Dissertation Research: Archives Analysis of the Development of Archaeological Tree-Ring Dating

论文研究：考古树木年轮测年发展的档案分析

• 批准号: 9528790
• 负责人: Jeffrey Dean
• 金额: $ 1.19万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-04-01 至 1997-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9528790&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Archives; Analysis; Development

Under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Dean, Mr. Stephen Nash will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will examine the archives and unpublished documents of a number of scientists who helped to found and expand the technique of tree ring dating and will analyze sample lists from laboratories which pioneered this approach. He wishes to understand how the development of dendrochronology affected the practice of archaeology in the United States and also how archaeology itself served to guide the direction the technique took. Until the 1920s, archaeologists in the United States had no means to date prehistoric events and chronologies were all relative rather than absolute. Tree ring dating provided the first of the many techniques now employed which can assign absolute dates. It was first developed in the Southwestern United States and is now widely used in this region. Because dendrochronology is based on the analysis of variation in the thickness of annual tree rings which in turn are dependent on local climatic events, chronologies must be developed independently from region to region. What Mr. Nash notes is that early in its history, researchers worked in a number of areas as far afield as Alaska to establish tree ring chronologies. Ultimately however all were abandoned and it is only in the Southwestern U.S. where the technique took hold. Mr. Nash wishes to examine this process and understand why different outcomes emerged. This research is important for several reasons. Archaeology is heavily technique dependent and is driven, in significant measure, by the development of new analytic techniques. The results of Mr. Nash's study will extend well beyond tree ring dating itself. The project will also assist in the training of a promising young scientist.

在 Jeffrey Dean 博士的指导下，Stephen Nash 先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将检查许多科学家的档案和未发表的文件，这些科学家帮助发现和扩展了树木年轮测定技术，并将分析率先采用这种方法的实验室的样本列表。他希望了解树木年代学的发展如何影响美国考古学的实践，以及考古学本身如何指导该技术的发展方向。 直到 20 年代，美国的考古学家还没有办法确定史前事件的年代，而且年表都是相对的而不是绝对的。年轮测年提供了目前使用的许多技术中的第一个，可以指定绝对日期。它首先在美国西南部开发，目前在该地区得到广泛应用。由于树木年代学是基于对年轮厚度变化的分析，而年轮厚度变化又取决于当地的气候事件，因此必须根据地区独立制定年代学。纳什先生指出，在其历史早期，研究人员在远至阿拉斯加的许多地区开展工作，建立树木年轮年表。然而最终所有这些都被放弃了，只有在美国西南部，这项技术才得以普及。纳什先生希望研究这个过程并了解为什么会出现不同的结果。 这项研究很重要，原因有几个。考古学在很大程度上依赖于技术，并且在很大程度上受到新分析技术的发展的驱动。纳什先生的研究结果将远远超出树木年轮测定本身的范围。该项目还将协助培训一位有前途的年轻科学家。