TY - JOUR

T1 - Chronological Attribution of Iron-Smelting Furnaces and Landscapes of the Chuya–Kurai Paleo-Metallurgical Province (Russian Altai) Based on Tree-Ring Analysis and Radiocarbon Dating

AU - Agatova, A. R.

AU - Nepop, R. K.

AU - Myglan, V. S.

AU - Barinov, V. V.

AU - Petrozhitskiy, A. V.

N1 - The study was supported by state assignment of V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (project no. 122041400214-9), radiocarbon dating was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 22-27-00454). Chronological Attribution of Iron-Smelting Furnaces and Landscapes of the Chuya–Kurai Paleo-Metallurgical Province (Russian Altai) Based on Tree-Ring Analysis and Radiocarbon Dating / A. R. Agatova, R. K. Nepop, V. S. Myglan [et al.] // Doklady Earth Sciences. – 2025. – Vol. 522, No. 2. – P. 1-10. – DOI 10.1134/S1028334X25606315.

PY - 2025/5/16

Y1 - 2025/5/16

N2 - Abstract: Assigning the first Russian and the world’s longest 377-year “charcoal” tree-ring chronology (TRC) to the calendar time scale, multiple radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments from archaeometallurgical slags and the find of tree bark have shown that the box-shaped iron-smelting furnaces of the Kosh-Agach type in the Chuya–Kurai paleo-metallurgical province (Russian Altai) functioned in the 7th–8th centuries AD, i.e., in Old Turkic times. These results clarify the recently announced problem of “ancient Turkic metallurgy paradox,” the inexplicable sudden disappearance of iron production in Southern Siberia in the 7th century AD. The constructed “charcoal” TRC indicates that the “old wood” effect in the high mountainous Chuya-Kurai region is at least 290–370 years, and the enrichment of slags with ancient parts of wood of long-lived trees does not allow the direct estimation of smelting time even with numerous 14C dating. The only way to solve the “old wood” problem is to date the bark, which is a unique find. Cross-dating of charcoal fragments from the three distant paleo-metallurgical sites shows the presence of a common climatic signal: as early as about 1.5–1.3 kyr ago, the currently forestless eastern periphery of the Chuya basin was occupied by tree vegetation, which completely vanished under conditions of progressive aridization and massive cutting down by nomads for economic needs.

AB - Abstract: Assigning the first Russian and the world’s longest 377-year “charcoal” tree-ring chronology (TRC) to the calendar time scale, multiple radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments from archaeometallurgical slags and the find of tree bark have shown that the box-shaped iron-smelting furnaces of the Kosh-Agach type in the Chuya–Kurai paleo-metallurgical province (Russian Altai) functioned in the 7th–8th centuries AD, i.e., in Old Turkic times. These results clarify the recently announced problem of “ancient Turkic metallurgy paradox,” the inexplicable sudden disappearance of iron production in Southern Siberia in the 7th century AD. The constructed “charcoal” TRC indicates that the “old wood” effect in the high mountainous Chuya-Kurai region is at least 290–370 years, and the enrichment of slags with ancient parts of wood of long-lived trees does not allow the direct estimation of smelting time even with numerous 14C dating. The only way to solve the “old wood” problem is to date the bark, which is a unique find. Cross-dating of charcoal fragments from the three distant paleo-metallurgical sites shows the presence of a common climatic signal: as early as about 1.5–1.3 kyr ago, the currently forestless eastern periphery of the Chuya basin was occupied by tree vegetation, which completely vanished under conditions of progressive aridization and massive cutting down by nomads for economic needs.

KW - charcoal

KW - iron-smelting furnaces

KW - mountains of southern Siberia

KW - paleolandscapes

KW - radiocarbon dating

KW - tree-ring analysis

KW - “old wood” effect

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/380b6b6a-eb3d-3a6f-a7e9-0f061cdc97d1/

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105005411544&origin=inward&txGid=45c5b7b9e6814b02b023059b24835de4

UR - https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=82319913

U2 - 10.1134/S1028334X25606315

DO - 10.1134/S1028334X25606315

M3 - Article

VL - 522

JO - Doklady Earth Sciences

JF - Doklady Earth Sciences

SN - 1028-334X

IS - 2

M1 - 37

ER -