Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin

Margot Kuitems; Andrei Panin; Andrea Scifo; Irina Arzhantseva; Yury Kononov; Petra Doeve; Andreas Neocleous; Michael Dee

doi:10.1073/pnas.1921301117

Radiocarbon-based approach capable of subannual precision resolves the origins of the site of Por-Bajin

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jun 23;117(25):14038-14041. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921301117. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Authors

Margot Kuitems¹, Andrei Panin^{2

3}, Andrea Scifo⁴, Irina Arzhantseva^{5

6}, Yury Kononov³, Petra Doeve⁷, Andreas Neocleous⁸, Michael Dee⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands; m.kuitems@rug.nl.
² Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
³ Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Science, 119017 Moscow, Russia.
⁴ Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands.
⁵ Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science, 119334 Moscow, Russia.
⁶ Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Higher School of Economics, 105066 Moscow, Russia.
⁷ Laboratory for Dendrochronology at BAAC Archaeology and Building History, 5222 BS 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus, 2109 Aglantzia, Cyprus.

Abstract

Inadequate resolution is the principal limitation of radiocarbon dating. However, recent work has shown that exact-year precision is attainable if use can be made of past increases in atmospheric radiocarbon concentration or so-called Miyake events. Here, this nascent method is applied to an archaeological site of previously unknown age. We locate the distinctive radiocarbon signal of the year 775 common era (CE) in wood from the base of the Uyghur monument of Por-Bajin in Russia. Our analysis shows that the construction of Por-Bajin started in the summer of 777 CE, a foundation date that resolves decades of debate and allows the origin and purpose of the building to be established.

Keywords: Miyake event; Por-Bajin; archaeology; exact-year precision; radiocarbon dating.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't