Abstract
It is now three decades since Waterbolk introduced evaluation criteria to 14C chronology. Despite this, and other subsequent attempts to introduce quality control in the use of 14C data, no systematic procedure has been adopted by the archaeological community. As a result, our databases may be significantly weakened by questionable dates and/or questionable associations between dated samples and the archaeological phenomena they are intended to represent. As the use of chronometric data in general becomes more ambitious, we must pause and assess how reliable these data are. Here, we forward a set of evaluation criteria which take into account archaeological (e.g. associational, stratigraphic) and chronometric (e.g. pre-treatment and measurement) criteria. We intend to use such criteria to evaluate a large 14C dataset we have assembled to investigate Late Glacial settlement in Europe, the Near East and North Africa, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. We suggest that the procedure presented here may at least form the basis of the development of more rigorous, scientific use of 14C dates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1685-1693 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 23 Jul 2003 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2003 |
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Palaeolithic radiocarbon chronology : Quantifying our confidence beyond two half-lives. / Pettitt, P. B.; Davies, W.; Gamble, C. S.; Richards, M. B.
In: Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 30, No. 12, 12.2003, p. 1685-1693.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Palaeolithic radiocarbon chronology
T2 - Quantifying our confidence beyond two half-lives
AU - Pettitt, P. B.
AU - Davies, W.
AU - Gamble, C. S.
AU - Richards, M. B.
PY - 2003/12
Y1 - 2003/12
N2 - It is now three decades since Waterbolk introduced evaluation criteria to 14C chronology. Despite this, and other subsequent attempts to introduce quality control in the use of 14C data, no systematic procedure has been adopted by the archaeological community. As a result, our databases may be significantly weakened by questionable dates and/or questionable associations between dated samples and the archaeological phenomena they are intended to represent. As the use of chronometric data in general becomes more ambitious, we must pause and assess how reliable these data are. Here, we forward a set of evaluation criteria which take into account archaeological (e.g. associational, stratigraphic) and chronometric (e.g. pre-treatment and measurement) criteria. We intend to use such criteria to evaluate a large 14C dataset we have assembled to investigate Late Glacial settlement in Europe, the Near East and North Africa, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. We suggest that the procedure presented here may at least form the basis of the development of more rigorous, scientific use of 14C dates.
AB - It is now three decades since Waterbolk introduced evaluation criteria to 14C chronology. Despite this, and other subsequent attempts to introduce quality control in the use of 14C data, no systematic procedure has been adopted by the archaeological community. As a result, our databases may be significantly weakened by questionable dates and/or questionable associations between dated samples and the archaeological phenomena they are intended to represent. As the use of chronometric data in general becomes more ambitious, we must pause and assess how reliable these data are. Here, we forward a set of evaluation criteria which take into account archaeological (e.g. associational, stratigraphic) and chronometric (e.g. pre-treatment and measurement) criteria. We intend to use such criteria to evaluate a large 14C dataset we have assembled to investigate Late Glacial settlement in Europe, the Near East and North Africa, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. We suggest that the procedure presented here may at least form the basis of the development of more rigorous, scientific use of 14C dates.
KW - C
KW - Chronometry
KW - Late Glacial
KW - Palaeolithic
KW - Radiocarbon
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0344100054&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0305-4403(03)00070-0
DO - 10.1016/S0305-4403(03)00070-0
M3 - Article
VL - 30
SP - 1685
EP - 1693
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science
SN - 0305-4403
IS - 12
ER -