).
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... The Bronze Age Eruption of Thera: Absolute Dating, Aegean Chronology and Mediterranean Culture Interrelations. Sturt Manning. Abstract. Sorry, no abstract available.
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Intensive survey and initial excavations have succeeded in pushing back the Neolithic human occupation of Cyprus to the earlier ninth millennium cal BC. Contemporary with PPNA in the Levant, and with signs of belonging to the same... more
Intensive survey and initial excavations have succeeded in pushing back the Neolithic human occupation of Cyprus to the earlier ninth millennium cal BC. Contemporary with PPNA in the Levant, and with signs of belonging to the same intellectual community, these were not marginalised foragers, but participants in the developing Neolithic project, which was therefore effectively networked over the sea.
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The integration of high-resolution archaeological, textual, and environmental data with longer-term, low-resolution data affords greater precision in identifying some of the causal relationships underlying societal change. Regional and... more
The integration of high-resolution archaeological, textual, and environmental data with longer-term, low-resolution data affords greater precision in identifying some of the causal relationships underlying societal change. Regional and microregional case studies about the Byzantine world—in particular, Anatolia, which for several centuries was the heart of that world—reveal many of the difficulties that researchers face when attempting to assess the influence of environmental factors on human society. The Anatolian case challenges a number of assumptions about the impact of climatic factors on socio-political organization and medium-term historical evolution, highlighting the importance of further collaboration between historians, archaeologists, and climate scientists.
Research Interests: History, Late Antique and Byzantine History, Climate Change, Bioarchaeology, Geoarchaeology, and 15 moreAnatolian Studies, Environmental History, Anatolian Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History, Byzantine Architecture, Byzantine Archaeology, Applied Economics, Interdisciplinary History, Anatolia, Byzantium, Ancient Anatolia, Climate history, Ephesos, and Historical Studies
The date of the Late Bronze Age Minoan eruption of the Thera volcano has provoked much debate among archaeologists, not least in a recent issue of Antiquity (‘Bronze Age catastrophe and modern controversy: dating the Santorini eruption’,... more
The date of the Late Bronze Age Minoan eruption of the Thera volcano has provoked much debate among archaeologists, not least in a recent issue of Antiquity (‘Bronze Age catastrophe and modern controversy: dating the Santorini eruption’, March 2014). Here, the authors respond to those recent contributions, citing evidence that closes the gap between the conclusions offered by previous typological, stratigraphic and radiometric dating techniques. They reject the need to choose between alternative approaches to the problem and make a case for the synchronisation of eastern Mediterranean and Egyptian chronologies with agreement on a ‘high’ date in the late seventeenth century BC for the Thera eruption.