Recent applications of Bayesian chronological modeling on AMS radiocarbon data in North America have been expanding chronological interpretations of periods with calibration plateaus and reversals, such as the period from the 15th through 16th centuries, CE. This period of time coincides with the earliest interactions between Indigenous and Spanish peoples, incidentally providing calendrical dates from ethnohistoric and material sources. Twenty-three new AMS radiocarbon dates were measured from two archaeological sites and were compared to extant legacy radiocarbon data from 12 sites across the Western North Carolina Piedmont. Moving beyond Eurocentric material-based chronologies, this article presents a series of preliminary Bayesian models that expand current knowledges concerning the social geography of the region and demonstrate the utility in AMS radiocarbon data in early contact and colonial contexts of the North American interior.

Museum collections represent a vast archive of archaeological objects and the excavations from which they were recovered. The research presented here stems from re-examination of spear-throwers excavated in the 1970s from Caleta Huelén 42, located on the Atacama Desert coast (northern Chile). Direct dates from two specimens, reported for the first time in this article, reveal that these are the oldest currently known examples of this technology in the Andes. Comparing the morphological and technological attributes of these artefacts with other known examples, the authors propose that spear-throwers and their use formed part of a shared tradition of land hunting.

In 2005, McCafferty and Steinbrenner presented new radiocarbon dates from Santa Isabel to challenge the traditional ceramic sequence for the Postclassic of Pacific Nicaragua. Since then, several projects have generated more data, such that a new chronology and cultural sequence can now be suggested. In this article we present 79 chronometric dates from 19 sites, representing a 1,500-year temporal span. This new scheme is divorced from the existing chronology of the “Greater Nicoya” region that includes both Pacific Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica because of perceived distinctions in ceramic types (and other cultural traits). It also facilitates better comparisons with cultural traditions of greater Mesoamerica, especially the development of the Mixteca-Puebla stylistic tradition.

The recently excavated double church at the site of al-Jumayil (Bishoprich of Madaba, Jordan), devoid of inscriptions, has been tentatively dated to the late 6th century CE, based on stratigraphic evidence, architectural parallels with securely dated churches, and stylistic analysis of mosaic floors. This study aims to advance understanding of the complex’s chronological development through a multidisciplinary approach. The primary methodology involves radiocarbon dating organic inclusions found in the construction mortars used for joint filling and wall coating, alongside an investigation into the mortars’ production technology. The results are integrated with data from previous archaeological excavations and relevant historical sources to refine the site’s chronological framework and address existing gaps in the architectural sequence. The results showed the use of three recipes with varying percentages of organic and inorganic inclusions to produce lime-based white plaster and dark gray mortar coatings and fillings. The results indicate that the complex was constructed in the late 6th to the first half of the 7th centuries CE and underwent stages of ecclesiastical use, destruction, and post-ecclesiastical use before its collapse and abandonment. The results are in good agreement with the regional widespread church construction during the late Byzantine period, a period of regional economic prosperity.

La Viña rock shelter is a relevant archaeological site for understanding the late Middle and Upper Palaeolithic cultural development in northern Iberia as evidenced by the Mousterian, Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian bone and lithic industries, parietal engravings and human subsistence remains recovered during the 1980s excavations by J. Fortea in the western and central excavation areas. This paper aims to present 16 new radiocarbon dates, which are added to the previous radiocarbon dates obtained, using different analytical methods on bone and charcoal. These are now 57 dates in total. Bayesian models have been applied to assess and discern the chronology of the archaeological sequence in each sector of the rock shelter. The results provide details on the chronostratigraphy of each excavation area, documenting the duration of the different technocultural phases and confirming in-site postdepositional events.

Archaeological investigations in the Prut-Dniester region during the Roman Imperial Period have yielded numerous Sarmatian culture necropolises and isolated graves. Establishing a precise chronology for these remains has long been a challenge due to the limitations of typological dating alone. This study integrates radiocarbon (14C) analysis of 11 human bone samples from selected funerary contexts with traditional typological methods, refining the chronological framework of the Sarmatian culture in this region. The radiocarbon analyses were subjected to Bayesian modeling, which allowed for the delineation of these samples into distinct phases, thereby adjusting and improving the periodization established through traditional methods. The results not only confirm but also refine previously established chronologies, offering deeper insights into the cultural, social, and economic dynamics of Sarmatian communities in the Prut-Dniester Barbaricum. These findings represent a significant contribution to the broader understanding of the Roman Imperial Period beyond the Eastern Limes.

The Kura-Araxes culture spread over a large area of South-west Asia, participating in the transformational dynamics of Early Bronze Age societies in the region. Yet, the absence of a robust chronological framework for this cultural horizon hinders its integration into wider regional and interregional models. Drawing on a substantial new radiocarbon dataset, collating novel Bayesian chronological models for eight sites and existing data from the wider region, this article identifies settlement patterns that coincide with broader reconfigurations of the Kura-Araxes cultural landscape, which in turn track socioeconomic, and possibly political, shifts observed in eastern Anatolia and the greater Near East.

Understanding what happened after the collapse of and dating the different reoccupations of Teotihuacan can be challenging due to different factors, including the reuse of building materials and looting during Postclassic and modern times, which resulted in altered archaeological contexts or significant inbuilt ages for the samples. A Bayesian approach integrating radiocarbon ages and detailed archaeological information can help to overcome these difficulties. In this contribution we present the process of building a high-resolution chronology for the tunnels located to the east of the Pyramid of the Sun (excavated by Linda R. Manzanilla from 1993 to 1996) by the integration of 20 radiocarbon ages from Cueva del Pirul and Cueva de las Varillas with detailed archaeological information on the context for each dated sample, including ceramic style. With the resulting chronology it is possible to distinguish the moment of the different occupations during the Epiclassic and Postclassic times, helping to refine chronologies based on ceramic styles and to understand the population dynamics in the area.

This contribution provides a chronological overview which is the result of a research programme carried out over the last few years in Normandy and which is based, among other things, on recent discoveries made in this region during developer-funded excavations. The overview looks phase by phase at the different characteristics of the Middle Neolithic in Normandy, and sets them against the wider context of the Neolithic transition of north-west France. The geographical area covered by this study encompasses the margin of the Armorican Massif in the west and the sedimentary basins between the Armorican Massif and the Seine Valley in the east. The chronology used in this study largely refers to the sequence established in France and is discussed on the basis of absolute dates (in cal BC) for the sake of transparency. The main objective of this publication is to connect the recent advances made on either side of the Channel, in particular with regard to the chronology of the various Neolithic groups. By presenting our British colleagues with the current state of research in our area of study we want to spark discussion and develop new collaboration.

The list of Euripidean plays in P.Oxy. 2456, whose primary principle of arrangement is by alphabetical order of first letter, has a secondary principle of arrangement, namely chronology of first performance date. This discovery provides a relative dating, and/or termini ante vel post quos, for 15 plays. The ordering in the papyrus is compared to orderings of other ancient lists of classical dramas, including a list of Aristophanes’ comedies whose arrangement by the same combination of principles was identified by Wilamowitz. A source for this arrangement is proposed, namely Callimachus’ Pinakes.

In this study, we established an annually resolved chronology for the upper 98.5 m of a 210.5 m deep ice core (Styx-M core) drilled at the Styx Glacier plateau (SGP) in northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica, to reconstruct the multi-centennial variations of the snow accumulation rate (SAR). The core was dated via the annual layer counting of highly resolved impurities exhibiting seasonal cycles. The layer counting result was constrained using multiple temporal markers, including the 239Pu peaks that resulted from atmospheric weapon tests as well as five large volcanic eruptions in recorded history. These approaches show that the Styx-M core chronology covered 755 years (1259–2014 CE), with the estimated dating uncertainties of ±8 years. The annual accumulation record was derived using the depth-age scale and depth-density relationships of the core. This record revealed a long-term trend of a ∼30% increase in the SARs over the past 755 years, overlapping the pronounced inter-decadal and multi-decadal fluctuations. Further study will be needed to reveal the complex interaction of oceanic and atmospheric processes controlling the temporal fluctuations of SARs in the coastal areas of northern Victoria Land, combining multiple proxy records in the Styx-M core.

This article offers a new reconstruction of the phonological history of pre-Old English, building on a potential parallelism between English, Frisian and North Germanic. Pivotal to the reconstruction is the development of PGmc *a, which is the target of eight different sound laws in the traditional theory. A combination of a conditional early fronting and rounding, followed by a gradual i-mutation impact, both with parallels in Frisian, and a relatively late seventh-century application of breaking before ‑rC can account for most of the attested spellings of instances with PGmc *a in the language of the early Épinal and Erfurt glossaries. This approach is much simpler than the traditional theory and allows parallelisms to be (re)established between the earliest stages of Old English, Old Frisian and Old Norse.