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Calibration for Archaeological and Environmental Terrestrial Samples in the Time Range 26–50 ka cal BP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

C Bronk Ramsey ,
E M Scott  and
J van der Plicht
C Bronk Ramsey*
Affiliation:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
E M Scott
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland
J van der Plicht
Affiliation:
Center for Isotope Research, Groningen University, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
*
Corresponding author. Email: christopher.ramsey@rlaha.ox.ac.uk.
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Abstract

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For the older part of the radiocarbon dating range, the IntCal13 curve provides the “state of the art” for terrestrial calibration based on all available data. It is constructed from different records, each of which by themselves could be used as a “comparison tool,” depending on the research objectives. This paper discusses the pros and cons of different approaches that can be taken when using 14C dates from this time range where the agreement amongst the underlying data sets is poorer than in other time periods. The discussion is illustrated with example calibrations against IntCa09, IntCal13, and comparisons to the Suigetsu record. The examples and discussion arc aimed at users of terrestrial 14C dates, in particular Upper Paleolithic archaeologists and those working with environmental terrestrial materials in the same time range.

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 4: IntCal 13 , 2013 , pp. 2021 - 2027
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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