Assoc. Prof., Dr. Vasilii I. Soenov

Dr. Synaru V. Trifanova

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tatiana V. Fedosova

Gorno-Altaisk State University, Russia

THE CORRELATION OF RADIOCARBON DATES AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM CHOYBA SETTLEMENT (ALTAI)

ABSTRACT

In 2006 the authors conducted archaeological excavations at the ancient settlement of Choyba. It is situated on the right bank of the Katun River in Altai. Numerous disturbances of the cultural layers of the settlement did not allow the researchers to stratify them. Archaeological artifacts were found on the settlement: stone artifacts, fragments of pottery, animal bones, etc. In search of the most perfect methods of the further excavation of the monument, we have correlated the radiocarbon dates with the archaeological artifacts. The research showed that the finds from Choyba were relevant to the periods of the Eneolithic-Early Bronze and Middle Ages, and several fragments of pottery can be dated to the Neolithic and Early Iron Age. Radiocarbon ages are also grouped into two intervals corresponding to the Early Bronze Age and early, mature Middle Ages.

Keywords: archaeology, Altai, ancient settlement, Choyba, radiocarbon

INTRODUCTION

Radiocarbon dating of materials is firmly established in modern archeology, and currently archaeologists do not doubt the usefulness and necessity of its application. However, the dates obtained by ¹⁴C often do not meet our expectations for establishing the chronology of sites or for the reconstruction of ethno-cultural processes [1]. In many cases, the cause for frustration is that researchers very much rely upon the radiocarbon analysis in solving all the problems of research in the chronology and division into periods.

However, archaeologists also face several objective problems when using the results of the radiocarbon analysis. The main of such issues are related to obtaining the "ideal" samples taken from the sites which immediately terminated the exchange of carbon with the environment after their death [2]. This condition is present in closed archaeological complexes, but in open sites this is not possible, because the exchange of carbon from the sample environment may continue for some time after the death of the object. Thus in these cases the issues should not be associated with narrow chronology. Recognizing these and other nuances of the radiocarbon dating method, we published a series of radiocarbon dates of charcoal and soil samples from the settlement of Choyba to compare them with the archaeological materials.

METHODS

The ¹⁴C dates were obtained by L.A. Orlova PhD in Geological Sciences in the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, SB RAS (Novosibirsk). The identification of residual carbon activity was done by QUANTULUS 1220 (benzene scintillation method). Age determinations were calibrated using the University of Washington Quaternary isotope lab Radiocarbon Calibration Program Rev 4.3.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The settlement of Choyba was discovered by Vasilii Soenov in 1989. It is situated on the right bank of the Katun River terrace and on the right bank of an unnamed stream. This stream flows into the river 2.5 km to the northeast of the mouth of the river Choyba, in Chemalsky district of Altai Republic (Russia). The geo-coordinates of the monument are N-51°09′326″, Е-86°11′245″. The height above sea level is 479 m (the Baltic system of heights).

In 2006, in connection with the resumption of work in the water flooded zone of the Altai hydro-power plant, we opened a small exploratory trench in the southwestern part of the monument [3, 4]. The studies discovered calcined soils and platforms stacked from ragged stone. During the excavation a considerable mixture of archaeological materials were recorded, indicating thin cultural layers and numerous disturbances of layers. For this reason we took two samples in the least disturbed areas of the exploration trenches. The samples were taken from the depth of 0.3 and 0.5 m in the eastern and southern sections of the archaeological pit.

Table 1. Radiocarbon ages (2σ probability) of soil samples from the settlement of Choyba.

Lab ID	Material	^14C age (BP)	Calibrated age 2σ
SOAN-6511	Soil	875±65	AD 1027–1264(cal BP 923–686)
SOAN-6512	Soil	3480±95	ВС 1985–1598 (cal BP 3934–3547)

We took three samples of charcoal from the depth of 0.3 and 0.5 m in the least disturbed areas of the exploration trenches.

Table 2. Radiocarbon dates (2σ probability) of coal samples from the settlement of Choyba.

Lab ID	Material	14C age (BP)	Calibrated age 2σ
SOAN-6513	Coal	3585±95	ВС 2149–1725 (cal BP 4098–3674)
SOAN-6514	Coal	1510±50	AD 434–639 (cal BP 1516–1311)
SOAN-6515	Coal	3395±50	BC 1777-1598 (cal BP 3726-3547)

The obtained samples show that regardless of the material (soil, coal), the dates are grouped into two time intervals. The first group includes three dates (SOAN-6512, SOAN-6513, SOAN-6515), and the second groups contains two dates (SOAN-6511, SOAN-6514). The range of dates within these groups turned out to be rather large. If we take the maximum degree of probability, the dates fit into two periods: the Early Bronze Age (between 2149-1598 BC), and the Early Middle Ages (between 434-1264 AD).

In the context of the archaeological dating of items from Choyba, this distribution of the radiocarbon dates is not something extraordinary, despite the fact that during the excavations, items datable to various periods were found.

The basic stone tools from the settlement of Choyba are represented by arrowheads, drills, scrapers, nuclei, blades, inserts, a knife, a chisel or an adze, flakes, etc. Dr. Natalia Y. Kungurova carried out a technical and morphological study of the collection of stone artifacts from the settlement of Choyba, which revealed technological trends in stone work. She surmises that, according to the main technical and morphological characteristics, the stone industry of Choyba can be attributed to the Bolshemys Culture and to a later period (the Eneolithic-Bronze Age).

The small pieces of ceramics without specific technological features and ornamentation from the monument did not allow us to date them. A part of the fragments of vessels was decorated by carved polygonal lines, cuts, dents, "pearls", comb, dotted lines, and other ornaments. A preliminary technical and technological analysis of pottery conducted by Dr. Nadezhda F. Stepanova allowed us to carry out their cultural and chronological interpretation. Several fragments of ceramics can be dated to the Neolithic and Early Iron Age. A significant part of the pottery dated from the Eneolithic – an Early Bronze Age and Middle Ages. The most interesting collection of the pottery is represented by materials of the Bolshemys, Afanasiev cultures and the Krohalevo type. Cultural identification was not possible for a part of the early pottery, but it undoubtedly belongs to the Bronze Age. The entire collection of the pottery which dated later than the Early Iron Age belongs to the Middle Ages, though its precise cultural and chronological affiliation cannot yet be established. We should note here a few more important points.

The soil samples SOAN-6511 taken from under the grain bruiser were found within the boundaries of the excavation (presumably – housing). The largest number of the medieval pottery was found in this part of the excavation. The charcoal sample was taken above the grain graters level. Samples SOAN-6512, SOAN-6513, SOAN-6515 were taken at the depth of 30 cm. Stone, ceramics, and bone artifacts were spread all over the area of the excavation.

CONCLUSION

It was not our objective to get direct evidence for the existing archaeological dates of the settlement’s artifacts by a radiocarbon method. It was crucial to establish whether the archaeological materials from Choyba and the dates according to ¹⁴C are interrelated with each other. It was done to choose the most perfect sampling scheme for dating by physical methods and for correcting the techniques for the further excavation of the monument. But even a small series of the above-mentioned radiocarbon dates of the samples from the settlement showed that the dates according to ¹⁴C are correlated with the archaeological chronology of the majority of the dated items. They both are referred to the period of Eneolitic-Early Bronze and Middle Ages. Thus the soil dating according to a general fraction of humic acids and charcoal can be considered a relatively reliable independent method of dating the items of a biological origin from Choyba, which is an open archaeological complex.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation under the project “The systems of Environmental Management and Production Technologies of Ancient and Traditional Societies of Altai Mountains” (№ 536). The project was carried out at Gorno-Altaisk State University. The authors would like to thank Nadezhda F. Stepanova and Natalia Y. Kungurova for conducting the techno-morphological and the technology analyses of materials from the settlement of Choyba. We also thank Lubov A. Orlova for conducting the radiocarbon assays of the samples from Choyba.

REFERENCES

1. Orlova L.A. Radiouglerodnyj metod datirovanija v arheologii [Radiocarbon dating method in archeology] // Methods of Natural Sciences in archaeological reconstructions. – Novosibirsk, 1995. – Vol. I. – Pp. 87-97.

2. Panychev V.A, Orlova L.A. Radiouglerodnaja hronometrija v arheologii: problemy i perspektivy tochnosti datirovanija [Radiocarbon chronometry in Archaeology: questions and prospects of precision dating] // Problems in the history of archeology and history. – Barnaul, 1991. – Pp. 37-43.

3. Soenov V.I, Trifanova S.V. Polevye arheologicheskie issledovanija Gorno-Altajskogo gosuniversiteta v 2006 godu [The field archaeological research of Gorno-Altaisk State University in 2006] // Field researches in the Upper Ob and Altai 2006. – Barnaul, 2007. – Vol. 3. – Pp. 8-10.

4. Soenov V.I. Archaeological Fieldwork in the Altai Republic in 2006 // International Conference on Scythian Archaeology and Archaeology of the Altai Mountains. – Ghent, 2006. – P. 14.