Carbon-14 and the Beginning of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean

The evidence for the absolute dating of the initial phases of the Aegean Late Bronze Age is presented and analyzed. Aegean radiocarbon dates for the second millennium B.C. show an internally consistent pattern. They indicate a close correlation with the traditional chronological patterns for the later stages of the Bronze Age (particularly for LH IIIB), but there are major discrepancies at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, and the dates for LH I/LM IA are significantly earlier than has been previously supposed. The material evidence is examined, and it suggests that this early chronology is not substantiated by the archaeological record. No explanation for this situation is possible from the present evidence.