A NEW TREE-RING CHRONOLOGY OF QILIAN JUNIPER(JUNIPERUS PRZEWALSKII KOM.)FROM 932 A.D.TO 1503 A.D.BASED ON WOODS UNEARTHED FROM TOMBS IN XINING CITY,QINGHAI PROVINCE
Wooden remains unearthed from archaeological sites serve as critical materials for dendrochronological research.Archaeological tree-ring chronologies hold significant value for the dating of cultural remains,calibration of radiocarbon dates,studies on historical climate and environmental archaeology,as well as research on forest exploitation and timber utilization history.However,the establishment of archaeological tree-ring chronologies in China is still insufficient.This study focuses on the excavated coffin from Tomb M72 in the Taojiazhai tombs in Xining,Qinghai Province(36.69°N,101.74°E;2326 m a.s.l.),from which 20 wooden planks were collected in various directions.Measurements were taken along two radial directions on the cross section of each plank,yielding 40 samples for study.Utilizing wood anatomical methods,the wood from this coffin was identified as belonging to the genus Juniperus within the Cupressaceae family,specifically Juniperus przewalskii Kom.A floating tree-ring chronology spanning 572 years was constructed using dendrochronological methods.Running correlation analysis between the Taojiazhai tree-ring floating chronology and the 4649-year long tree-ring chronology of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau as well as four Qilian juniper reference chronologies from the Qinghai region,indicated that the floating chronology should be adjusted backward by 435 calendar years.Combining radiocarbon dating and the comparison of narrow ring years,the floating tree-ring chronology was finally determined to be an absolute tree-ring chronology from 932 A.D.to 1503 A.D.Combined with the discovery of"Shunzhi Tongbao"copper coins within the coffin,the burial period of Tomb M72 is conjectured to be during the early Qing Dynasty,specifically the Shunzhi and Kangxi periods(1644～1722 A.D.).The trees used for the coffin likely originated from local sources or were transported from the upper reaches of the Datong River to the eastern Qilian Mountains.This chronology represents the first archaeological tree-ring chronology for the Hehuang area,providing a chronological scale for the archaeology of the Hehuang area and along the Silk Road.It also contributes historical proxy data for further understanding of climate change and forest ecology in the Hehuang region.
archaeological tree-ring chronologyTaojiazhai tombscoffin woodsHehuang areadendroarchaeology14C dating
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
