Absolute tree-ring dates for the Late Bronze Age eruptions of Aniakchak and Thera in light of a proposed revision of ice-core chronologies
Open accessAbstract
By linking ice-core volcanic horizons with precisely dated frost damage in bristlecone pines, the authors have revised the dating of the principal Greenland ice-core chronologies back to c. 2000 BC. This revision has implications for establishing an absolute calendar date for the Bronze Age eruption of Thera. Three volcanic horizons (1653, 1627 and 1610 BC) are now coincident with the seventeenth-century BC radiocarbon dating of Thera, but none of these horizons is likely to result from the Theran eruption. In particular, a volcanic event at c. 1627 BC—a date associated with Thera for over 30 years—can now probably be attributed to the Aniakchak II volcano in Alaska.
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The Thera VDL 14C ages are broadly similar to 14C dates from other approximately contemporary Aegean contexts.
“The Thera VDL dataset instead comprises 14 C ages broadly similar with the 14 C dates achieved on similar material from other approximately contemporary Aegean contexts [4,5,7,9,67,70,74].”
From Second Intermediate Period date for the Thera (Santorini) eruption and historical implications (2022) · cites this paper as [70]
The ‘Absolute dating of Aniakchak’ section reports radiocarbon ages for short-lived samples from the Akrotiri volcanic destruction layer (VDL). The passages found do not compare those ages with dates from similar material in other approximately contemporary Aegean contexts, so the claimed similarity is not established by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn combination with other recent data and reassessments, this finding removes many past positions or suggestions for the date of the Thera eruption (e.g. mid to later 17th century BCE, 1640s-1620s BCE) as now unlikely or not possible.
“In combination with other recent data and reassessments [14,70,150], this finding removes many past positions or suggestions for the date of the Thera eruption (e.g.several past suggestions for a date in the mid to later 17 th century BCE, 1640s-1620s BCE) as now unlikely or not possible”
From Second Intermediate Period date for the Thera (Santorini) eruption and historical implications (2022) · cites this paper as [70]
The Introduction and Conclusions reject particular proposed dates: the paper reassigns the 1641 BC ice-core signal to an eruption probably in 1627/1628 BC and suggests excluding 1627 BC as a date for Thera. But the 1627 BC section gives a probable Thera date of 1626–1605 cal BC, so the paper does not rule out the 1620s or the entire mid-to-late seventeenth-century range implied by the claim. Our copy provides no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe most likely 68.3% hpd range in Fig 9, 1606-1589 BCE, does not correspond with most of the possible proxy volcanic eruption signals noted so far in ice-core, tree-ring and other records; only the bristlecone pine minima 1597 BCE overlaps, with other signals just outside this range: 1611/1610 BCE, 1586 BCE and 1584 BCE.
“The most likely 68.3% hpd range in Fig 9, 1606-1589 BCE, does not in fact correspond with most of the possible proxy volcanic eruption signals noted so far in ice-core, tree-ring and other records-only the bristlecone pine minima 1597 BCE overlaps-with the other signals noted in this vicinity just outside this range: 1611/1610 BCE, 1586 BCE and 1584 BCE [12-14, 44, 70].”
From Second Intermediate Period date for the Thera (Santorini) eruption and historical implications (2022) · cites this paper as [70]
The paper’s “Relevant evidence for the dating of Thera” section identifies a candidate ice-core acid signal at 1610 BC, outside the citing sentence’s 1606–1589 BCE range. It does not report the claimed 1597 BCE bristlecone-pine minimum or the 1586 and 1584 BCE signals; its stated bristlecone frost-ring dates are 1653 and 1627 BC. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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Notification of edit in figure 10
Sinnl, G. (2021) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ac1
(2021) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-rc1
Review of Sinnl et al.: GICC21
(2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-rc2
(2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-cc1
Sinnl, G., Winstrup, M., Erhardt, T., et al. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-rc3
Sinnl, G., Winstrup, M., Erhardt, T., et al. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ec1
Davies, L. J. (2021) · Geochronology · doi:10.5194/gchron-2021-18-ac3
Sinnl, G. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ac3
Davies, L. J. (2021) · Geochronology · doi:10.5194/gchron-2021-18-ac1
Sinnl, G. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ac5
Sinnl, G. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ac4
Sinnl, G. (2022) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-2021-155-ac2
Davies, L. J. (2021) · Geochronology · doi:10.5194/gchron-2021-18-ac2
(2022) · Earth system science data · doi:10.5194/essd-2021-422-rc1
(2022) · Earth system science data · doi:10.5194/essd-2021-422-rc2
Sigl, M. (2022) · Earth system science data · doi:10.5194/essd-2021-422-ac1
Sigl, M. (2022) · Earth system science data · doi:10.5194/essd-2021-422-ac2
- Authors
- McAneney, J., & Baillie, M.
- Affiliations
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- Corresponding author
- McAneney, Jonny
- ORCID
- McAneney, Jonny
- Venue
- Antiquity
- Publisher
- Antiquity Publications
- Published
- 2019-02
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 367
- Pages
- 99-112
- ISSN
- 0003-598X (ISSN-L)
- 1745-1744
- OpenAlex
- W2915422427
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 2.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Antiquity (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Tree-ring climate responses
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Keywords
- dendrochronology, Late Bronze Age, Thera eruption, Minoan eruption, ice core chronology, eruption chronology, absolute dating
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