US-Egypt Planning Visit and Proof-of-Concept: Building a Tree-Ring Chronology for Ancient Egypt

由亚利桑那大学的皮尔斯保罗·克雷斯曼（Paul Creasman）领导的这次规划访问将为与埃及合作者的一个更大的联合项目奠定基础，该项目将根据当地树种建立古埃及木制考古遗迹的树木年轮年表（树木年代学）。虽然树木年代学在考古学以及人类学、生态学、气候学和地质学中得到了广泛的应用，但它尚未被广泛应用于广泛而众所周知的埃及考古学。该项目支持的规划访问将允许PI、两名研究生、一名高级研究员和一名辅助人员访问埃及。在这次访问期间，Creasman博士和他的埃及合作者（法尤姆大学考古系的Hamada Sadek博士和大埃及博物馆馆长Alhussein Hussein博士）将启动亚利桑那大学和法尤姆大学之间的正式合作，可能通过谅解备忘录进行。该小组将准备在埃及所需的收集/储存空间，计划在埃及进行的分析，并收集活的本地树种的现代样本以供进一步研究。该项目将专门研究三种在古埃及常用于木制品和建筑的本土树木类型：阿拉伯胶（阿拉伯胶），无花果（无花果）和Tamarix（柽柳）。考古木材样本可能不会出口，因此这次访问将有助于在大埃及博物馆保护中心（GEM-CC）建立树木年轮档案。该档案将通过比较和拼凑全球树木监测系统收集的样本，绘制大型树木年代学地图，并确保许多研究人员能够获得数据和材料。法尤姆大学的考古保护设施将提供专门知识和设备。第一步是确定这三个本地物种中是否有任何一个适合树木年代学;为此目的，在这次计划访问期间从生活林中收集的现代样本将被出口到美国进行进一步研究。这项研究的广泛影响是相当大的，最大的影响可能是在考古学领域。如果这项概念验证研究表明埃及本土树木可用于发展树木年代学，那么该项目将开展长期努力，以精确确定埃及所有历史时期的日期，可能具有年度分辨率。更有价值的是，高分辨率的埃及树木年轮年表将使区域放射性碳校准和大规模气候分析成为可能。了解历史气候将有助于评估洪水、干旱和瘟疫如何影响朝代的兴衰，这些信息对现在和未来的人类都有价值。规划访问还将包括两名女研究生，她们将根据对两个现代物种抽样的树木年代学评估撰写论文。此外，该项目还为早期职业PI开辟了一个新的研究领域。

This planning visit, led by Pearce Paul Creasman of the University of Arizona, will lay the foundation for a larger joint project with collaborators in Egypt to establish tree-ring chronology (dendrochronology) of wooden archaeological remains from ancient Egypt based on native tree species. Although dendrochronology is widely used in archeology as well as anthropology, ecology, climatology and geology, it has not yet been widely applied to the extensive and well known archeology of Egypt. The planning visit supported by this project will allow for the PI, two graduate students, a senior researcher and one support staff person to visit Egypt. During this visit, Dr. Creasman and his Egyptian collaborators (Dr. Hamada Sadek from the Faculty of Archaeology at Fayoum University and Dr. Alhussein Hussein who is Director of the Grand Egyptian Museum), will initiate a formal collaboration between the University of Arizona and Fayoum University probably via a memorandum of understanding. The team will prepare for the collection/repository space required in Egypt, plan for analyses that will be conducted in egypt, and collect modern samples of living native tree species for further study. This project will specifically examine three native tree types that were commonly used for wooden items and construction in ancient Egypt: acacia (Acacia nilotica), fig (Ficus sycomorus), and tamarisk (Tamarix sp.). Archeological wood samples may not be exported and therefore this visit will help develop a tree ring archive at the Grand Egyptian Museum Conservation Center (GEM-CC). This archive will allow a large dendrochronology map to be developed by comparing and piecing together samples from the GEM collection and will also ensure that many researchers have access to the data and materials. The archeological conservation facility at Fayoum University will provide expertise and equipment. The first step is to determine if any of the three native species is suitable for dendrochronology; for that purpose the modern samples collected from living stands during this planning visit will be exported to the U.S. for further study.The broader impacts of this research are considerable, with the greatest impact likely to be on the field of archeology. If this proof-of-concept study indicates that native Egyptian trees can be used to develop dendrochronology, this project will launch long-term endeavors to precisely date all the historical periods in Egypt, potentially with annual resolution. More valuable still, highly resolved tree-ring chronology for Egypt will enable regional radiocarbon calibration and large-scale climate analyses. Understanding the historical climate will allow assessment of how flood, drought and pestilence may have affected the rise and fall of dynasties, information that could be valuable for humans now and in the future. The planning visit will also include two graduate students, both women, who will base their theses on the dendrochronology assessment of two of the modern species sampled. In addition, this project launches a new area of research for an early career PI.