A Comparative Study of ¹⁴C Dating on Charcoal and Charred Seeds from Late Neolithic and Bronze Age Sites in Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, NW China

Abstract

The chronology of the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, northwest China, is mainly based on conventional radiocarbon dates from unidentified charcoal, which may be inaccurate in view of the possible "old wood" problem of 14 C dating. To discuss the reliability of the chronology of those prehistoric cultures, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates of short-lived charred seeds were compared to conventional 14 C dates of unidentified charcoal from the same flotation samples in 15 Late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the area. The results show that 14 C dates of unidentified charcoal are obviously older than those of charred seeds in 5 of the 15 flotation samples. This work suggests that the old-wood problem of 14 C dating might be related to human subsistence strategies and local vegetation variation during different prehistoric cultural periods in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, which should be discussed before establishing the chronology of Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures in the area.

Early ceramic trade in Gansu and Qinghai regions, northwest China: A comparative elemental analysis on sherds of Majiayao culture, Yangshao culture and Qijia culture

“…According to the published radiocarbon dates, the time period of the Qijia culture ranges between 4400 and 3600 cal yr BP (IA, CASS, 1991Zhou et al, 2011;Dong et al, 2014). Clusters of both major-minor and trace element concentrations of the sampled Qijia cultural sherds from these two places show some overlap with each other (Figs.…”

“…Despite the fact that artifacts (pottery, stone tools, etc.) belonging to the middle Yangshao (6000-5500 a BP) were sometimes found in this region, the published dates of Yangshao sites in this area range from 5500 to 4700 cal yr BP (IA, CASS, 1991;Zhou et al, 2011;Dong et al, 2014). Majiayao culture, also identified as "a local type of Yangshao culture in Gansu and Qinghai regions," is argued to be a mixture of the local culture and Yangshao culture originating from the east (Yan, 1989).…”

Ancient DNA identification of domestic animals used for leather objects in Central Asia during the Bronze Age

“…1409-806 BC) in line with the dates published earlier (Wang, 1999 and references therein). The 'old wood effect' (see Dong et al, 2014 for discussion of this problematic in northwestern China) cannot be significant as all our sampled trees were relatively young at their death. The horse bridle made of wood and leather from the 86HWM3 tomb of Wupu revealed an age between 1108 and 901 BC (95.4% probability).…”

Chronology and Plant Utilization from the Earliest Walled Settlement in the Hexi Corridor, Northwestern China

“…Also, the age of the walls rather than that of potentially later contexts within those walls (i.e., cultural units) could give a more accurate estimate about the age of the settlement. Hence, there is a need to reassess the chronology of Sanjiao (Schiffer 1986;Dong et al 2014). Furthermore, other issues pertinent to Sanjiao such as how the inhabitants of Sanjiao adapted to local environmental conditions and why Sanjiao was built remain unexplored.…”