ABSOLUTE DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL SCALE FOR PINE (PINUS SYLVESTRIS L.) FROM UJSCIE (NW POLAND), DATED USING RAPID ATMOSPHERIC 14C CHANGES

Radiocarbon (C-14) analyses are commonly used to determine the absolute age of floating tree-ring chronologies. At best, with the wiggle-matching method, a precision of 10 years could be achieved. For the early Middle Ages, this situation has been markedly improved by the discovery of rapid changes in atmospheric 14C concentrations in tree-rings dated to 774/775 and 993/994 AD. These high-resolution changes can be used to secure other floating tree-ring sequences to within 1-year accuracy. While a number of studies have used the 774 even to secure floating tree-ring sequences, the less abrupt 993 event has not been so well utilized. This study dates a floating pine chronology from Ujscie in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) (NW Poland), which covers the 10th century period and is critical for studies on the beginning of the Polish State to the calendar years 859-1085 AD using the changes in single year radiocarbon around 993/4 AD.

Automated summary

Radiocarbon analysis is commonly used to determine the absolute age of floating tree-ring chronologies, with recent studies showing improvements in accuracy through detecting rapid changes in atmospheric 14C concentrations. These high-resolution changes can help secure other floating tree-ring sequences with greater precision.