• DOI:10.1017/RDC.2016.60
• Corpus ID: 133337438

Radiocarbon Dating of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia: Results, Limitations, and Prospects

@article{Wencel2016RadiocarbonDO,
  title={Radiocarbon Dating of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia: Results, Limitations, and Prospects},
  author={Maciej Mateusz Wencel},
  journal={Radiocarbon},
  year={2016},
  volume={59},
  pages={635 - 645}
}

• M. M. Wencel
• Published 12 August 2016
• Environmental Science
• Radiocarbon

Abstract This paper describes the results of Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates from Early Bronze Age contexts in Southern Mesopotamia, modern-day southern Iraq. The model uses 14C dates available in the literature, employing archaeological and textual information to correlate contexts from a number of important Mesopotamian sites. The insufficient number of dates makes it impossible to precisely define the chronology of the period in question; however, the analysis allows for observing patterns of cultural change otherwise invisible in archaeological and textual records. Firstly, it is suggested that there was a hiatus of at least a century between the latest protocuneiform texts and the earliest historical writing. Furthermore, the results seem to argue against a steady, gradual evolution of literate civilizations, indicating a more complex and varied process of development.