Long Tree-Ring Chronologies for the Eastern Mediterranean

自1974年以来，库尼霍姆博士一直致力于设计一种 南欧和近东的树木年代顺序 东 到目前为止，他已经构建了一个树环系列， 大约有3,000年的历史，涵盖了主要的 土耳其、希腊、意大利的部分地区和邻近地区 东南欧。 在国家的部分支持下， 科学基金会，他将继续这项工作。 过程中 在三个赛季的比赛中，他将和他的同事们一起， 参观该地区的许多遗址，收集古老的木材。分析 在库尼霍姆的康奈尔实验室， 纳入主年表。 这三个目标 今年的努力是：1。以填补仍然存在的空白， 年表和2.来扩大它的地理范围 因为树木年轮的宽度是由环境决定的 温度和降水等因素， 每棵树每年都有变化。 通过从生活中工作 标本通过建筑物的横梁回到古代埋藏的木材 可以建立一个年表， 可以分配。 有了这样一个大师级的年表， 可以采取未知年龄的木材，然后确定在哪里，如果 它完全符合序列 这一事实是伟大的 考古学的重要性，因为树木年轮分析提供了 最精确的测年技术 是可能的 例如，使用壁炉中燃烧的木炭来实现这一目标。的 考古学家可以更精确更有信心地 随着时间的推移，潜在问题的范围越广， 都能得到解答 树木年轮测年最早是在 它彻底改变了那里的考古学。 博士 库尼霍姆耐心地工作， 考古学上重要的一部分，他的成果， 日期令人印象深刻。 这项研究不仅对考古学家很重要， 古生态学家，气候学家和其他使用数据的人 源于过去。 树木年轮年表不仅 提供了一个基础，以增加我们对过去人类的理解 行为，但也有助于阐明这样的问题，如效果 人类对气候的影响。

Since 1974 Dr. Kuniholm has worked to devise a dendrochronological sequence for Southern Europe and the Near East. To date, he has constructed a tree ring series which extends over approximately 3,000 years and which covers major portions of Turkey, Greece, Italy and adjacent areas in Southeastern Europe. With partial support from the National Science Foundation, he will continue this work. Over the course of three field seasons, together with his colleagues, he will visit numerous sites in the region to collect old wood. Analysis at Kuniholm's Cornell laboratory will then permit their incorporation into a master chronology. The goals of this three year effort are: 1. to fill in the gaps which remain in the chronology and 2. to extend it's geographic range. Because the width of a tree ring is determined by environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation, rings within a single tree vary from year to year. By working from living specimens back through beams in buildings to ancient buried wood it is possible to construct a chronology where an absolute dates can be assigned. With such a master chronology it is then possible to take wood of unknown age and then determine where, if at all, it fits within the sequence. This fact is of great archaeological importance because tree ring analysis provides the most precise dating technique known. It is possible, for example, to use burned charcoal from hearths for this goal. The more precisely and more confidently archaeologists can place an event in time, the wider the range of potential questions which can be answered. Tree ring dating was first practiced in the U.S. Southwest and it revolutionized archaeology there. Dr. Kuniholm has worked patiently to develop a chronology in another archaeologically important part of the world and his results to date have been impressive. This research is important not only to archaeologists, but also to paleoecologists, climatologists and others who use data derived from the past. The tree ring chronology will not only provide a basis to increase our understanding of past human behavior, but also help to illumine such issues as the effect of human actions on climate.