Chronology of Pazyryk 2 and Ulandryk 4 Kurgans Based on High Resolution Radiocarbon Dating and Dendrochronology - A Step Towards More Precise Dating of Scythian Burials

High-resolution radiocarbon dating of tree ring sequences provides a tool to overcome complications of the radiocarbon calibration curve. The time (2500 BP) when the Pazyryk culture thrived in the steppes of Siberia coincides with wiggles on the radiocarbon calibration curve. Results of radiocarbon dating of tree logs from the Pazyryk 2 and Ulandryk 4 tombs allow wiggle matching to the calibration curve and more precise dating of the time the kurgans were constructed. The ages of 300 and 311 BC for Pazyryk 2 and Ulandryk 4, respectively, support historical dating of the finds. Our chronology provides a piece in the puzzle of the expansion and the extension of the Scythian like cultures that dominated the steppes between 800-200 BC.