Radiocarbon dating measurements produce ages in "radiocarbon years", which must be converted to calendar ages by a process called calibration. Calibration is needed because the atmospheric 14 C:12 C ratio, which is a key element in calculating radiocarbon ages, has not been constant historically.[1]
Willard Libby, the inventor of radiocarbon dating, pointed out as early as 1955 the possibility that the ratio might have varied over time. Discrepancies began to be noted between measured ages and known historical dates for artefacts, and it became clear that a correction would need to be applied to radiocarbon ages to obtain calendar dates.[2] Uncalibrated dates may be stated as "radiocarbon years ago", abbreviated "14 Cya".[3]
The term Before Present (BP) is established for reporting dates derived from radiocarbon analysis, where "present" is 1950. Uncalibrated dates are stated as "uncal BP",[4] and calibrated (corrected) dates as "cal BP". Used alone, the term BP is ambiguous.
Similarly, BC or BCE means 'Before Christ' or 'Before Current Era', and cal BC is used accordingly.
^Taylor (1987), p. 133.
^Cite error: The named reference Aitken_66-67 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Enk, J.; Devault, A.; Debruyne, R.; King, C. E.; Treangen, T.; O'Rourke, D.; Salzberg, S. L. l; Fisher, D.; MacPhee, R.; Poinar, H. (2011). "Complete Columbian mammoth mitogenome suggests interbreeding with woolly mammoths". Genome Biology. 12 (5): R51. doi:10.1186/gb-2011-12-5-r51. PMC 3219973. PMID 21627792.
^
P. Semal; A. Hauzeur; H. Rougier; I. Crevecoeur; M. Germonpré; S. Pirson; P. Haesaerts; C. Jungels; D. Flas; M. Toussaint; B. Maureille; H. Bocherens; T. Higham; J. van der Pflicht (2013). "Radiocarbon dating of human remains and associated archaeological material". Anthropologica et Præhistorica. 123/2012: 331–356.
and 23 Related for: Radiocarbon calibration information
Radiocarbon dating measurements produce ages in "radiocarbon years", which must be converted to calendar ages by a process called calibration. Calibration...
The resulting data, in the form of a calibration curve, is now used to convert a given measurement of radiocarbon in a sample into an estimate of the sample's...
radiocarbon ages can be converted to calendar dates by calibration curves based on comparison of raw radiocarbon dates of samples independently dated by other...
Bayesian statistics to the analysis of radiocarbon data. In 1994, he authored OxCal, an online radiocarboncalibration program. Bronk Ramsey has made significant...
dendrochronology can be used as a calibration and check of radiocarbon dating. This can be done by checking radiocarbon dates against long master sequences...
the calibration curve represents radiocarbon levels for the time period. As of 2022, the most updated calibration curve is IntCal20. Early radiocarbon dates...
the Polynesian discovery of Hawaii. Through the use of more advanced radiocarbon methods, taxonomic identification of samples, and stratigraphic archaeology...
International RadiocarbonCalibration (INTCAL) Working Group. INTCAL provide (regular-updated) internationally-agreed radiocarboncalibration curves for...
the sample does not allow an "especially strong" dating. After a radiocarboncalibration of the entire Anatolian dendrochronological sequence, Kuniholm...
culture visited the cave. In 2020, researchers used the new IntCal20 radiocarboncalibration curve to estimate that the oldest painting in the cave was created...
mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarboncalibration". Quaternary Science Reviews. 26 (17–18): 2031–2035. Bibcode:2007QSRv...
; et al. (2013). "IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP". Radiocarbon. 55 (4): 1869–1887. doi:10.2458/azu_js_rc...
mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarboncalibration". Quaternary Science Reviews. 26 (17–18): 2031. Bibcode:2007QSRv...
Spurk, M; Hofmann, J; Kaiser, KF (1999). "Paleo-environment and radiocarboncalibration as derived from Late Glacial/Early Holocene tree-ring chronologies"...
in methods of analyses, instrumentation, and refinements to the radiocarboncalibration curve have made it possible to obtain reliable ages from loess...
computer software to automate the calibration process. In the 1990s, in addition to continued work on radiocarboncalibration and solar variability, he began...
mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarboncalibration". Quaternary Science Reviews. 26 (17–18): 2031–2035. Bibcode:2007QSRv...
Robert S.; Kozlowski, Andrew (2016). "Implications of a Bayesian radiocarboncalibration of colonization ages for mammalian megafauna in glaciated New York...
millennia, not 13. Obviously, no standard rates can apply. In radiocarboncalibration curves a large number of points are usually available, often enabling...
age with some small uncertainty. The series of radiocarbon dates can then be matched to the calibration curve to provide a relatively precise estimate...
with other archaeological data and runs afoul of plateaus in the radiocarboncalibration curve; in the one case where the dating can be clarified with dendrochronology...
mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarboncalibration". Quaternary Science Reviews. 26 (17–18): 2031–2035. Bibcode:2007QSRv...
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