Two 900-year records of annual accumulation at South Pole are compared to evaluate the origin and significance of observed variations. Despite difficulties establishing absolute timescales, due to problems identifying annual layer markers, the two records can be correlated with confidence after moderate smoothing. This correlation shows that over the time period considered (1050--1956 A.D.) no climatically significant changes in accumulation occurred. Instead, fluctuations preserved in the two cores reflect spatial variations in snow accumulation, associated with nonuniform deposition induced by surface relief on the scale of several kilometers. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union