Researchers from the University of Bern have successfully dated a prehistoric agricultural settlement in northern Greece to between 5328 and 5140 BC, using dendrochronology and a significant radiocarbon peak in 5259 BC from a known cosmic event under the event name Miyake. This advance provides an accurate chronological reference for other archaeological sites in Southeast Europe and marks a paradigm shift in the way prehistoric dates are determined, particularly in areas without a consistent tree-ring chronology.
Researchers used dendrochronology and a radiocarbon peak dating to 5259 BC to date a prehistoric Greek settlement to more than 7,000 years ago. This new method allows precise dating of other archaeological sites in South-Eastern Europe.
Researchers from the University of Bern have for the first time precisely dated the prehistoric settlement of the first farmers in northern Greece more than 7,000 years ago. They achieved this by combining annual measurements of growth rings on wooden construction elements with a significant peak of cosmogenic radiocarbon dating to 5259 BC. This method provides a reliable chronological reference point for many other archaeological sites in southeastern Europe.
The dating of discoveries plays a key role in archaeology. It is always essential to know the age of a grave, settlement or individual object. Determining the age of prehistoric discoveries has only been possible in recent decades. Two methods are used for this purpose: dendrochronology, which allows dating based on sequences of annual rings in trees, and radiocarbon dating, which allows the approximate age of finds to be calculated by the decay rate of the radioactive isotope of carbon. 14C contained in tree rings.
A team led by the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”({“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”})” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>University of Bern has now managed to accurately date wood from the archaeological site of Dispilio in northern Greece, where dating by year was previously not possible, to different building activities between 5328 and 5140 BC. The researchers used high-energy particles from space, which can be reliably dated to 5,259 BC. Their research was published May 20 in the journal 
The pile field on the Dispilio site. Nearly 800 stakes, mostly made of juniper and oak wood, were sampled and measured dendrochronologically. These data form the basis of the high-precision dating of this site. Dispilio is the first archaeological site to be dated to a specific year using the Miyake event of 5259 BC. Credit: Dispilio excavation archives
“Until recently, it was therefore believed that year-round dendrochronological dating was only possible if a continuous regional tree-ring chronology was available, which is the case for prehistoric periods in only three regions of the world: this is the southwest United States, the northern United States. Prealps and England/Ireland,” explains Albert Hafner, professor of prehistoric archeology at the University of Bern and lead author of the study.
Paradigm change thanks to the Japanese physicist
In 2012, a solution to the problem emerged: Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake discovered that a massive influx of cosmic rays, probably due to solar flares, could cause an increase in the temperature of the atmosphere. 14C content, which is deposited in the tree rings of the respective years. These peaks can be accurately dated based on long tree-ring chronologies, and because they are global events, they are important anchor points, particularly in regions without consistent annual tree-ring chronologies. growth rings.
“Miyake recognized the first anchor points of this type and thus brought about a paradigm shift in prehistoric archaeology,” explains Albert Hafner. Today, a dozen of them Miyake Events are known until 12,350 BC, and the two important events of 5259 and 7176 BC were only discovered in 2022 by researchers from ETH Zurich. No events of this magnitude have been recorded in recent centuries. If an event of such magnitude, as in 5259 BC, were to occur today, it would likely have a disastrous effect on telecommunications and electronics.
The Miyake event allows encounters in Dispilio
The EXPLO project research team led by the University of Bern (see box) managed to establish an annual chronology of growth rings spanning 303 years, ending in 5140 BC, by analyzing 787 pieces of wood from the archaeological site of Dispilio on Lake Orestida in northern Greece. The identified settlement phases show various housebuilding activities over 188 years between 5328 and 5140 BC. This precise dating is possible because there was a known Miyake event during this period in 5259 BC.
Researchers from ETH Zurich were able to detect a peak in radiocarbon content during this period by radiocarbon dating several individually defined annual growth rings. It was therefore a question of reproducing this peak, which is generally reflected in the annual chronologies of the rings of Siberian larch, American pine and European oak, on the annual chronology of the rings of Dispilio in Greece and of connecting it to the point anchorage 5259 BC. . “The Balkans are therefore the first region in the world to benefit from this paradigm shift and to be able to successfully determine absolute dating independently of a consistent calendar,” explains Albert Hafner.
Andrej Maczkowski adds: “We hope that other chronologies from the region from this period can now be quickly linked to the “Dispilio Chronology”. This paves the way for the development of a regional dendrochronology for the southern Balkans. “The Balkans are home to the oldest lake settlements in Europe, with sites dating back to just over 6,000 BC. The region played a key role in the expansion of agriculture in Europe.
Reference: “Absolute dating of the European Neolithic using the 14C rapid excursion of 5259 BC” by Andrej Maczkowski, Charlotte Pearson, John Francuz, Tryfon Giagkoulis, Sonke Szidat, Lukas Wacker, Matthias Bolliger, Kostas Kotsakis and Albert Hafner , May 20, 2024, Natural communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48402-1