Combining Relative Chronology and AMS 14C Dating to Contextualize ‘Megasites’, Serial Migrations and Diachronic Expressions of Material Culture in the Western Tripolye Culture, Ukraine

Abstract

Scholarship regarding the Eneolithic Cucuteni-Tripolye cultural complex of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine has recently focused on ‘megasites’ of the Western Tripolye culture (WTC) in Central Ukraine. However, in order to properly contextualize such unusual phenomena, we must explore the broader typo-chronology of the WTC, which is suggestive of a high degree of mobility and technological transfer between regions. We report 28 new AMS 14C dates from sites representing diagnostic types and propose a high-resolution chronological sequence for the WTC’s development. Our results support the relative chronology and offer an opportunity to propose a new chronological synthesis for the WTC.

Keywords

• Eneolithic
• Cucuteni-Tripolye
• migration
• chronology
• radiocarbon