Development of a Neolithic pine tree-ring chronology for northern Scotland

The peatlands of northern Scotland (one of the largest and most intact areas of blanket bog in the world) contain a rare widespread horizon of subfossil pine in stratigraphic context. Eighteen bog pine from three new sites are incorporated into a mean Neolithic pine chronology now composed of subfossil pine from 12 sites, which is tree-ring-dated against Irish bog pine chronologies to span 3198–2757 BC. Germination and peaks of radial growth infer drier conditions between 3199 and 3130 BC. Dying-off phases and depression of growth reflect a change to wetter conditions between 3023 and 3002 BC and a terminal decline of pine between 2809 and 2782 BC. The close synchronization of germination/die-off phases and major ring-width variations between sites across this region indicates that the environmental changes are probably triggered by climate change. Twenty-four bog pine samples remain unmatched. Future multi-discipline research into this important example of climatic change at the Neolithic/Bronze Age transition is recommended. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.