Anchoring Anatolian tree-rings and Mesopotamian chronology with single-year radiocarbon patterns and ice-core evidence
8 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
- 2Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
- 3School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
- 4Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8093, Switzerland
- 5Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0371, Norway
- 6Institute of History, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland
- 7Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
- 8Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UU, United Kingdom
Abstract
The historical chronology of Mesopotamia offers a key chronological bridge to connect the Near East and eastern Mediterranean during the second millennium BCE. It is unusually rich in written records, including king lists, administrative documents, royal inscriptions, and astronomical observations. The latter offer a number of alternate possible absolute anchor points, resulting in competing high, middle, low, and ultra-low temporal frameworks. Establishing which of these is correct has consequences far beyond Mesopotamia. Tree-ring sequences from preserved timbers at archaeological sites in Anatolia, linked directly to Mesopotamia via the Old Assyrian trade network, could provide the answer. However, attempts have been limited by the lack of calendar secured dendrochronological dating for these timbers. Here we develop transferable methodologies in single-year radiocarbon analysis, utilizing patterns of 14C preserved in single tree rings from Anatolian timbers to anchor their combined chronology 2072 BCE–744 BCE. This provides a calendrically-secured reference chronology for wood samples from Anatolian sites during this period as well as an annually resolved paleoclimatic record. Tree-ring dates are combined with archaeological and high-resolution ice-core evidence to evaluate the competing chronological frameworks for Mesopotamia between 2000 and 1500 BCE. Remaining dating uncertainties are constrained in strong support of the middle–low chronology.
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BibTeX
@article{pearson2026anchoring,
title = {{Anchoring Anatolian tree-rings and Mesopotamian chronology with single-year radiocarbon patterns and ice-core evidence}},
author = {Charlotte Pearson and Nicolas Brehm and Lukas Wacker and Peter Brewer and Michael Sigl and Peter Kuniholm and Kurt Nicolussi and Matthew Salzer and Alex Bayliss},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2615871123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615871123},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Anchoring Anatolian tree-rings and Mesopotamian chronology with single-year radiocarbon patterns and ice-core evidence
AU - Charlotte Pearson
AU - Nicolas Brehm
AU - Lukas Wacker
AU - Peter Brewer
AU - Michael Sigl
AU - Peter Kuniholm
AU - Kurt Nicolussi
AU - Matthew Salzer
AU - Alex Bayliss
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2615871123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615871123
AB - The historical chronology of Mesopotamia offers a key chronological bridge to connect the Near East and eastern Mediterranean during the second millennium BCE. It is unusually rich in written records, including king lists, administrative documents, royal inscriptions, and astronomical observations. The latter offer a number of alternate possible absolute anchor points, resulting in competing high, middle, low, and ultra-low temporal frameworks. Establishing which of these is correct has consequences far beyond Mesopotamia. Tree-ring sequences from preserved timbers at archaeological sites in Anatolia, linked directly to Mesopotamia via the Old Assyrian trade network, could provide the answer. However, attempts have been limited by the lack of calendar secured dendrochronological dating for these timbers. Here we develop transferable methodologies in single-year radiocarbon analysis, utilizing patterns of 14C preserved in single tree rings from Anatolian timbers to anchor their combined chronology 2072 BCE–744 BCE. This provides a calendrically-secured reference chronology for wood samples from Anatolian sites during this period as well as an annually resolved paleoclimatic record. Tree-ring dates are combined with archaeological and high-resolution ice-core evidence to evaluate the competing chronological frameworks for Mesopotamia between 2000 and 1500 BCE. Remaining dating uncertainties are constrained in strong support of the middle–low chronology.
SN - 0027-8424
SN - 1091-6490
ER -