Summary
Radiocarbon dating has become the premiere method for dating organic remains of the last 50,000 years, and sophisticated calibration by reference to tree-ring sequences allows us to convert radiocarbon years into calendar years for samples less than 24,000 years old. Slope changes and “wiggles” in the calibration curve can result in either very precise estimates of the calendar date or only very broad date estimates. Careful selection of datable material and the chronological constraints imposed, for example, by stratigraphic relationships can result in much better chronological control than archaeologists would have imagined only a decade ago.
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(2002). Interpreting Radiocarbon Dates. In: Jochim, M.A., Dickens, R.S. (eds) The Archaeologist’s Laboratory. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47654-1_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47654-1_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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