C14 (Geochronology)

The scarce horse remains from Paso Otero 5 are assigned to Equus (Amerhippus) neogeus and represent a new locality for it in South America. The faunal association~ of Paso Otero 5 indicate that paleoecological and climatic conditions during the
Pleistocene-Holocene transition were arid. The pollen, silicobioliths and stable isotope records al so indicate that there was a cold pulse during this periodo This site is dated to 14C AMS ca. 10,400 years BP. The archaeological and palaeontological data in the Pampas region and local
evidences of Paso Otero 5 site indicate that a trend toward semiarid or arid conditions prevailed during human colonisation at the end of the Late Pleistocene in this area.

This study compiles the radiocarbon dates currently available in order to examine the chronology, diachrony and temporality of the megalithic phenomenon in the south of Spain. Firstly, it
undertakes a critical evaluation of the empirical evidence, secondly, it examines the temporal evolution of the megalithic phenomenon in light of the information provided by the radiocarbon dates, and thirdly, it proposes a discussion of synthesis using combined graphs of the available dates for
different categories of funerary receptacles. As a result, we discuss aspects of the megalithic phenomenon that had previously been suggested, such as the enormous temporal range of its development, which greatly exceeds the Neolithic and Copper Age periods to which it has generally been confined, or the complexity of the patterns of interaction between megalithic funerary sites and receptacles and others of a different morphology.

Hippidion saldiasi remains from the Piedra Museo site are studied and compared with the remains from other archeological sites of the Extra-Andean Patagonia region (Argentina). The remains come from a level dated between 12,890 90 (AA-20125 AMS) and 10,400 80 years BP. (AA-8428 AMS), representing the earliest human occupation in Extra-Andean Argentine Patagonia. H. saldiasi presents a particular morphology of the limb bones that suggests an adaptation to a humid environment with soft soil. Preliminary data support the hypothesis that the horse was a more important resource tan previously thought in the hunter–gatherer economy.

The meeting of the European Megalithic Studies Group at Seville in November 2008 brought an international group of researchers together to consider two themes: the presence and significance of rare rocks, and the chronology of these monuments. While megalithic monuments are known to have been built mostly of locally available stone, their builders occasionally incorporated blocks that had been brought from a distance. These instances of ‘megalithic transport’ provide insight into the significance of both the stones themselves and their sources. Neolithic monuments may also contain ‘exotic’ stone in the form of special materials deposited with the dead, indicators of social and symbolic values. The second theme of the meeting, chronology, explored the temporal framework within which individual groups of monuments were built and the insights provided by recent dating programmes. Among these is the realisation that the construction of particular categories of monument may have been more limited in time than had previously been supposed. Papers in both themes address key issues of scale, cultural tradition and cultural exchange.

The aim of this paper is to increase the empirical basis available for the study of the absolute chronology of the megalithic phenomenon in Andalusia. To this end, six new radiocarbon dates, obtained from three megalithic monuments recently excavated in the province of Huelva, are presented. These radiocarbon analyses are part of a larger study that includes the site of La Orden-El Seminario and totals 23 new dates. The relevance of these new dates for the contribution of the megalithic phenomenon in Huelva is discussed from the perspective of the currently available framework of absolute dates for Andalusian Late Prehistory.

A new record of Hippidion saldiasi with new radiocarbon data referred to early Holocene (8,850 ± 80 year C-14 B.P) of Patagonia is reported. Both its peculiar geographic location in a scarcely prospected zone and its radiocarbon age, provide new elements to discuss the previous hypotheses about the
extinction of the horses and its relations with the human beings that inhabited the different environments of South America.

Mammal fossil remains from Santiago del Estero Province (Argentina) are very poorly known. In this paper, best preserved specimens of Gomphotheriidae (Mammalia, Proboscidea) are
presented. They come from Quaternary beds outcropping along the Río Dulce, near of the city of Santiago del Estero. The comparative study with other South American gomphotheres remains, mainly from Argentina and Brazil, allow their identification as Stegomastodon platensis, being among the largest forms of this species. Previous studies referred this locality to the late Pleistocene. Enamel tooth sample was dated
to 19.900 ± 120 BP by AMS 14C, supporting that age for this fauna. Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of the tooth enamel has been analyzed to get new data on the paleodiet and habitat preference of South American gomphotheres. Carbon isotopic values indicate an adaptation to an exclusively C4 diet.
The oxygen isotopic analysis indicates cooler climatic conditions than present.

"Florence is a town worldwide known for its Renaissance masterpieces. It is often forgotten that it was
founded during Roman times and remained a small village until the end of the early Middle Ages, prac-tically confined within the ancient Roman boundaries. Since 2003, an extended archaeological research
executed by the University of Sienna has studied the most ancient layers in the centre of Florence with
the aim to enhance both the archaeological and paleo-environmental reconstruction of this area. One of
the peculiarities of these excavations is that the early medieval layers were poor in datable ceramics, thus
charcoals were sampled from different stratigraphic layers in order to contribute to the dating. Several
data have already been published; here we focus on the excavation site of Palazzo Vecchio, now the seat
of the municipality of Florence. This area is located close to the Arno river, along the eastern margin of the
slightly elevated height upon which the Roman town was founded; actually, in the layers beneath the
surface, the Roman theatre is still preserved.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoals was performed in the LABEC laboratory in Florence, at the AMS beam
line of the AMS-IBA 3 MV Tandetron accelerator.
Comparison of these new data with the former ones and with the archaeological and geological data
adds new information especially on natural phenomena like floods and on the human occupation of this
area in the past."

Palma Campania, the type-site of the Early Bronze Age Palma Campania culture, was covered by the products of the Avellino Pumice eruption, and was thus preserved in a similar way to the Roman sites in Campania covered by the AD 79 eruption. The devastating effects of this Plinian eruption led to the belief that it had killed a large part of the local population and/or caused large-scale emigration and landscape desertification. However, new sites have been found that were established shortly after the eruption and geoarchaeological studies of areas close to the Somma-Vesuvius volcano (Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, Torre Annunziata/Oplontis, Pompeii) and also further away (the Benevento area, Irpinia and the Salerno area) have shown continuity of occupation after the Avellino Pumice eruption and during the later, Middle Bronze Age, AP1 and AP2 eruptions. Palynological analysis also shows great similarity between the environments before and after the Avellino Pumice eruption. The pottery evidence is typologically very similar before and after the eruption, which suggests that the people who resettled the Campanian plain after the eruption were closely related to those living there previously, whose material culture is that of the Palma Campania culture. Radiocarbon dates also suggest a rapid recolonisation of some sites. In this paper we shall show that although the pyroclastic products of the Avellino Pumice eruption certainly had a major impact on the landscape (soils, flora, water resources) and may have killed off a percentage of the population in some areas, this eruption was not the main cause of the socioeconomic and political transformations that occurred in this area during the Middle Bronze Age, which we believe to have been mainly caused by the cumulative effect of the later AP1 and AP2 eruptions.

The Magdalenian site in Klementowice has been known since the early 80s of the 20th century. This is the north-easternmost settlement point of the Magdalenian in Central Europe. The paper presents the results of archaeological investigations witch has been conducted till now (1981-1982, 2007-2011). The inventory of the chipped stone artefacts comprises 47023 items, including 2415 retouched tools. During the works conducted in the spring of 2010 the first Pleistocene faunal remains (Equus ferus) were discovered at the site. The findings obtained so far indicate a great variety of the activities performed within the settlement. Thus it might be assumed that it operated seasonally for a longer period of time. In 2013 radiometric datings were performed, including C14 AMS and luminescence ones (OSL and TL). The result obtained especially for one C14 AMS sample was 12,730±90 BP (15,632 – 14,577 cal BP), which fits perfectly within the time-frame of the Magdalenian horizon.

Fossil Proboscidea remains from the Dolores Formation, Montevideo, Uruguay, are described and taxonomically identified. We compared these remains with those of
Stegomastodon waringi and Stegomastodon platensis from several localities in Brazil and Argentina using multivariate analysis. The results indicate that Stegomastodon waringi
(HOLLAND, 1920) is represented in the quarry. Enamel tooth sample of gomphothere wasdated to 17,620 :!: 100 BP by AMS 14C so we confirm the late Pleistocene age for this fauna. To reconstruct the paleodiet and habitat preference we measured the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of the teeth dentine. Of the two different adaptations attributed to Stegomastodon waringi, we found that at this latitude they were mixed-C3 feeders, closely related with the Brazil population.

Gomphotheriidae fossil remains from shore level of Santa Clara del Mar (Mar del Plata, Argentina) are described. The comparative morphological and multivariate analysis of the m3 with other South American gomphotheres remains, mainly from Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, allow their identification as
Stegomastodon platensis. This species seems better adapted to live on the middle latitudes and warm climatic conditions. The possible movement routes from north to the most austral zones or areas are discussed. Stegomastodon from South America is a big-size form which is present along the East route and in several shore areas of Ecuador and Peru. In the present work some palaeoecological and palaeogeographical considerations are included. From a radiometric AMS datum, the remains of Santa Clara del Mar are dated in the late Pleistocene (17,880 ± 60 AP).

"Archaeological excavations at the Biblioteca Magliabechiana, which is part of
the Uffizi gallery complex in Florence (Tuscany, central Italy), exposed Dark
Earth deposits between alluvial sediments of the nearby Arno River. The term
Dark Earth refers to thick, dark colored, and seemingly homogeneous deposits
occurring in urban settings throughout Europe, broadly dated to the post-Roman period. The stratigraphic sequence of the Biblioteca Magliabechiana
was investigated by integrating geomorphological, chronological, and archae-ological information with micromorphological and soil analytical data. This
combination of approaches resulted in the identification of an early phase of
Dark Earth formation (7th century A.D.) during which the area was character-ized by the accumulation of manure or night soil in wet peri-fluvial conditions.
After a phase of abandonment, Dark Earth accretion resumed (10th to early
11th century A.D.), at this stage due primarily to the dumping of domestic
waste. Subsequent progressive abandonment of the area was followed by the
deposition of alluvium, probably during the major flood of November 4, 1177.
The present study demonstrates that Dark Earth is the outcome of strong bio-turbation and human reworking acting on anthropogenic deposits and possibly
on alluvial sediments."

The site area of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou (Limassol) has been systematically excavated from 2008 as a joint research project of the University of Florence, in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus. Investigation was focused on the analysis of funerary evidence from the southern Cemetery (Area E), where several single chamber graves were excavated in a series of terraces sloping from the top mound towards southeast. The small finds and ceramic assemblages, with regards to their typology and decoration patterns, point to a standard South Coast production, mainly ranging from the EC to the MC III/LC I period, thus showing a sequence of use contemporary with the stratigraphic deposits cleared within the Workshop Complex on the top mound (Area A).
During the fieldwork seasons of 2010-2011 bone samples, from the skeleton remains of three burials (Tombs 228, 230, 248), were appropriately taken for radiocarbon analyses. Radiocarbon dating was performed at the AMS beam line at the INFN-LABEC Laboratory. The results of the anthropological analyses and the radiocarbon datings can be appropriately cross-checked with the archaeological evidence, in order to outline a chronological sequence for the cemetery area at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou, thus collecting further data for the study of the Early to Late Cypriote period in the Kourion area.

A series of samples for radiocarbon dating were collected in 2005 from the Biblioteca Magliabechiana archaeological excavation area in the center of Florence, Italy, in a project directed by the Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia delle Arti of the University of Siena, in cooperation with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e per il Paesaggio per le province di Firenze e Prato. This area is located near the Uffizi Galleries, close to the Roman town, the Arno River and one of its former tributaries. The area is peculiar for the Florentine urban context because it has been free from urban development since the 12th century AD. The stratigraphy exposed showed the presence of several layers composed of natural sediments, partly the result of historical floods. Here, we report a series of 14C measurements on charcoal and seed samples collected on this excavation. 14C dating has been performed in the LABEC laboratory in Florence, on the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) beam line of the AMS-IBA 3MV Tandetron accelerator. We also had the opportunity to compare the 14C dates obtained with several series of samples previously collected in nearby archaeological areas. Results were consistent with the data obtained previously and, moreover, offer interesting new aspects to the interpretation of the archaeological findings.