Cryptotephra as a dating and correlation tool in archaeology
Cryptotephra as a dating and correlation tool in archaeology
A new development in archaeological chronology involves the use of far travelled volcanic ash which may form discrete but invisible layers within a site's stratigraphy. Known as cryptotephra, these horizons can provide isochrons for the precise correlation of archaeological records at single moments in time, removing, or at least significantly reducing, temporal uncertainty within inter-site comparisons. When a tephra can be dated elsewhere, its age can be imported between records, providing an independent check on other dating methods in use and valuable age estimates for difficult to date sequences. The use of cryptotephra layers to date and correlate palaeoenvironmental archives is well established and there exists a wealth of tephra compositional data and regional tephrostratigraphic frameworks from which archaeological cryptotephra studies can benefit greatly. Existing approaches to finding and analysing cryptotephra are easily adapted to archaeological sequences, so long as the often complex nature of archaeological stratigraphies and sediment taphonomy are borne in mind.
volcanic ash, cryptotephra, archaeology, chronology, tephrostratigraphy
42-50
Lane, C.S.
3a7a332b-a659-4e12-90a7-ad40c0bcd91b
Cullen, V.L.
4420f1d4-89b6-4561-9335-35fff7ea04bf
White, D.
5c77fb12-78b8-4a94-b25a-8697ccf5480b
Bramham-Law, C.W.F.
bfe9db90-4772-43fe-b504-4ae6d26250cb
Smith, V.C.
53b49c3c-1f2f-4784-89f6-db4fb30bbb72
February 2014
Lane, C.S.
3a7a332b-a659-4e12-90a7-ad40c0bcd91b
Cullen, V.L.
4420f1d4-89b6-4561-9335-35fff7ea04bf
White, D.
5c77fb12-78b8-4a94-b25a-8697ccf5480b
Bramham-Law, C.W.F.
bfe9db90-4772-43fe-b504-4ae6d26250cb
Smith, V.C.
53b49c3c-1f2f-4784-89f6-db4fb30bbb72
Lane, C.S., Cullen, V.L., White, D., Bramham-Law, C.W.F. and Smith, V.C.
(2014)
Cryptotephra as a dating and correlation tool in archaeology.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 42, .
(doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.10.033).
Abstract
A new development in archaeological chronology involves the use of far travelled volcanic ash which may form discrete but invisible layers within a site's stratigraphy. Known as cryptotephra, these horizons can provide isochrons for the precise correlation of archaeological records at single moments in time, removing, or at least significantly reducing, temporal uncertainty within inter-site comparisons. When a tephra can be dated elsewhere, its age can be imported between records, providing an independent check on other dating methods in use and valuable age estimates for difficult to date sequences. The use of cryptotephra layers to date and correlate palaeoenvironmental archives is well established and there exists a wealth of tephra compositional data and regional tephrostratigraphic frameworks from which archaeological cryptotephra studies can benefit greatly. Existing approaches to finding and analysing cryptotephra are easily adapted to archaeological sequences, so long as the often complex nature of archaeological stratigraphies and sediment taphonomy are borne in mind.
Text
Lane et al 2014.pdf
- Other
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 25 October 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 November 2013
Published date: February 2014
Keywords:
volcanic ash, cryptotephra, archaeology, chronology, tephrostratigraphy
Organisations:
Archaeology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 378146
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/378146
ISSN: 0305-4403
PURE UUID: eaf69600-8057-4548-ad5b-a490d20d460c
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 17 Jun 2015 15:58
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:17
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
C.S. Lane
Author:
V.L. Cullen
Author:
D. White
Author:
C.W.F. Bramham-Law
Author:
V.C. Smith
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics