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Developments in radiocarbon calibration for archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Christopher Bronk Ramsey ,
Caitlin E. Buck ,
Sturt W. Manning ,
Paula Reimer  and
Hans van der Plicht
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Affiliation:
1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, UK
Caitlin E. Buck
Affiliation:
2Department of Probability and Statistics, University of Sheffield, UK
Sturt W. Manning
Affiliation:
3Department of Classics and The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology, Cornell University, USA; School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, UK
Paula Reimer
Affiliation:
414CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment and Chronology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Hans van der Plicht
Affiliation:
5Centre for Isotope Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands; Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Netherlands
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Extract

This update on radiocarbon calibration results from the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference at Oxford in April 2006, and is essential reading for all archaeologists. The way radiocarbon dates and absolute dates relate to each other differs in three periods: back to 12400 cal BP, radiocarbon dates can be calibrated with tree rings, and the calibration curve in this form should soon extend back to 18000 cal BP. Between 12400 and 26000 cal BP, the calibration curves are based on marine records, and thus are only a best estimate of atmospheric concentrations. Beyond 26000 cal BP, dates have to be based on comparison (rather than calibration) with a variety of records. Radical variations are thus possible in this period, a highly significant caveat for the dating of middle and lower Paleolithic art, artefacts and animal and human remains.

Keywords

Datingradiocarboncalibrationvarvesice-coresspeleothems
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 80 , Issue 310 , 1 December 2006 , pp. 783 - 798
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2006

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