Calibration curves and the chronology of key monuments at Sayan-Altai
Abstract
Studies of the chronology of the elite barrows at Sayan-Altai are of a great importance for the determination of the origin and development of the cultures of the Scythian period. In this work dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating have been combined. Statistical calculations were used to obtain the best fit of the radiocarbon dates for the tree-ring series to the bidecadal calibration curve and thus to determine the zero point of the floatin g tree-ring chronology on the calendar time scale. The results obtained position the zero point of the floating tree-ring series in the calendar time period 380–420 BC with the confidence probability of 0.95. The goodness of fit can be improved by shifting the Arzhan tree-ring dates relative to the other tree-ring scale by 40 years. For all cases the age of the Arzhan barrow lies in the limit of 800 years BC. The results from chronological investigations of the constructions at the elite barrows of Sayan-Altai are summarised.
