Fast geomagnetic field intensity variations between 1400 and 400 BCE: New archaeointensity data from Germany

Hervé, Gwenaël; Faβbinder, Jörg; Gilder, Stuart; Metzner-Nebelsick, Carola; Gallet, Yves; Genevey, Agnès; Schnepp, Elisabeth; Geisweid, Leonhard; Pütz, Anja; Reuβ, Simone; Wittenborn, Fabian; Flontas, Antonia; Linke, Rainer; Riedel, Gerd; Walter, Florian; Westhausen, Imke

doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2017.07.002

Cited by 41 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…PSVCs for intensity in Paris (Gómez‐Paccard et al, ; Hervé et al, ) show a good agreement with our paleointensity curve, although it is important to indicate that the Iberian curve is smoother than the French ones. This is probably because it includes a smaller amount of data.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Updated Iberian Archeomagnetic Catalogue: New Full Vector Paleosecular Variation Curve for the Last Three Millennia

Molina‐Cardín

Campuzano

Osete

et al. 2018

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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In this work, we present 16 directional and 27 intensity high‐quality values from Iberia. Moreover, we have updated the Iberian archeomagnetic catalogue published more than 10 years ago with a considerable increase in the database. This has led to a notable improvement of both temporal and spatial data distribution. A full vector paleosecular variation curve from 1000 BC to 1900 AD has been developed using high‐quality data within a radius of 900 km from Madrid. A hierarchical bootstrap method has been followed for the computation of the curves. The most remarkable feature of the new curves is a notable intensity maximum of about 80 μT around 600 BC, which has not been previously reported for the Iberian Peninsula. We have also analyzed the evolution of the paleofield in Europe for the last three thousand years and conclude that the high maximum intensity values observed around 600 BC in the Iberian Peninsula could respond to the same feature as the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly, after travelling westward through Europe.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Updated Iberian Archeomagnetic Catalogue: New Full Vector Paleosecular Variation Curve for the Last Three Millennia

Molina‐Cardín

Campuzano

Osete

et al. 2018

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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“…The present curve indicates a maximal secular variation rate of~250 nT/year during the third century BCE. This rate is five times faster than the average variation rate of 55 nT/year since 1900 CE at Mexico City (Thébault et al, 2015) but is similar to the fastest rate observed in Europe during the last 3,500 years (e.g., Genevey et al, 2016;Hervé et al, 2017). Our curve does not show any evidence for the "geomagnetic spike" seen in 893±135 BCE in two sedimentary sequences of Hall's cave in Texas, only 1,200 km away from Mexico City (Bourne et al, 2016) (Figure 5b).…”

Section: 1029/2019gc008668supporting

confidence: 69%

“…This Levantine Iron Age anomaly (LIAA) was likely at the origin of two short-lived high-intensity events called "geomagnetic spikes" (Ben-Yosef et al, 2009;Shaar et al, 2011). The migration of the LIAA through Europe would be responsible for the large and fast variations of the geomagnetic field observed in this region during the first millennium BCE in both direction (e.g., Hervé et al, 2013;Palencia-Ortas et al, 2017;Shaar et al, 2018) and intensity (e.g., Hervé et al, 2017;Molina-Cardin et al, 2018;Shaar et al, 2016). Besides the role of these nondipolar fields, global reconstructions of data suggest that the influence of the dipolar field should not be underestimated with a maximum of the dipole moment during the first millennium BCE (Usoskin et al, 2016) and a 10-15°dipole tilt during the first half of this millennium (Nilsson et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secular Variation of the Intensity of the Geomagnetic Field in Mexico During the First Millennium BCE

Hervé

Perrin

Alva‐Valdivia

et al. 2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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In Western Eurasia, the first millennium BCE is characterized by the fastest secular variation of the Earth Magnetic Field observed over the last millennia and by a geomagnetic anomaly centered on the Middle East. On the global scale, the variation of the dipolar field during this period remains poorly constrained because of the lack of data in other geographical areas. Here, we presented 23 new mean archaeointensity data on ceramic sherds dated between 1500 BCE and 200 CE from Chalcatzingo archaeological site in Central Mexico. Archaeointensities were determined using the classical Thellier-Thellier protocol with corrections for TRM anisotropy and cooling rate effects. Our work doubles the number of high-quality archaeointensity data in Mexico during the considered period. Using a Bayesian approach, a new secular variation curve was calculated at Mexico City between 1500 BCE and 200 CE after selection of Mexican archaeointensity data. After a period of oscillations of the intensity between 20 and 40 μT from 1500 to 300 BCE, the curve shows a large maximum`~65 μT in the second century BCE. The corresponding VADM varied between~4.0 and~11.0 × 10 22 Am 2 , which highlights further that the intensity of the geomagnetic field could vary at regional scale over a larger range as previously thought. However, this amplitude variation may be overestimated, as it does not take into account the fast directional variation observed at this time.Plain Language Summary Archaeological baked clays are the best material to reconstitute the past secular variation of the Earth magnetic field, because they acquired a generally stable thermoremanent magnetization usually parallel and proportional to the ambient field at the time of their baking. Global modeling of the geomagnetic field requires a spatial and temporal distribution of data as homogeneous as possible, which is still not the case yet. In spite of its rich archaeological heritage, high-quality archaeointensity data are still very few in Mexico. The present study focuses on pottery sherds dated between 1500 BCE and 200 CE from Chalcatzingo archaeological site in Central Mexico. We obtained 21 new mean archaeointensities, which almost doubles the high-quality Mexican dataset for this period. The new secular variation Mexican curve exhibits oscillations of the intensity between 20 and 40 μT from 1500 to 300 BCE, before a large maximum~65 μT in the second century BCE. This work will help to have a better knowledge of the variation of the dipolar geomagnetic field during the first millennium BCE, when the fastest secular variation over the last millennia was reported in the Middle East ("geomagnetic spikes").

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“…The recent improvements of the curve of the geomagnetic field intensity will enhance the precision of the archaeomagnetic dating technique between 1200 and 200 bce , because the variation of the intensity was fast during this period (Hervé et al . , , ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It can now contribute to a better recovery of the social processes in Western Europe during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The recent improvements of the curve of the geomagnetic field intensity will enhance the precision of the archaeomagnetic dating technique between 1200 and 200 BCE, because the variation of the intensity was fast during this period (Hervé et al 2013b(Hervé et al , 2016(Hervé et al , 2017.…”

Section: Posterior Dating Refinement Of Reference Data With Bayesian mentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvements in Archaeomagnetic Dating in Western Europe from the Late Bronze to the Late Iron Ages: An Alternative to the Problem of the Hallstattian Radiocarbon Plateau

Hervé

Lanos

2017

Archaeometry

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We present a new curve of the directional secular variation of the geomagnetic field in Western Europe between 1500 bce and 200 ce. Its computation relies on a Bayesian framework. The fast secular variation during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages makes archaeomagnetic dating efficient with a respective precision of 150–200 and 60–100 years during these periods. The Bayesian method also provides posterior date distributions that refine the dating of reference data, especially during the period of the Hallstattian radiocarbon plateau. Archaeomagnetism becomes a valuable alternative to radiocarbon and will help to improve the archaeological chronologies.

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Fast geomagnetic field intensity variations between 1400 and 400 BCE: New archaeointensity data from Germany

Cited by 41 publications

References 41 publications

Updated Iberian Archeomagnetic Catalogue: New Full Vector Paleosecular Variation Curve for the Last Three Millennia

Updated Iberian Archeomagnetic Catalogue: New Full Vector Paleosecular Variation Curve for the Last Three Millennia

Secular Variation of the Intensity of the Geomagnetic Field in Mexico During the First Millennium BCE

Improvements in Archaeomagnetic Dating in Western Europe from the Late Bronze to the Late Iron Ages: An Alternative to the Problem of the Hallstattian Radiocarbon Plateau

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