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Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale for the Southern Hemisphere: Ad 1850–950

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

F G McCormac ,
P J Reimer ,
A G Hogg ,
T F G Higham ,
M G L Baillie ,
J Palmer  and
M Stuiver
F G McCormac*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
P J Reimer
Affiliation:
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry L-397, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
A G Hogg
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.
T F G Higham
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Oxford University, 6 Keble Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QJ, England.
M G L Baillie
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
J Palmer
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
M Stuiver
Affiliation:
Quaternary Isotope Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1360, USA.
*
Corresponding author. Email: f.mccormac@qub.ac.uk.
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Abstract

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We have conducted a series of radiocarbon measurements on decadal samples of dendrochronologically dated wood from both hemispheres, spanning 1000 years (McCormac et al. 1998; Hogg et al. this issue). Using the data presented in Hogg et al., we show that during the period AD 950–1850 the 14C offset between the hemispheres is not constant, but varies periodically (∼130 yr periodicity) with amplitudes varying between 1 and 10% (i.e. 8–80 yr), with a consequent effect on the 14C calibration of material from the Southern Hemisphere. A large increase in the offset occurs between AD 1245 and 1355. In this paper, we present a Southern Hemisphere high-precision calibration data set (SHCal02) that comprises measurements from New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa. This data, and a new value of 41 ± 14 yr for correction of the IntCal98 data for the period outside the range given here, is proposed for use in calibrating Southern Hemisphere 14C dates.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , 2002 , pp. 641 - 651
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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