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

这次计划访问由亚利桑那大学的皮尔斯·保罗·克雷斯曼（Pearce Paul Creasman）领导，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代学（树木年代学）。尽管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闻名的埃及考古学中。该项目支持的计划访问将允许PI，两名研究生，一名高级研究员和一名支持人员访问埃及。在这次访问期间，Creasman博士和他的埃及合作者（法尤姆大学考古学院的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，可能是通过一份谅解备忘录。该小组将为埃及所需的收集/存储空间做准备，计划将在埃及进行的分析，并收集当地现存树种的现代样本以供进一步研究。该项目将特别研究古埃及常用的三种木材和建筑：金合欢（acacia nilotica）、无花果（Ficus sycomorus）和红柳（Tamarix sp.）。考古木材样本不能出口，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。这个档案将允许通过比较和拼凑GEM收集的样本来开发一个大型的树木年代学地图，也将确保许多研究人员能够访问数据和材料。法尤姆大学的考古保护设施将提供专业知识和设备。第一步是确定三种本地物种中是否有一种适合用于树木年代学；为此目的，在这次计划访问期间从活的展台上收集的现代样本将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领域。如果这项概念验证研究表明，埃及原生树木可以用于发展树木年代学，该项目将启动长期的努力，以精确地确定埃及所有历史时期的日期，可能会有年度决议。更有价值的是，高度确定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很有价值。这次计划中的访问还将包括两名研究生，她们都是女性，她们的论文将基于对两种取样的现代物种的树木年代学评估。此外，该项目为早期职业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.