Radiocarbon Calibration for Japanese Wood Samples

The radiocarbon content of Japanese cedars was measured by accelerator mass spectrometry for decadal tree-ring samples from the period of 240 BC to AD 900. Conventional gas counting was also used for part of the samples. The data were compared with the INTCAL98 calibration curve. The results indicate that the difference in atmospheric 14C between Japan and North America or Europe is negligible at this period, less than 18 14C yr using an average of 50 yr. However, in the period of about AD 100 to about AD 200, we cannot exclude the possibility of a deviation of the order of 30 to 40 14C yr to the older ages.

Dendrochronological Dating Of Vernacular Folk Crafts In Northern Central Japan

We dated vernacular folk crafts (traditional snow shovels) made of beech wood (Fagus crenata Bl.) in north-central Japan. A raw chronology was constructed for the folk crafts, spanning the period from 1721 to 1953 (233 years). The raw chronology was crossdated using a reference chronology in central Japan. Eventually, tree-ring dates were confidently determined for 26 out of 44 samples. The final tree-ring dates of the folk crafts ranged between 1872 and 1953. We used oral folkloric records collected in a public survey for comparison and verification of our results. The time period of use of the folk crafts was supposed to range between the late Meiji Period and the beginning of the Pacific War (World War II), and the tree-ring dates were generally consistent with the date range. However, the final tree-ring dates were after the Pacific War for two youngest samples, showing better agreement with the historical change in industry of modern Japan. The tree-ring dates demonstrate the potential to describe the historical use of the artifacts more accurately than the folkloric records. In addition, the existing site chronology of Japanese beech has been better replicated using the folk craft samples. The chronology can possibly be further extended using archaeological wood from historical buildings.This item is part of the Tree-Ring Research (formerly Tree-Ring Bulletin) archive. For more information about this peer-reviewed scholarly journal, please email the Editor of Tree-Ring Research at [email protected]

Radiocarbon in 9th to 5th Century BC Tree-Ring Samples from the Ouban 1 Archaeological Site, Hiroshima, Japan

From the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Keble College, Oxford, England, April 3-7, 2006.In order to investigate the regional atmospheric radiocarbon offset, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C measurements were made on 5-yr increments of a Japanese wood sample dendrochronologically dated to 820-436 BC. The 14C data from the Japanese tree-ring samples were compared with the IntCal04 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2004). In most parts, the differences between IntCal04 and 14C dates in the Japanese tree-ring samples were within experimental statistical errors. At around 680 BC, however, significant differences of up to 100 14C yr were observed. These differences may indicate either regional offsets in Japan or the short-term fluctuation of a subdecadal timescale in atmospheric 14C variations.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Radiocarbon in 9th to 5th Century BC Tree-Ring Samples from the Ouban 1 Archaeological Site, Hiroshima, Japan

From the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Keble College, Oxford, England, April 3-7, 2006.In order to investigate the regional atmospheric radiocarbon offset, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C measurements were made on 5-yr increments of a Japanese wood sample dendrochronologically dated to 820-436 BC. The 14C data from the Japanese tree-ring samples were compared with the IntCal04 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2004). In most parts, the differences between IntCal04 and 14C dates in the Japanese tree-ring samples were within experimental statistical errors. At around 680 BC, however, significant differences of up to 100 14C yr were observed. These differences may indicate either regional offsets in Japan or the short-term fluctuation of a subdecadal timescale in atmospheric 14C variations.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Radiocarbon Wiggle-Matching of Japanese Historical Materials with a Possible Systematic Age Offset

From the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Keble College, Oxford, England, April 3-7, 2006.Progress in radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques enables much more access to wiggle-matching techniques for high-precision 14C dating with relatively low costs than before. Recently, we have applied wiggle-matching for a number of wood samples where dendrochronology is difficult because of various limitations imposed for dendro-dating. In most cases, wiggle-matching gave rather unambiguous calendar ages, but we found that in some cases the calibrated date was very sensitive to a systematic error of the 14C date. Here, we present a wooden artifact from the Ujishigai archaeological site as a case where the highest wiggle-matched date did not agree with the date given by dendrochronology. An age with lower probability agreed with the tree-ring age of AD 389, which marked the beginning of the production of Sue ware (unglazed stoneware) in Japan. We show that systematic errors must be carefully taken into account while interpreting 14C wiggle-matching results, whether they are due to instrumental errors (statistical) or due to a regional offset from the IntCal04 (Reimer et al. 2004) calibration curve.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Radiocarbon Wiggle-Matching of Japanese Historical Materials with a Possible Systematic Age Offset

From the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Keble College, Oxford, England, April 3-7, 2006.Progress in radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques enables much more access to wiggle-matching techniques for high-precision 14C dating with relatively low costs than before. Recently, we have applied wiggle-matching for a number of wood samples where dendrochronology is difficult because of various limitations imposed for dendro-dating. In most cases, wiggle-matching gave rather unambiguous calendar ages, but we found that in some cases the calibrated date was very sensitive to a systematic error of the 14C date. Here, we present a wooden artifact from the Ujishigai archaeological site as a case where the highest wiggle-matched date did not agree with the date given by dendrochronology. An age with lower probability agreed with the tree-ring age of AD 389, which marked the beginning of the production of Sue ware (unglazed stoneware) in Japan. We show that systematic errors must be carefully taken into account while interpreting 14C wiggle-matching results, whether they are due to instrumental errors (statistical) or due to a regional offset from the IntCal04 (Reimer et al. 2004) calibration curve.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202