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Dating Pharaonic Egypt

Radiocarbon dating and modeling of Egyptian dynasties are strengthening the links between historical chronology and archaeological associations. Ancient literary sources of Pharaonic Egypt constitute the historical cornerstone of time in the eastern Mediterranean region during the Bronze and Iron Ag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2010-06, Vol.328 (5985), p.1489-1490
Main Author: Bruins, Hendrik J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Radiocarbon dating and modeling of Egyptian dynasties are strengthening the links between historical chronology and archaeological associations. Ancient literary sources of Pharaonic Egypt constitute the historical cornerstone of time in the eastern Mediterranean region during the Bronze and Iron Ages (the third to first millennia B.C.E.). Historical chronologies for ancient Egypt are based on abundant but fragmentary written sources, and various chronological interpretations exist ( 1 – 5 ). Radio-carbon dating has the potential to verify those interpretations ( 6 ). On page 1554 of this issue, Bronk Ramsey et al. ( 7 ) present a comprehensive and sophisticated radiocarbon dating study on the chronology of Pharaonic Egypt, involving 211 samples. The short-lived plant samples for 14 C dating were selected from individual funerary contexts in various museum collections. Each sample could be associated with the reign of a particular Pharaoh or with a specific section of the historical chronology.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1191410