Radiocarbondating

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Radiocarbondating(alsoreferredtoascarbondatingorcarbon14dating)isamethodofdetermining
14
theageofanobjectcontainingorganicmaterialbyusingthepropertiesofradiocarbon( C),aradioactive
isotopeofcarbon.ThemethodwasinventedbyWillardLibbyinthelate1940sandsoonbecameastandard
toolforarchaeologists.LibbyreceivedtheNobelPrizeforhisworkin1960.Theradiocarbondating
methodisbasedonthefactthatradiocarbonisconstantlybeingcreatedintheatmospherebytheinteraction
ofcosmicrayswithatmosphericnitrogen.Theresultingradiocarboncombineswithatmosphericoxygento
formradioactivecarbondioxide,whichisincorporatedintoplantsbyphotosynthesisanimalsthenacquire
14
Cbyeatingtheplants.Whentheanimalorplantdies,itstopsexchangingcarbonwithitsenvironment,
14
14
andfromthatpointonwardstheamountof Citcontainsbeginstoreduceasthe Cundergoesradioactive
14
decay.Measuringtheamountof Cinasamplefromadeadplantoranimalsuchaspieceofwoodora
fragmentofboneprovidesinformationthatcanbeusedtocalculatewhentheanimalorplantdied.The
14
14
olderasampleis,theless Cthereistobedetected,andbecausethehalflifeof C(theperiodoftime
afterwhichhalfofagivensamplewillhavedecayed)isabout5,730years,theoldestdatesthatcanbe
reliablymeasuredbyradiocarbondatingarearound50,000yearsago,althoughspecialpreparationmethods
occasionallypermitdatingofoldersamples.
Theideabehindradiocarbondatingisstraightforward,butyearsofworkwererequiredtodevelopthe
techniquetothepointwhereaccuratedatescouldbeobtained.Researchhasbeenongoingsincethe1960s
14
todeterminewhattheproportionof Cintheatmospherehasbeenoverthepastfiftythousandyears.The
resultingdata,intheformofacalibrationcurve,isnowusedtoconvertagivenmeasurementof
radiocarboninasampleintoanestimateofthesample'scalendarage.Othercorrectionsmustbemadeto
14
accountfortheproportionof Cindifferenttypesoforganisms(fractionation),andthevaryinglevelsof
14
Cthroughoutthebiosphere(reservoireffects).Additionalcomplicationscomefromtheburningoffossil
fuelssuchascoalandoil,andfromtheabovegroundnucleartestsdoneinthe1950sand1960s.Fossil
14
14
fuelscontainlittledetectable C,andasaresulttherewasanoticeabledropintheproportionof Cinthe
14
atmospherebeginninginthelate19thcentury.Conversely,nucleartestingincreasedtheamountof Cin
theatmosphere,toamaximum(reachedin1963)ofalmosttwicewhatithadbeenbeforethetestingbegan.
Measurementofradiocarbonwasoriginallydonebybetacountingdevices,whichcountedtheamountof
14
betaradiationemittedbydecaying Catomsinasample.Sampleswereconvertedtosolidcarbonforthe
earliestdevices,butitwasquicklydiscoveredthatconvertingthemtogasorliquidformgavemore
accurateresults.Morerecently,acceleratormassspectrometryhasbecomethemethodofchoiceitcounts
14
allthe Catomsinthesampleandnotjustthefewthathappentodecayduringthemeasurementsitcan
thereforebeusedwithmuchsmallersamples(assmallasindividualplantseeds),andgivesresultsmuch
morequickly.Datesareoftenreportedinyears"beforepresent",orBPthisactuallyreferstoabaselineof
1950AD,sothatadateof500BPmeans1450AD.
Thedevelopmentofradiocarbondatinghashadaprofoundimpactonarchaeology.Inadditionto
permittingmoreaccuratedatingwithinarchaeologicalsitesthandidpreviousmethods,itallows
comparisonofdatesofeventsacrossgreatdistances.Historiesofarchaeologyoftenrefertoitsimpactas
the"radiocarbonrevolution".Occasionally,themethodisusedforitemsofpopularinterestsuchasthe

ShroudofTurin,whichisclaimedtoshowanimageofthebodyofJesusChrist.Asampleoflinenfromthe
shroudwastestedin1988andfoundtodatefromthe13thor14thcentury,castingdoubtonits
authenticity.[1]

Contents
1Background
1.1History
1.2Physicalandchemicaldetails
1.3Principles
1.4Carbonexchangereservoir
2Datingconsiderations
2.1Atmosphericvariation
2.2Isotopicfractionation
2.3Reservoireffects
2.4Contamination
3Samples
3.1Materialconsiderations
3.2Preparationandsize
4Measurementandresults
4.1Betacounting
4.2Acceleratormassspectrometry
4.3Calculations
4.4Errorsandreliability
4.5Calibration
4.6Reportingdates
5Useinarchaeology
5.1Interpretation
5.2Notableapplications
5.2.1Pleistocene/HoloceneboundaryinTwoCreeksFossilForest
5.2.2DeadSeaScrolls
5.3Impact
6Notes
7References
8Sources
9Externallinks

Background
History
Intheearly1930sWillardLibbywasachemistrystudentattheUniversityofBerkeley,receivinghisPh.D.
in1933.Heremainedthereasaninstructoruntiltheendofthedecade.[2]In1939theRadiationLaboratory
atBerkeleybeganexperimentstodetermineifanyoftheelementscommoninorganicmatterhadisotopes
14
withhalfliveslongenoughtobeofvalueinbiomedicalresearch.Itwassoondiscoveredthat C'shalflife

wasfarlongerthanhadbeenpreviouslythought,andin1940thiswasfollowedbyproofthattheinteraction
14
14
ofslowneutronswith Nwasthemainpathwaybywhich Cwascreated.Ithadpreviouslybeenthought
14
13
that Cwouldbemorelikelytobecreatedbydeuteronsinteractingwith C.[3]Atsometimeduring
WorldWarIILibbyreadapaperbyW.E.DanforthandS.A.Korff,publishedin1939,whichpredicted
14
thecreationof Cintheatmospherebyneutronsfromcosmicraysthathadbeensloweddownby
collisionswithmoleculesofatmosphericgas.ItwasthispaperthatgaveLibbytheideathatradiocarbon
datingmightbepossible.[4]
In1945,LibbymovedtotheUniversityofChicago.Hepublishedapaperin1946inwhichheproposed
14
thatthecarboninlivingmattermightinclude Caswellasnonradioactivecarbon.[5][6]Libbyandseveral
collaboratorsproceededtoexperimentwithmethanecollectedfromsewageworksinBaltimore,andafter
14
isotopicallyenrichingtheirsamplestheywereabletodemonstratethattheycontainedradioactive C.By
contrast,methanecreatedfrompetroleumshowednoradiocarbonactivity.Theresultsweresummarizedin
apaperinSciencein1947,inwhichtheauthorscommentedthattheirresultsimplieditwouldbepossible
todatematerialscontainingcarbonoforganicorigin.[5][7]
LibbyandJamesArnoldproceededtoexperimentwithsamplesofwoodofknownage.Forexample,two
samplestakenfromthetombsoftwoEgyptiankings,ZoserandSneferu,independentlydatedto2625BC
plusorminus75years,weredatedbyradiocarbonmeasurementtoanaverageof2800BCplusorminus
250years.TheseresultswerepublishedinSciencein1949.[8][9]In1960,LibbywasawardedtheNobel
PrizeinChemistryforthiswork.[5]

Physicalandchemicaldetails
12

13

Innature,carbonexistsastwostable,nonradioactiveisotopes:carbon12( C),andcarbon13( C),anda

14
14
radioactiveisotope,carbon14( C),alsoknownas"radiocarbon".Thehalflifeof C(thetimeittakesfor
14
halfofagivenamountof Ctodecay)isabout5,730years,soitsconcentrationintheatmospheremight
14
beexpectedtoreduceoverthousandsofyears,but Cisconstantlybeingproducedinthelower
14
stratosphereanduppertropospherebycosmicrays,whichgenerateneutronsthatinturncreate Cwhen
14
14
theystrikenitrogen14( N)atoms.[5]Thefollowingnuclearreactioncreates C:

wherenrepresentsaneutronandprepresentsaproton.[10]
14

Onceproduced,the Cquicklycombineswiththeoxygenintheatmospheretoformcarbondioxide(CO2).
Carbondioxideproducedinthiswaydiffusesintheatmosphere,isdissolvedintheocean,andistakenup
byplantsviaphotosynthesis.Animalseattheplants,andultimatelytheradiocarbonisdistributed
14
12
14
12
throughoutthebiosphere.Theratioof Cto Cisapproximately1.5partsof Cto1012partsof C.[11]
13
Inaddition,about1%ofthecarbonatomsareofthestableisotope C.[5]
14

Theequationfortheradioactivedecayof Cis:[1]

14

Byemittingabetaparticle(anelectron,e)andanelectronantineutrino(e),oneoftheneutronsinthe C
14
14
nucleuschangestoaprotonandthe Cnucleusrevertstothestable(nonradioactive)isotope N.[12]

Principles
Duringitslife,aplantoranimalisexchangingcarbonwithitssurroundings,sothecarbonitcontainswill
14
14
14
havethesameproportionof Castheatmosphere.Onceitdies,itceasestoacquire C,butthe Cwithin
14
12
itsbiologicalmaterialatthattimewillcontinuetodecay,andsotheratioof Cto Cinitsremainswill
14
graduallydecrease.Because Cdecaysataknownrate,theproportionofradiocarboncanbeusedto
determinehowlongithasbeensinceagivensamplestoppedexchangingcarbontheolderthesample,the
14
less Cwillbeleft.[11]
Theequationgoverningthedecayofaradioactiveisotopeis:[5]

whereN0isthenumberofatomsoftheisotopeintheoriginalsample(attimet=0,whentheorganism
fromwhichthesamplewastakendied),andNisthenumberofatomsleftaftertimet.[5]isaconstantthat
dependsontheparticularisotopeforagivenisotopeitisequaltothereciprocalofthemeanlifei.e.the
averageorexpectedtimeagivenatomwillsurvivebeforeundergoingradioactivedecay.[5]Themeanlife,
14
denotedby,of Cis8,267years,sotheequationabovecanberewrittenas:[13]

14

12

Thesampleisassumedtohaveoriginallyhadthesame C/ Cratioastheratiointheatmosphere,and
sincethesizeofthesampleisknown,thetotalnumberofatomsinthesamplecanbecalculated,yielding
14
14
N0,thenumberof Catomsintheoriginalsample.MeasurementofN,thenumberof Catomscurrently
inthesample,allowsthecalculationoft,theageofthesample,usingtheequationabove.[11]
Thehalflifeofaradioactiveisotope(usuallydenotedbyt1/2)isamorefamiliarconceptthanthemeanlife,
soalthoughtheequationsaboveareexpressedintermsofthemeanlife,itismoreusualtoquotethevalue
14
14
of C'shalflifethanitsmeanlife.[note1]Thecurrentlyacceptedvalueforthehalflifeof Cis5,730
14
years.[5]Thismeansthatafter5,730years,onlyhalfoftheinitial Cwillhaveremainedaquarterwill
haveremainedafter11,460yearsaneighthafter17,190yearsandsoon.
14

Theabovecalculationsmakeseveralassumptions,suchasthatthelevelof Cintheatmospherehas
14
remainedconstantovertime.[5]Infact,thelevelof Cintheatmospherehasvariedsignificantlyandasa
resultthevaluesprovidedbytheequationabovehavetobecorrectedbyusingdatafromothersources.[14]
14
Thisisdonebycalibrationcurves,whichconvertameasurementof Cinasampleintoanestimated
calendarage.Thecalculationsinvolveseveralstepsandincludeanintermediatevaluecalledthe
"radiocarbonage",whichistheagein"radiocarbonyears"ofthesample:anagequotedinradiocarbon
yearsmeansthatnocalibrationcurvehasbeenusedthecalculationsforradiocarbonyearsassumethatthe
14 12
C/ Cratiohasnotchangedovertime.Calculatingradiocarbonagesalsorequiresthevalueofthehalf

14

lifefor C,whichformorethanadecadeafterLibby'sinitialworkwasthoughttobe5,568years.Thiswas
revisedintheearly1960sto5,730years,whichmeantthatmanycalculateddatesinpaperspublishedprior
tothiswereincorrect(theerrorisabout3%).Forconsistencywiththeseearlypapers,andtoavoidtherisk
ofadoublecorrectionfortheincorrecthalflife,radiocarbonagesarestillcalculatedusingtheincorrect
halflifevalue.Acorrectionforthehalflifeisincorporatedintocalibrationcurves,soeventhough
radiocarbonagesarecalculatedusingahalflifevaluethatisknowntobeincorrect,thefinalreported
calibrateddate,incalendaryears,isaccurate.Whenadateisquoted,thereadershouldbeawarethatifitis
anuncalibrateddate(atermusedfordatesgiveninradiocarbonyears)itmaydiffersubstantiallyfromthe
14
bestestimateoftheactualcalendardate,bothbecauseitusesthewrongvalueforthehalflifeof C,and
14
becausenocorrection(calibration)hasbeenappliedforthehistoricalvariationof Cintheatmosphere
overtime.[15][16][note2]

Carbonexchangereservoir
Carbonisdistributedthroughoutthe
atmosphere,thebiosphere,andthe
oceansthesearereferredtocollectively
asthecarbonexchangereservoir,[19]
andeachcomponentisalsoreferredto
individuallyasacarbonexchange
reservoir.Thedifferentelementsofthe
carbonexchangereservoirvaryinhow
muchcarbontheystore,andinhow
14
longittakesforthe Cgeneratedby
cosmicraystofullymixwiththem.This
14
12
affectstheratioof Cto Cinthe
differentreservoirs,andhencethe
radiocarbonagesofsamplesthat
originatedineachreservoir.[5]The
14
atmosphere,whichiswhere Cis
generated,containsabout1.9%ofthe
totalcarboninthereservoirs,andthe
14
Citcontainsmixesinlessthanseven
14
12
years.[18][20]Theratioof Cto Cin
theatmosphereistakenasthebaseline
fortheotherreservoirs:ifanother
Simplifiedversionofthecarbonexchangereservoir,showing
14
12
14
reservoirhasalowerratioof Cto C,
proportionsofcarbonandrelativeactivityofthe Cineach
itindicatesthatthecarbonisolderand
reservoir[5][note3]
14
hencethatsomeofthe Chas
decayed.[14]Theoceansurfaceisan
example:itcontains2.4%ofthecarbonintheexchangereservoir,[18]butthereisonlyabout95%asmuch
14
Caswouldbeexpectediftheratiowerethesameasintheatmosphere.[5]Thetimeittakesforcarbon
fromtheatmospheretomixwiththesurfaceoceanisonlyafewyears,[21]butthesurfacewatersalso
receivewaterfromthedeepocean,whichhasmorethan90%ofthecarboninthereservoir.[14]Waterinthe

deepoceantakesabout1,000yearstocirculatebackthroughsurfacewaters,andsothesurfacewaters
14
14
containacombinationofolderwater,withdepleted C,andwaterrecentlyatthesurface,with Cin
equilibriumwiththeatmosphere.[14]
14

Creatureslivingattheoceansurfacehavethesame Cratiosasthewatertheylivein,andasaresultofthe
14 12
reduced C/ Cratio,theradiocarbonageofmarinelifeistypicallyabout440years.[22][23][note4]
14 12
Organismsonlandareincloserequilibriumwiththeatmosphereandhavethesame C/ Cratioasthe
atmosphere.[5]Theseorganismscontainabout1.3%ofthecarboninthereservoirseaorganismshavea
massoflessthan1%ofthoseonlandandarenotshownonthediagram.[18]Accumulateddeadorganic
matter,ofbothplantsandanimals,exceedsthemassofthebiospherebyafactorofnearly3,andsincethis
14 12
matterisnolongerexchangingcarbonwithitsenvironment,ithasa C/ Cratiolowerthanthatofthe
biosphere.[5]

Datingconsiderations
14

12

Thevariationinthe C/ Cratioindifferentpartsofthecarbonexchangereservoirmeansthata
14
straightforwardcalculationoftheageofasamplebasedontheamountof Citcontainswilloftengivean
incorrectresult.Thereareseveralotherpossiblesourcesoferrorthatneedtobeconsidered.Theerrorsare
offourgeneraltypes:
14

12

variationsinthe C/ Cratiointheatmosphere,bothgeographicallyandovertime
isotopicfractionation
14 12
variationsinthe C/ Cratioindifferentpartsofthereservoir
contamination.

Atmosphericvariation
14

12

Intheearlyyearsofusingthetechnique,itwasunderstoodthatitdependedontheatmospheric C/ C
ratiohavingremainedthesameovertheprecedingfewthousandyears.Toverifytheaccuracyofthe
method,severalartefactsthatweredatablebyothertechniquesweretestedtheresultsofthetestingwerein
reasonableagreementwiththetrueagesoftheobjects.Overtime,however,discrepanciesbegantoappear
betweentheknownchronologyfortheoldestEgyptiandynastiesandtheradiocarbondatesofEgyptian
artefacts.NeitherthepreexistingEgyptianchronologynorthenewradiocarbondatingmethodcouldbe
14 12
assumedtobeaccurate,butathirdpossibilitywasthatthe C/ Cratiohadchangedovertime.The
questionwasresolvedbythestudyoftreerings:[24][25][26]comparisonofoverlappingseriesoftreerings
allowedtheconstructionofacontinuoussequenceoftreeringdatathatspanned8,000years.[24](Sincethat
timethetreeringdataserieshasbeenextendedto13,900years.)[27]Inthe1960s,HansSuesswasableto
usethetreeringsequencetoshowthatthedatesderivedfromradiocarbonwereconsistentwiththedates
14 12
assignedbyEgyptologists.Thiswaspossiblebecausealthoughannualplants,suchascorn,havea C/ C
ratiothatreflectstheatmosphericratioatthetimetheyweregrowing,treesonlyaddmaterialtotheir
14
outermosttreeringinanygivenyear,whiletheinnertreeringsdon'tgettheir Creplenishedandinstead
14
14 12
startlosing Cthroughdecay.Henceeachringpreservesarecordoftheatmospheric C/ Cratioofthe
yearitgrewin.Carbondatingthewoodfromthetreeringsthemselvesprovidesthecheckneededonthe
14 12
atmospheric C/ Cratio:withasampleofknowndate,andameasurementofthevalueofN(thenumber

14

ofatomsof Cremaininginthesample),thecarbondatingequationallowsthecalculationofN0the
14

14

12

numberofatomsof Cinthesampleatthetimethetreeringwasformedandhencethe C/ Cratioin

theatmosphereatthattime.[24][26]Armedwiththeresultsofcarbondatingthetreerings,itbecamepossible
14
toconstructcalibrationcurvesdesignedtocorrecttheerrorscausedbythevariationovertimeinthe C/
12
Cratio.[28]Thesecurvesaredescribedinmoredetailbelow.
Coalandoilbegantobeburnedinlargequantities
duringthe19thcentury.Botharesufficientlyoldthat
14
theycontainlittledetectable Cand,asaresult,the
14

CO2releasedsubstantiallydilutedtheatmospheric C/
12
Cratio.Datinganobjectfromtheearly20thcentury
hencegivesanapparentdateolderthanthetruedate.
14
Forthesamereason, Cconcentrationsinthe
neighbourhoodoflargecitiesarelowerthanthe
atmosphericaverage.Thisfossilfueleffect(alsoknown
astheSuesseffect,afterHansSuess,whofirstreported
itin1955)wouldonlyamounttoareductionof0.2%in
14
Cactivityiftheadditionalcarbonfromfossilfuels
weredistributedthroughoutthecarbonexchange
reservoir,butbecauseofthelongdelayinmixingwith
thedeepocean,theactualeffectisa3%
reduction.[24][31]

14

Atmospheric C,NewZealand[29]andAustria. [30]

TheNewZealandcurveisrepresentativeofthe
SouthernHemispheretheAustriancurveis
representativeoftheNorthernHemisphere.
Atmosphericnuclearweapontestsalmostdoubled
14
theconcentrationof CintheNorthern

Amuchlargereffectcomesfromabovegroundnuclear
testing,whichreleasedlargenumbersofneutronsand
14
Hemisphere. [1]ThedatethatthePartialTestBan
created C.Fromabout1950until1963,when
Treaty(PTBT)wentintoeffectismarkedonthe
atmosphericnucleartestingwasbanned,itisestimated
14
graph.
thatseveraltonnesof Cwerecreated.Ifallthisextra
14
Chadimmediatelybeenspreadacrosstheentire
14 12
carbonexchangereservoir,itwouldhaveledtoanincreaseinthe C/ Cratioofonlyafewpercent,but
14
theimmediateeffectwastoalmostdoubletheamountof Cintheatmosphere,withthepeaklevel
occurringinabout1965.Thelevelhassincedropped,asthe"bombcarbon"(asitissometimescalled)
percolatesintotherestofthereservoir.[24][31][32]

Isotopicfractionation
Photosynthesisistheprimaryprocessbywhichcarbonmovesfromtheatmosphereintolivingthings.In
12
13
photosyntheticpathways Cisabsorbedslightlymoreeasilythan C,whichinturnismoreeasily
14
13 12
14 12
absorbedthan C.Thedifferentialuptakeofthethreecarbonisotopesleadsto C/ Cand C/ Cratios
inplantsthatdifferfromtheratiosintheatmosphere.Thiseffectisknownasisotopicfractionation.[33][34]
12

13

Todeterminethedegreeoffractionationthattakesplaceinagivenplant,theamountsofboth Cand C
13 12
isotopesaremeasured,andtheresulting C/ Cratioisthencomparedtoastandardratioknownas
13 12
14 12
PDB.[note5]The C/ Cratioisusedinsteadof C/ Cbecausetheformerismucheasiertomeasure,and

13

12

thelattercanbeeasilyderived:thedepletionof Crelativeto Cisproportionaltothedifferenceinthe

14
13
atomicmassesofthetwoisotopes,sothedepletionfor Cistwicethedepletionof C.[14]The
13
fractionationof C,knownas13C,iscalculatedasfollows:[33]

wherethesignindicatespartsperthousand.[33]BecausethePDBstandardcontainsanunusuallyhigh
13
proportionof C,[note6]mostmeasured13Cvaluesarenegative.
Formarine
organisms,the
detailsofthe
photosynthesis
reactionsareless
wellunderstood,
andthe13C
valuesfor
marine
photosynthetic
organismsare
SheeponthebeachinNorthRonaldsay.Inthe
winter,thesesheepeatseaweed,whichhasahigher

13Ccontentthangrasssamplesfromthesesheep
havea 13Cvalueofabout13,whichismuch
higherthanforsheepthatfeedongrasses. [33]

Material

Typical13Crange

PDB

Marineplankton

22to17[34]

C3plants

30to22[34]

C4plants

15to9[34]

AtmosphericCO2

8[33]

MarineCO2

32to13[34]

dependentontemperature.Athighertemperatures,CO2
haspoorsolubilityinwater,whichmeansthereisless
CO2availableforthephotosyntheticreactions.Under
theseconditions,fractionationisreduced,andat
temperaturesabove14Cthe13Cvaluesare
correspondinglyhigher,whileatlowertemperatures,
CO2becomesmoresolubleandhencemoreavailableto

marineorganisms.[34]The13Cvalueforanimalsdependsontheirdiet.Ananimalthateatsfoodwithhigh
13Cvalueswillhaveahigher13Cthanonethateatsfoodwithlower13Cvalues.[33]Theanimal'sown
biochemicalprocessescanalsoimpacttheresults:forexample,bothbonemineralsandbonecollagen
13
typicallyhaveahigherconcentrationof Cthanisfoundintheanimal'sdiet,thoughfordifferent
13
13
biochemicalreasons.Theenrichmentofbone Calsoimpliesthatexcretedmaterialisdepletedin C
relativetothediet.[37]
13

13

12

Since Cmakesupabout1%ofthecarboninasample,the C/ Cratiocanbeaccuratelymeasuredby

massspectrometry.[14]Typicalvaluesof13Chavebeenfoundbyexperimentformanyplants,aswellas
fordifferentpartsofanimalssuchasbonecollagen,butwhendatingagivensampleitisbettertodetermine
the13Cvalueforthatsampledirectlythantorelyonthepublishedvalues.[33]

ThecarbonexchangebetweenatmosphericCO2andcarbonateattheoceansurfaceisalsosubjectto
14
12
fractionation,with Cintheatmospheremorelikelythan Ctodissolveintheocean.Theresultisan
14 12
14 12
overallincreaseinthe C/ Cratiointheoceanof1.5%,relativetothe C/ Cratiointheatmosphere.
14
Thisincreasein Cconcentrationalmostexactlycancelsoutthedecreasecausedbytheupwellingofwater
14
14
(containingold,andhence Cdepleted,carbon)fromthedeepocean,sothatdirectmeasurementsof C
radiationaresimilartomeasurementsfortherestofthebiosphere.Correctingforisotopicfractionation,as
isdoneforallradiocarbondatestoallowcomparisonbetweenresultsfromdifferentpartsofthebiosphere,
givesanapparentageofabout440yearsforoceansurfacewater.[14][23]

Reservoireffects
14

12

Libby'soriginalexchangereservoirhypothesisassumedthatthe C/ Cratiointheexchangereservoiris
constantallovertheworld,[38]butithassincebeendiscoveredthatthereareseveralcausesofvariationin
theratioacrossthereservoir.[22]
Marineeffect
TheCO2intheatmospheretransferstotheoceanbydissolvinginthesurfacewaterascarbonateand
bicarbonateionsatthesametimethecarbonateionsinthewaterarereturningtotheairasCO2.[38]This
14
14
exchangeprocessbrings Cfromtheatmosphereintothesurfacewatersoftheocean,butthe Cthus
introducedtakesalongtimetopercolatethroughtheentirevolumeoftheocean.Thedeepestpartsofthe
oceanmixveryslowlywiththesurfacewaters,andthemixingisuneven.Themainmechanismthatbrings
deepwatertothesurfaceisupwelling,whichismorecommoninregionsclosertotheequator.Upwelling
isalsoinfluencedbyfactorssuchasthetopographyofthelocaloceanbottomandcoastlines,theclimate,
andwindpatterns.Overall,themixingofdeepandsurfacewaterstakesfarlongerthanthemixingof
atmosphericCO2withthesurfacewaters,andasaresultwaterfromsomedeepoceanareashasanapparent
radiocarbonageofseveralthousandyears.Upwellingmixesthis"old"waterwiththesurfacewater,giving
thesurfacewateranapparentageofaboutseveralhundredyears(aftercorrectingforfractionation).[22]This
effectisnotuniformtheaverageeffectisabout440years,buttherearelocaldeviationsofseveral
hundredyearsforareasthataregeographicallyclosetoeachother.[22][23]Theeffectalsoappliestomarine
organismssuchasshells,andmarinemammalssuchaswhalesandseals,whichhaveradiocarbonagesthat
appeartobehundredsofyearsold.[22]
Hemisphereeffect
Thenorthernandsouthernhemisphereshaveatmosphericcirculationsystemsthataresufficiently
independentofeachotherthatthereisanoticeabletimelaginmixingbetweenthetwo.Theatmospheric
14 12
C/ Cratioislowerinthesouthernhemisphere,withanapparentadditionalageof30yearsfor
radiocarbonresultsfromthesouthascomparedtothenorth.Thisisprobablybecausethegreatersurface
areaofoceaninthesouthernhemispheremeansthatthereismorecarbonexchangedbetweentheoceanand
14
theatmospherethaninthenorth.Sincethesurfaceoceanisdepletedin Cbecauseofthemarineeffect,
14
Cisremovedfromthesouthernatmospheremorequicklythaninthenorth.[22]
Othereffects

Ifthecarboninfreshwaterispartlyacquiredfromagedcarbon,suchasrocks,thentheresultwillbea
14 12
reductioninthe C/ Cratiointhewater.Forexample,riversthatpassoverlimestone,whichismostly
composedofcalciumcarbonate,willacquirecarbonateions.Similarly,groundwatercancontaincarbon
derivedfromtherocksthroughwhichithaspassed.Theserocksareusuallysooldthattheynolonger
14
14 12
containanymeasurable C,sothiscarbonlowersthe C/ Cratioofthewateritenters,whichcanleadto
apparentagesofthousandsofyearsforboththeaffectedwaterandtheplantsandfreshwaterorganismsthat
liveinit.[14]Thisisknownasthehardwatereffectbecauseitisoftenassociatedwithcalciumions,which
arecharacteristicofhardwaterothersourcesofcarbonsuchashumuscanproducesimilarresults.[22]The
effectvariesgreatlyandthereisnogeneraloffsetthatcanbeappliedadditionalresearchisusuallyneeded
todeterminethesizeoftheoffset,forexamplebycomparingtheradiocarbonageofdepositedfreshwater
shellswithassociatedorganicmaterial.[39]
Volcaniceruptionsejectlargeamountsofcarbonintotheair.Thecarbonisofgeologicaloriginandhasno
14
14 12
detectable C,sothe C/ Cratiointhevicinityofthevolcanoisdepressedrelativetosurroundingareas.
14
Dormantvolcanoescanalsoemitagedcarbon.Plantsthatphotosynthesizethiscarbonalsohavelower C/
12
Cratios:forexample,plantsontheGreekislandofSantorini,nearthevolcano,haveapparentagesofup
toathousandyears.TheseeffectsarehardtopredictthetownofAkrotiri,onSantorini,wasdestroyedin
avolcaniceruptionthousandsofyearsago,butradiocarbondatesforobjectsrecoveredfromtheruinsof
thetownshowsurprisinglycloseagreementwithdatesderivedfromothermeans.IfthedatesforAkrotiri
areconfirmed,itwouldindicatethatthevolcaniceffectinthiscasewasminimal.[22]

Contamination
Anyadditionofcarbontoasampleofadifferentagewillcausethemeasureddatetobeinaccurate.
Contaminationwithmoderncarboncausesasampletoappeartobeyoungerthanitreallyis:theeffectis
greaterforoldersamples.Ifasamplethatis17,000yearsoldiscontaminatedsothat1%ofthesampleis
moderncarbon,itwillappeartobe600yearsyoungerforasamplethatis34,000yearsoldthesame
amountofcontaminationwouldcauseanerrorof4,000years.Contaminationwitholdcarbon,withno
14
remaining C,causesanerrorintheotherdirectionindependentofageasamplecontaminatedwith1%
oldcarbonwillappeartobeabout80yearsolderthanitreallyis,regardlessofthedateofthesample.[40]

Samples
14

Samplesfordatingneedtobeconvertedintoaformsuitableformeasuringthe Ccontentthiscanmean
conversiontogaseous,liquid,orsolidform,dependingonthemeasurementtechniquetobeused.Before
thiscanbedone,thesamplemustbetreatedtoremoveanycontaminationandanyunwanted
constituents.[41]Thisincludesremovingvisiblecontaminants,suchasrootletsthatmayhavepenetratedthe
samplesinceitsburial.[41]Alkaliandacidwashescanbeusedtoremovehumicacidandcarbonate
contamination,butcarehastobetakentoavoiddestroyingordamagingthesample.[42]

Materialconsiderations
Itiscommontoreduceawoodsampletojustthecellulosecomponentbeforetesting,butsincethis
canreducethevolumeofthesampleto20%ofitsoriginalsize,testingofthewholewoodisoften
performedaswell.Charcoalisoftentestedbutislikelytoneedtreatmenttoremove

contaminants.[41][42]
Unburntbonecanbetesteditisusualtodateitusingcollagen,theproteinfractionthatremainsafter
washingawaythebone'sstructuralmaterial.Hydroxyproline,oneoftheconstituentaminoacidsin
bone,wasoncethoughttobeareliableindicatorasitwasnotknowntooccurexceptinbone,butit
hassincebeendetectedingroundwater.[41]
Forburntbone,testabilitydependsontheconditionsunderwhichthebonewasburnt.Ifthebonewas
heatedunderreducingconditions,it(andassociatedorganicmatter)mayhavebeencarbonized.In
thiscasethesampleisoftenusable.[41]
Shellsfrombothmarineandlandorganismsconsistalmostentirelyofcalciumcarbonate,eitheras
aragoniteorascalcite,orsomemixtureofthetwo.Calciumcarbonateisverysusceptibleto
dissolvingandrecrystallizingtherecrystallizedmaterialwillcontaincarbonfromthesample's
environment,whichmaybeofgeologicalorigin.Iftestingrecrystallizedshellisunavoidable,itis
sometimespossibletoidentifytheoriginalshellmaterialfromasequenceoftests.[43]Itisalso
possibletotestconchiolin,anorganicproteinfoundinshell,butitconstitutesonly12%ofshell
material.[42]
Thethreemajorcomponentsofpeatarehumicacid,humins,andfulvicacid.Ofthese,huminsgive
themostreliabledateastheyareinsolubleinalkaliandlesslikelytocontaincontaminantsfromthe
sample'senvironment.[42]Aparticulardifficultywithdriedpeatistheremovalofrootlets,whichare
likelytobehardtodistinguishfromthesamplematerial.[41]
Soilcontainsorganicmaterial,butbecauseofthelikelihoodofcontaminationbyhumicacidofmore
recentorigin,itisverydifficulttogetsatisfactoryradiocarbondates.Itispreferabletosievethesoil
forfragmentsoforganicorigin,anddatethefragmentswithmethodsthataretolerantofsmallsample
sizes.[42]
Othermaterialsthathavebeensuccessfullydatedincludeivory,paper,textiles,individualseedsand
grains,strawfromwithinmudbricks,andcharredfoodremainsfoundinpottery.[42]

Preparationandsize
14

Particularlyforoldersamples,itmaybeusefultoenrichtheamountof Cinthesamplebeforetesting.
Thiscanbedonewithathermaldiffusioncolumn.Theprocesstakesaboutamonthandrequiresasample
14
abouttentimesaslargeaswouldbeneededotherwise,butitallowsmoreprecisemeasurementofthe C/
12
Cratioinoldmaterialandextendsthemaximumagethatcanbereliablyreported.[44]
Oncecontaminationhasbeenremoved,samplesmustbeconvertedtoaformsuitableforthemeasuring
technologytobeused.[45]Wheregasisrequired,CO2iswidelyused.[45][46]Forsamplestobeusedin
liquidscintillationcounters,thecarbonmustbeinliquidformthesampleistypicallyconvertedto
benzene.Foracceleratormassspectrometry,solidgraphitetargetsarethemostcommon,althoughiron
carbideandgaseousCO2canalsobeused.[45][47]
Thequantityofmaterialneededfortestingdependsonthesampletypeandthetechnologybeingused.
Therearetwotypesoftestingtechnology:detectorsthatrecordradioactivity,knownasbetacounters,and
acceleratormassspectrometers.Forbetacounters,asampleweighingatleast10gramsistypically
required.[45]Acceleratormassspectrometry(AMS)ismuchmoresensitive,andsamplesassmallas
0.5milligramscanbeused.[48]

Measurementandresults
FordecadesafterLibbyperformedthefirstradiocarbondating
14
experiments,theonlywaytomeasurethe Cinasamplewasto
detecttheradioactivedecayofindividualcarbonatoms.[45]Inthis
approach,whatismeasuredistheactivity,innumberofdecay
eventsperunitmasspertimeperiod,ofthesample.[46]Thismethod
isalsoknownas"betacounting",becauseitisthebetaparticles
14
emittedbythedecaying Catomsthataredetected.[49]Inthelate
1970sanalternativeapproachbecameavailable:directlycounting
14
14
12
Measuring Cisnowmost
thenumberof Cand Catomsinagivensample,viaaccelerator
commonlydonewithanaccelerator
massspectrometry,usuallyreferredtoasAMS.[45]AMScountsthe
massspectrometer
14 12
C/ Cratiodirectly,insteadoftheactivityofthesample,but
14 12
measurementsofactivityand C/ Cratiocanbeconvertedinto
eachotherexactly.[46]Forsometime,betacountingmethodsweremoreaccuratethanAMS,butasof2014
AMSismoreaccurateandhasbecomethemethodofchoiceforradiocarbonmeasurements.[50][51]In
additiontoimprovedaccuracy,AMShastwofurthersignificantadvantagesoverbetacounting:itcan
performaccuratetestingonsamplesmuchtoosmallforbetacountinganditismuchfasteranaccuracy
of1%canbeachievedinminuteswithAMS,whichisfarquickerthanwouldbeachievablewiththeolder
technology.[52]

Betacounting
Libby'sfirstdetectorwasaGeigercounterofhisowndesign.Heconvertedthecarboninhissampleto
lampblack(soot)andcoatedtheinnersurfaceofacylinderwithit.Thiscylinderwasinsertedintothe
counterinsuchawaythatthecountingwirewasinsidethesamplecylinder,inorderthatthereshouldbeno
materialbetweenthesampleandthewire.[45]Anyinterposingmaterialwouldhaveinterferedwiththe
14
detectionofradioactivity,sincethebetaparticlesemittedbydecaying Caresoweakthathalfarestopped
bya0.01mmthicknessofaluminium.[46]
Libby'smethodwassoonsupersededbygasproportionalcounters,whichwerelessaffectedbybomb
14
carbon(theadditional Ccreatedbynuclearweaponstesting).Thesecountersrecordburstsofionization
14
causedbythebetaparticlesemittedbythedecaying Catomstheburstsareproportionaltotheenergyof
theparticle,soothersourcesofionization,suchasbackgroundradiation,canbeidentifiedandignored.The
countersaresurroundedbyleadorsteelshielding,toeliminatebackgroundradiationandtoreducethe
incidenceofcosmicrays.Inaddition,anticoincidencedetectorsareusedtheserecordeventsoutsidethe
counter,andanyeventrecordedsimultaneouslybothinsideandoutsidethecounterisregardedasan
extraneouseventandignored.[46]
14

Theothercommontechnologyusedformeasuring Cactivityisliquidscintillationcounting,whichwas
inventedin1950,butwhichhadtowaituntiltheearly1960s,whenefficientmethodsofbenzenesynthesis
weredeveloped,tobecomecompetitivewithgascountingafter1970liquidcountersbecamethemore
commontechnologychoicefornewlyconstructeddatinglaboratories.Thecountersworkbydetecting

14

flashesoflightcausedbythebetaparticlesemittedby Castheyinteractwithafluorescingagentaddedto
thebenzene.Likegascounters,liquidscintillationcountersrequireshieldingandanticoincidence
counters.[53][54]
Forboththegasproportionalcounterandliquidscintillationcounter,whatismeasuredisthenumberof
betaparticlesdetectedinagiventimeperiod.Sincethemassofthesampleisknown,thiscanbeconverted
toastandardmeasureofactivityinunitsofeithercountsperminutepergramofcarbon(cpm/gC),or
becquerelsperkg(Bq/kgC,inSIunits).Eachmeasuringdeviceisalsousedtomeasuretheactivityofa
blanksampleasamplepreparedfromcarbonoldenoughtohavenoactivity.Thisprovidesavalueforthe
backgroundradiation,whichmustbesubtractedfromthemeasuredactivityofthesamplebeingdatedtoget
14
theactivityattributablesolelytothatsample's C.Inaddition,asamplewithastandardactivityis
measured,toprovideabaselineforcomparison.[55]

Acceleratormassspectrometry
14

12

AMScountstheatomsof Cand Cin

14 12
agivensample,determiningthe C/ C
ratiodirectly.Thesample,ofteninthe
formofgraphite,ismadetoemitC
ions(carbonatomswithasingle
negativecharge),whichareinjectedinto
anaccelerator.Theionsareaccelerated
andpassedthroughastripper,which
removesseveralelectronssothatthe
Simplifiedschematiclayoutofanacceleratormassspectrometerused
ionsemergewithapositivecharge.The
forcountingcarbonisotopesforcarbondating
3+
C ionsarethenpassedthrougha
magnetthatcurvestheirpaththeheavierionsarecurvedlessthanthelighterones,sothedifferentisotopes
14
emergeasseparatestreamsofions.Aparticledetectorthenrecordsthenumberofionsdetectedinthe C
12
13
stream,butsincethevolumeof C(and C,neededforcalibration)istoogreatforindividualion
detection,countsaredeterminedbymeasuringtheelectriccurrentcreatedinaFaradaycup.[56]SomeAMS
facilitiesarealsoabletoevaluateasample'sfractionation,anotherpieceofdatanecessaryforcalculating
thesample'sradiocarbonage.[57]
TheuseofAMS,asopposedtosimplerformsofmassspectrometry,isnecessarybecauseoftheneedto
14
distinguishthecarbonisotopesfromotheratomsormoleculesthatareverycloseinmass,suchas Nand
13
CH.[45]Aswithbetacounting,bothblanksamplesandstandardsamplesareused.[56]Twodifferentkinds
ofblankmaybemeasured:asampleofdeadcarbonthathasundergonenochemicalprocessing,todetect
anymachinebackground,andasampleknownasaprocessblankmadefromdeadcarbonthatisprocessed
14
intotargetmaterialinexactlythesamewayasthesamplewhichisbeingdated.Any Csignalfromthe
machinebackgroundblankislikelytobecausedeitherbybeamsofionsthathavenotfollowedthe
12

13

14

expectedpathinsidethedetector,orbycarbonhydridessuchas CH2or CH.A Csignalfromthe

processblankmeasurestheamountofcontaminationintroducedduringthepreparationofthesample.
Thesemeasurementsareusedinthesubsequentcalculationoftheageofthesample.[58]

Calculations
Thecalculationstobeperformedonthemeasurementstakendependonthetechnologyused,sincebeta
countersmeasurethesample'sradioactivitywhereasAMSdeterminestheratioofthethreedifferentcarbon
isotopesinthesample.[58]
Todeterminetheageofasamplewhoseactivityhasbeenmeasuredbybetacounting,theratioofits
activitytotheactivityofthestandardmustbefound.Todeterminethis,ablanksample(ofold,ordead,
carbon)ismeasured,andasampleofknownactivityismeasured.Theadditionalsamplesallowerrorssuch
asbackgroundradiationandsystematicerrorsinthelaboratorysetuptobedetectedandcorrectedfor.[55]
Themostcommonstandardsamplematerialisoxalicacid,suchastheHOxIIstandard,1,000lbofwhich
waspreparedbyNISTin1977fromFrenchbeetharvests.[59][60]
12

13

14

TheresultsfromAMStestingareintheformofratiosof C, C,and C,whichareusedtocalculateFm,

14 12
14 12
the"fractionmodern".Thisisdefinedastheratiobetweenthe C/ Cratiointhesampleandthe C/ C
14 12
ratioinmoderncarbon,whichisinturndefinedasthe C/ Cratiothatwouldhavebeenmeasuredin1950
hadtherebeennofossilfueleffect.[58]
BothbetacountingandAMSresultshavetobecorrectedforfractionation.Thisisnecessarybecause
14 12
differentmaterialsofthesameage,whichbecauseoffractionationhavenaturallydifferent C/ Cratios,
14 12
willappeartobeofdifferentagesbecausethe C/ Cratioistakenastheindicatorofage.Toavoidthis,
allradiocarbonmeasurementsareconvertedtothemeasurementthatwouldhavebeenseenhadthesample
13
beenmadeofwood,whichhasaknown Cvalueof25.[15]
14

12

Oncethecorrected C/ Cratioisknown,a"radiocarbonage"iscalculatedusing:[61]

ThecalculationusesLibby'shalflifeof5,568years,notthemoreaccuratemodernvalueof5,730years.
Libbysvalueforthehalflifeisusedtomaintainconsistencywithearlyradiocarbontestingresults
calibrationcurvesincludeacorrectionforthis,sotheaccuracyoffinalreportedcalendaragesisassured.[61]

Errorsandreliability
Thereliabilityoftheresultscanbeimprovedbylengtheningthetestingtime.Forexample,ifcountingbeta
decaysfor250minutesisenoughtogiveanerrorof80years,with68%confidence,thendoublingthe
14
countingtimeto500minuteswillallowasamplewithonlyhalfasmuch Ctobemeasuredwiththesame
errortermof80years.[62]
Radiocarbondatingisgenerallylimitedtodatingsamplesnomorethan50,000yearsold,assamplesolder
14
thanthathaveinsufficient Ctobemeasurable.Olderdateshavebeenobtainedbyusingspecialsample
preparationtechniques,largesamples,andverylongmeasurementtimes.Thesetechniquescanallowdates
upto60,000andinsomecasesupto75,000yearsbeforethepresenttobemeasured.[50]

Radiocarbondatesaregenerallypresentedwitharangeofonestandarddeviation(usuallyrepresentedby
theGreeklettersigma:)oneithersideofthemean.Thisobscuresthefactthatthetrueageoftheobject
beingmeasuredmaylieoutsidetherangeofdatesquoted.Thiswasdemonstratedin1970byanexperiment
runbytheBritishMuseumradiocarbonlaboratory,inwhichweeklymeasurementsweretakenonthesame
sampleforsixmonths.Theresultsvariedwidely(thoughconsistentlywithanormaldistributionoferrorsin
themeasurements),andincludedmultipledateranges(of1confidence)thatdidnotoverlapwitheach
other.Theextrememeasurementsincludedonewithamaximumageofunder4,400years,andanotherwith
aminimumageofmorethan4,500years.[63]
Errorsinprocedurecanalsoleadtoerrorsintheresults.If1%ofthebenzeneinamodernreferencesample
accidentallyevaporates,scintillationcountingwillgivearadiocarbonagethatistooyoungbyabout80
years.[64]

Calibration
Thecalculationsgivenaboveproducedatesinradiocarbonyears:
14 12
i.e.datesthatrepresenttheagethesamplewouldbeifthe C/ C
ratiohadbeenconstanthistorically.[65]AlthoughLibbyhadpointed
outasearlyas1955thepossibilitythatthisassumptionwas
incorrect,itwasnotuntildiscrepanciesbegantoaccumulate
betweenmeasuredagesandknownhistoricaldatesforartefactsthat
itbecameclearthatacorrectionwouldneedtobeappliedto
radiocarbonagestoobtaincalendardates.[66]
Thestumpofaveryoldbristlecone
pine.Treeringsfromthesetrees
(amongothers)areusedinbuilding
calibrationcurves.

Toproduceacurvethatcanbeusedtorelatecalendaryearsto
radiocarbonyears,asequenceofsecurelydatedsamplesisneeded
whichcanbetestedtodeterminetheirradiocarbonage.Thestudyof
treeringsledtothefirstsuchsequence:individualpiecesofwood
showcharacteristicsequencesofringsthatvaryinthicknessbecause
ofenvironmentalfactorssuchastheamountofrainfallinagivenyear.Thesefactorsaffectalltreesinan
area,soexaminingtreeringsequencesfromoldwoodallowstheidentificationofoverlappingsequences.
Inthisway,anuninterruptedsequenceoftreeringscanbeextendedfarintothepast.Thefirstsuch
publishedsequence,basedonbristleconepinetreerings,wascreatedbyWesleyFerguson.[26]HansSuess
usedthisdatatopublishthefirstcalibrationcurveforradiocarbondatingin1967.[24][25][66]Thecurve
showedtwotypesofvariationfromthestraightline:alongtermfluctuationwithaperiodofabout9,000
years,andashortertermvariation,oftenreferredtoas"wiggles",withaperiodofdecades.Suesssaidhe
drewthelineshowingthewigglesby"cosmicschwung",bywhichhemeantthatthevariationswerecaused
byextraterrestrialforces.Itwasunclearforsometimewhetherthewiggleswererealornot,buttheyare
nowwellestablished.[24][25][67]Theseshorttermfluctuationsinthecalibrationcurvearenowknownasde
Vrieseffects,afterHesseldeVries.[68]
Acalibrationcurveisusedbytakingtheradiocarbondatereportedbyalaboratory,andreadingacrossfrom
thatdateontheverticalaxisofthegraph.Thepointwherethishorizontallineintersectsthecurvewillgive
thecalendarageofthesampleonthehorizontalaxis.Thisisthereverseofthewaythecurveisconstructed:
apointonthegraphisderivedfromasampleofknownage,suchasatreeringwhenitistested,the
resultingradiocarbonagegivesadatapointforthegraph.[28]

Overthenextthirtyyearsmanycalibrationcurveswerepublished
usingavarietyofmethodsandstatisticalapproaches.[28]Thesewere
supersededbytheINTCALseriesofcurves,beginningwith
INTCAL98,publishedin1998,andupdatedin2004,2009,and
2013.Theimprovementstothesecurvesarebasedonnewdata
gatheredfromtreerings,varves,coral,plantmacrofossils,
speleothems,andforaminifera.TheINTCAL13dataincludes
separatecurvesforthenorthernandsouthernhemispheres,asthey
differsystematicallybecauseofthehemisphereeffectthereisalso
aseparatemarinecalibrationcurve.[69]Forasetofsampleswitha
knownsequenceandseparationintimesuchasasequenceoftree
rings,thesamples'radiocarbonagesformasmallsubsetofthe
TheNorthernhemispherecurvefrom
calibrationcurve.Theresultingcurvecanthenbematchedtothe
INTCAL13.Asof2014thisisthe
actualcalibrationcurvebyidentifyingwhere,intherangesuggested
mostrecentversionofthestandard
bytheradiocarbondates,thewigglesinthecalibrationcurvebest
calibrationcurve.Thediagonalline
matchthewigglesinthecurveofsampledates.This"wiggle
showswherethecurvewouldlieif
matching"techniquecanleadtomoreprecisedatingthanispossible
radiocarbonagesandcalendarages
[70]
withindividualradiocarbondates. Wigglematchingcanbeused
werethesame. [27]
inplaceswherethereisaplateauonthecalibrationcurve,andhence
canprovideamuchmoreaccuratedatethantheinterceptor
probabilitymethodsareabletoproduce.[71]Thetechniqueisnotrestrictedtotreeringsforexample,a
stratifiedtephrasequenceinNewZealand,knowntopredatehumancolonizationoftheislands,hasbeen
datedto1314AD12yearsbywigglematching.[72]Thewigglesalsomeanthatreadingadatefroma
calibrationcurvecangivemorethanoneanswer:thisoccurswhenthecurvewigglesupanddownenough
thattheradiocarbonageinterceptsthecurveinmorethanoneplace,whichmayleadtoaradiocarbonresult
beingreportedastwoseparateageranges,correspondingtothetwopartsofthecurvethattheradiocarbon
ageintercepted.[28]
Bayesianstatisticaltechniquescanbeappliedwhenthereareseveralradiocarbondatestobecalibrated.For
example,ifaseriesofradiocarbondatesistakenfromdifferentlevelsinagivenstratigraphicsequence,
Bayesiananalysiscanhelpdetermineifsomeofthedatesshouldbediscardedasanomalies,andcanusethe
informationtoimprovetheoutputprobabilitydistributions.[70]WhenBayesiananalysiswasintroduced,its
usewaslimitedbytheneedtousemainframecomputerstoperformthecalculations,butthetechniquehas
sincebeenimplementedonprogramsavailableforpersonalcomputers,suchasOxCal.[73]

Reportingdates
Severalformatsforcitingradiocarbonresultshavebeenusedsincethefirstsamplesweredated.Asof
2014,thestandardformatrequiredbythejournalRadiocarbonisasfollows.[74]
14

Uncalibrateddatesshouldbereportedas"<laboratory>:< Cyear><range>BP",where:
<laboratory>identifiesthelaboratorythattestedthesample,andthesampleID
14
< Cyear>isthelaboratory'sdeterminationoftheageofthesample,inradiocarbonyears
<range>isthelaboratory'sestimateoftheerrorintheage,at1confidence.
BPstandsfor"beforepresent",referringtoareferencedateof1950,sothat500BPmeanstheyear

1450AD.
Forexample,theuncalibrateddate"UtC2020:351060BP"indicatesthatthesamplewastestedbythe
UtrechtvanderGraafLaboratorium,whereithasasamplenumberof2020,andthattheuncalibratedageis
3510yearsbeforepresent,60years.Relatedformsaresometimesused:forexample,"10kaBP"means
14
10,000radiocarbonyearsbeforepresent(i.e.8,050BC),and CyrBPmightbeusedtodistinguishthe
uncalibrateddatefromadatederivedfromanotherdatingmethodsuchasthermoluminescence.[74]
14

Calibrated CdatesarefrequentlyreportedascalBP,calBC,orcalAD,againwithBPreferringtothe
year1950asthezerodate.[75]Radiocarbongivestwooptionsforreportingcalibrateddates.Acommon
formatis"cal<daterange><confidence>",where:
<daterange>istherangeofdatescorrespondingtothegivenconfidencelevel
<confidence>indicatestheconfidencelevelforthegivendaterange.
Forexample,"cal12201281AD(1)"meansacalibrateddateforwhichthetruedateliesbetween1220
ADand1281AD,withtheconfidencelevelgivenas1,oronestandarddeviation.Calibrateddatescan
alsobeexpressedasBPinsteadofusingBCandAD.Thecurveusedtocalibratetheresultsshouldbethe
latestavailableINTCALcurve.Calibrateddatesshouldalsoidentifyanyprograms,suchasOxCal,usedto
performthecalibration.[74]Inaddition,anarticleinRadiocarbonin2014aboutradiocarbondatereporting
conventionsrecommendsthatinformationshouldbeprovidedaboutsampletreatment,includingthesample
material,pretreatmentmethods,andqualitycontrolmeasurementsthatthecitationtothesoftwareusedfor
calibrationshouldspecifytheversionnumberandanyoptionsormodelsusedandthatthecalibrateddate
shouldbegivenwiththeassociatedprobabilitiesforeachrange.[76]

Useinarchaeology
Interpretation
Akeyconceptininterpretingradiocarbondatesisarchaeologicalassociation:whatisthetruerelationship
betweentwoormoreobjectsatanarchaeologicalsite?Itfrequentlyhappensthatasampleforradiocarbon
datingcanbetakendirectlyfromtheobjectofinterest,buttherearealsomanycaseswherethisisnot
possible.Metalgravegoods,forexample,cannotberadiocarbondated,buttheymaybefoundinagrave
withacoffin,charcoal,orothermaterialwhichcanbeassumedtohavebeendepositedatthesametime.In
thesecasesadateforthecoffinorcharcoalisindicativeofthedateofdepositionofthegravegoods,
becauseofthedirectfunctionalrelationshipbetweenthetwo.Therearealsocaseswherethereisno
functionalrelationship,buttheassociationisreasonablystrong:forexample,alayerofcharcoalina
rubbishpitprovidesadatewhichhasarelationshiptotherubbishpit.[77]
Contaminationisofparticularconcernwhendatingveryoldmaterialobtainedfromarchaeological
excavationsandgreatcareisneededinthespecimenselectionandpreparation.In2014,TomHighamand
coworkerssuggestedthatmanyofthedatespublishedforNeanderthalartefactsaretoorecentbecauseof
contaminationby"youngcarbon".[78]
Asatreegrows,onlytheoutermosttreeringexchangescarbonwithitsenvironment,sotheagemeasured
forawoodsampledependsonwherethesampleistakenfrom.Thismeansthatradiocarbondatesonwood
samplescanbeolderthanthedateatwhichthetreewasfelled.Inaddition,ifapieceofwoodisusedfor

multiplepurposes,theremaybeasignificantdelaybetweenthefellingofthetreeandthefinaluseinthe
contextinwhichitisfound.[79]Thisisoftenreferredtoasthe"oldwood"problem.[5]Oneexampleisthe
BronzeAgetrackwayatWithyBedCopse,inEnglandthetrackwaywasbuiltfromwoodthathadclearly
beenworkedforotherpurposesbeforebeingreusedinthetrackway.Anotherexampleisdriftwood,which
maybeusedasconstructionmaterial.Itisnotalwayspossibletorecognizereuse.Othermaterialscan
presentthesameproblem:forexample,bitumenisknowntohavebeenusedbysomeNeolithic
communitiestowaterproofbasketsthebitumen'sradiocarbonagewillbegreaterthanismeasurablebythe
laboratory,regardlessoftheactualageofthecontext,sotestingthebasketmaterialwillgiveamisleading
ageifcareisnottaken.Aseparateissue,relatedtoreuse,isthatoflengthyuse,ordelayeddeposition.For
example,awoodenobjectthatremainsinuseforalengthyperiodwillhaveanapparentagegreaterthan
theactualageofthecontextinwhichitisdeposited.[79]

Notableapplications
Pleistocene/HoloceneboundaryinTwoCreeksFossilForest
ThePleistoceneisageologicalepochthatbeganabout2.6millionyearsago.TheHolocene,thecurrent
geologicalepoch,beginsabout11,700yearsago,whenthePleistoceneends.[80]Establishingthedateof
thisboundarywhichisdefinedbysharpclimaticwarmingasaccuratelyaspossiblehasbeenagoalof
geologistsformuchofthe20thcentury.[80][81]AtTwoCreeks,inWisconsin,afossilforestwasdiscovered
(TwoCreeksBuriedForestStateNaturalArea),andsubsequentresearchdeterminedthatthedestructionof
theforestwascausedbytheValdersicereadvance,thelastsouthwardmovementoficebeforetheendof
thePleistoceneinthatarea.Beforetheadventofradiocarbondating,thefossilizedtreeshadbeendatedby
correlatingsequencesofannuallydepositedlayersofsedimentatTwoCreekswithsequencesin
Scandinavia.Thisledtoestimatesthatthetreeswerebetween24,000and19,000yearsold,[80]andhence
thiswastakentobethedateofthelastadvanceoftheWisconsinglaciationbeforeitsfinalretreatmarked
theendofthePleistoceneinNorthAmerica.[82]In1952Libbypublishedradiocarbondatesforseveral
samplesfromtheTwoCreekssiteandtwosimilarsitesnearbythedateswereaveragedto11,404BPwith
astandarderrorof350years.Thisresultwasuncalibrated,astheneedforcalibrationofradiocarbonages
wasnotyetunderstood.Furtherresultsoverthenextdecadesupportedanaveragedateof11,350BP,with
theresultsthoughttobemostaccurateaveraging11,600BP.Therewasinitialresistancetotheseresultson
thepartofErnstAntevs,thepalaeobotanistwhohadworkedontheScandinavianvarveseries,buthis
objectionswereeventuallydiscountedbyothergeologists.Inthe1990ssamplesweretestedwithAMS,
yielding(uncalibrated)datesrangingfrom11,640BPto11,800BP,bothwithastandarderrorof160years.
Subsequentlyasamplefromthefossilforestwasusedinaninterlaboratorytest,withresultsprovidedby
over70laboratories.Thesetestsproducedamedianageof11,7888BP(2confidence)whichwhen
calibratedgivesadaterangeof13,730to13,550calBP.[80]TheTwoCreeksradiocarbondatesarenow
regardedasakeyresultindevelopingthemodernunderstandingofNorthAmericanglaciationattheendof
thePleistocene.[82]
DeadSeaScrolls
In1947,scrollswerediscoveredincavesneartheDeadSeathatprovedtocontainwritinginHebrewand
Aramaic,mostofwhicharethoughttohavebeenproducedbytheEssenes,asmallJewishsect.These
scrollsareofgreatsignificanceinthestudyofBiblicaltextsbecausemanyofthemcontaintheearliest

knownversionofbooksoftheHebrewbible.[14]Asampleofthelinenwrappingfromoneofthesescrolls,
theGreatIsaiahScroll,wasincludedinan1955analysisbyLibby,withanestimatedageof1,917200
years.[14][83]Basedonananalysisofthewritingstyle,palaeographicestimatesweremadeoftheageof21
ofthescrolls,andsamplesfrommostofthese,alongwithother
scrollswhichhadnotbeenpalaeographicallydated,weretestedby
twoAMSlaboratoriesinthe1990s.Theresultsrangedinagefrom
theearly4thcenturyBCtothemid4thcenturyAD.Inmanycases
thescrollsweredeterminedtobeolderthanthepalaeographically
determinedage.TheIsaiahscrollwasincludedinthetestingand
wasfoundtohavetwopossibledaterangesata2confidencelevel,
becauseoftheshapeofthecalibrationcurveatthatpoint:thereisa
15%chancethatitdatesfrom355295BC,andan84%chancethat
itdatesfrom21045BC.Subsequentlythesedateswerecriticized
onthegroundsthatbeforethescrollsweretested,theyhadbeen
treatedwithmoderncastoroilinordertomakethewritingeasierto
readitwasarguedthatfailuretoremovethecastoroilsufficiently
wouldhavecausedthedatestobetooyoung.Multiplepapershave
PartoftheGreatIsaiahScroll,oneof
beenpublishedbothsupportingandopposingthecriticism.[14]
theDeadSeaScrolls

Impact
SoonafterthepublicationofLibby's1949paperinScience,radiocarbondatinglaboratorieswerebeing
14
establishedatuniversitiesaroundtheworld,andbytheendofthe1950sthereweremorethan20active C
researchlaboratories.Itwasquicklyapparentthattheprinciplesofradiocarbondatingwerevalid,despite
certaindiscrepancies,thecausesofwhichwerethenunknown.[84]
Thedevelopmentofradiocarbondatinghashadaprofoundimpactonarchaeologyitisoftendescribedas
14
the"radiocarbonrevolution".[85]InthewordsofanthropologistR.E.Taylor," Cdatamadeaworld
prehistorypossiblebycontributingatimescalethattranscendslocal,regionalandcontinentalboundaries".
Itprovidesmoreaccuratedatingwithinsitesthanpreviousmethods,whichwereusuallyderivedfrom
eitherstratigraphyortypologies(e.g.ofstonetoolsorpottery)italsoallowscomparisonand
synchronizationofeventsacrossgreatdistances.Theadventofradiocarbondatingmayevenhaveledto
betterfieldmethodsinarchaeology,sincebetterdatarecordingleadstofirmerassociationofobjectswith
thesamplestobetested.Theseimprovedfieldmethodsweresometimesmotivatedbyattemptstoprove
14
thata Cdatewasincorrect.Tayloralsosuggeststhattheavailabilityofdefinitedateinformationfreed
archaeologistsfromtheneedtofocussomuchoftheirenergyondeterminingthedatesoftheirfinds,and
ledtoanexpansionofthequestionsarchaeologistswerewillingtoresearch.Forexample,questionsabout
theevolutionofhumanbehaviourweremuchmorefrequentlyseeninarchaeology,beginninginthe
1970s.[86]
Thedatingframeworkprovidedbyradiocarbonledtoachangeintheprevailingviewofhowinnovations
spreadthroughprehistoricEurope.Ithadpreviouslybeenthoughtthatmanyideasspreadbydiffusion
throughthecontinent,orbyinvasionsofpeoplesbringingnewculturalideaswiththem.Asradiocarbon
datesbegantoprovetheseideaswronginmanyinstances,itbecameapparentthattheseinnovationsmust
sometimeshavearisenlocally.Thishasbeendescribedasa"secondradiocarbonrevolution",andwith
regardtoBritishprehistory,archaeologistRichardAtkinsonhascharacterizedtheimpactofradiocarbon

datingas"radical...therapy"forthe"progressivediseaseofinvasionism".Morebroadly,thesuccessof
radiocarbondatingstimulatedinterestinanalyticalandstatisticalapproachestoarchaeologicaldata.[86]
TaylorhasalsodescribedtheimpactofAMS,andtheabilitytoobtainaccuratemeasurementsfromvery
smallsamples,asusheringinathirdradiocarbonrevolution.[87]
Occasionally,radiocarbondatingtechniquesareusedtodateanobjectofpopularinterest.Anexampleis
theShroudofTurin,apieceoflinencloththoughtbysometobearanimageofJesusChristafterhis
crucifixion.TheShroudofTurinwastestedin1988theresults,fromthreeseparatelaboratories,datedthe
sampleoflinentestedtothe14thcentury,raisingdoubtsabouttheshroud'sauthenticity.[1]
Otherradioactiveisotopescreatedbycosmicrayshavebeenstudiedtodetermineiftheycouldalsobeused
3
10
21
26
36
toassistindatingobjectsofarchaeologicalinteresttheyinclude He, Be, Ne, Al,and Cl.Withthe
developmentofAMSinthe1980sitbecamepossibletomeasuretheseisotopespreciselyenoughforthem
tobethebasisofusefuldatingtechniques,whichhavebeenprimarilyappliedtodatingrocks.[88]Naturally
occurringradioactiveisotopescanalsoformthebasisofdatingmethods:thisisthecasewithpotassium
argondating,argonargondating,anduraniumseriesdating.[89]Otherdatingtechniquesofinterestto
archaeologistsincludethermoluminescence,opticallystimulatedluminescence,electronspinresonance
dating,andfissiontrackdating,aswellastechniquesthatdependonannualbandsorlayers,suchas
dendrochronology,tephrochronology,andvarvechronology.[90]

Notes
1. Themeanlifeandhalflifearerelatedbythefollowingequation:[5]

2. Theterm"conventionalradiocarbonage"isalsoused.Thedefinitionofaradiocarbonyearsisasfollows:theage
iscalculatedbyusingthefollowingstandards:a)usingtheLibbyhalflifeof5568years,ratherthanthecurrently
acceptedactualhalflifeof5730years(b)theuseofanNISTstandardknownasHOxIItodefinetheactivityof
radiocarbonin1950(c)theuseof1950asthedatefromwhichyears"beforepresent"arecounted(d)a
14 12
correctionforfractionation,basedonastandardisotoperatio,and(e)theassumptionthatthe C/ Cratiohas
notchangedovertime.[17]
3. Thedataoncarbonpercentagesineachpartofthereservoirisdrawnfromanestimateofreservoircarbonforthe
mid1990sestimatesofcarbondistributionduringpreindustrialtimesaresignificantlydifferent.[18]
4. Theageonlyappearstobe440yearsonceacorrectionforfractionationismade.Thiseffectisaccountedfor
duringcalibrationbyusingadifferentmarinecalibrationcurvewithoutthiscurve,modernmarinelifewould
appeartobe440yearsoldwhenradiocarbondated.
5. "PDB"standsfor"PeeDeeBelemnite",afossilfromthePeeDeeformationinSouthCarolina.[35]
6. ThePDBvalueis11.2372.[36]

References
1. Currie,LloydA.(2004)."TheremarkablemetrologicalhistoryofradiocarbondatingII".JournalofResearchof
theNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology109:185217.doi:10.6028/jres.109.013
(https://dx.doi.org/10.6028%2Fjres.109.013).
2. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.265.
3. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.268.
4. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.269.

4. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.269.
5. Bowman(1995),pp.915.
6. Libby,W.F.(1946)."Atmosphericheliumthreeandradiocarbonfromcosmicradiation".PhysicsReview69(11
12):671672.Bibcode:1946PhRv...69..671L(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1946PhRv...69..671L).
doi:10.1103/PhysRev.69.671.2(https://dx.doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRev.69.671.2).
7. Anderson,E.C.Libby,W.F.Weinhouse,S.Reid,A.F.Kirshenbaum,A.D.Grosse,A.V.(1947).
"Radiocarbonfromcosmicradiation".Science105(2765):576577.Bibcode:1947Sci...105..576A
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1947Sci...105..576A).doi:10.1126/science.105.2735.576
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.105.2735.576).
8. Arnold,J.R.Libby,W.F.(1949)."Agedeterminationsbyradiocarboncontent:checkswithsamplesofknown
age"(http://hbar.phys.msu.ru/gorm/fomenko/libby.htm).Science110(2869):678680.
Bibcode:1949Sci...110..678A(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1949Sci...110..678A).
doi:10.1126/science.110.2869.678(https://dx.doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.110.2869.678).JSTOR1677049
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/1677049).PMID15407879(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15407879).
9. Aitken(1990),pp.6061.
10. Bianchi&Canuel(2011),p.35.
11. Aitken(1990),pp.5658.
12. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.33.
13. Aitken(1990),p.59.
14. Aitken(1990),pp.6166.
15. Aitken(1990),pp.9295.
16. Bowman(1995),p.42.
17. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.2627.
18. Post(2001)pp.128129.
19. Aitken(2003),p.506.
20. Warneck(2000),p.690.
21. Ferronsky&Polyakov(2012),p.372.
22. Bowman(1995),pp.2427.
23. Cronin(2010),p.35.
24. Bowman(1995),pp.1620.
25. Suess(1970),p.303.
26. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.5052.
27. Reimer,PaulaJ.etal.(2013)."IntCal13andMarine13radiocarbonagecalibrationcurves050,000yearscal
BP"(https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/16947).Radiocarbon55:18691887.
doi:10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947(https://dx.doi.org/10.2458%2Fazu_js_rc.55.16947).
28. Bowman(1995),pp.4349.
14
29. "Atmospheric CrecordfromWellington"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20140201222225/http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/welling.html).CarbonDioxide
InformationAnalysisCenter.Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/welling.html)on1
February2014.Retrieved1May2008.
14

30. " CO2recordfromVermunt"(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/centverm.html).CarbonDioxide

InformationAnalysisCenter.Retrieved1May2008.
31. Aitken(1990),pp.7172.
32. "TreatyBanningNuclearWeaponTestsintheAtmosphere,inOuterSpaceandUnderWater"
(http://www.state.gov/t/isn/4797.htm).USDepartmentofState.Retrieved2February2015.
33. Bowman(1995),pp.2023.
34. Maslin&Swann(2006),p.246.
35. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.125.
36. Dass(2007),p.276.
37. Schoeninger(2010),p.446.
38. Libby(1965),p.6.
39. Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.7475.
40. Aitken(1990),pp.8586.
41. Bowman(1995),pp.2730.

41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.

79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.

Bowman(1995),pp.2730.
Aitken(1990),pp.8689.
ilar(2004),p.166.
Bowman(1995),pp.3742.
Bowman(1995),pp.3137.
Aitken(1990),pp.7678.
Trumbore(1996),p.318.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.103104.
Walker(2005),p.20.
Walker(2005),p.23.
Killick(2014),p.166.
Malainey(2010),p.96.
Theodrsson(1996),p.24.
L'Annunziata&Kessler(2012),p.424.
ErikssonStenstrmetal.(2011),p.3.
Aitken(1990),pp.8285.
Tuniz,Zoppi&Barbetti(2004),p.395.
McNichol,A.P.Jull,A.T.S.Burr,G.S.(2001)."ConvertingAMSdatatoradiocarbonvalues:considerations
andconventions"(https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/3969/3394).Radiocarbon
43:313320.
Terasmae(1984),p.5.
L'Annunziata(2007),p.528.
"RadiocarbonDataCalculations:NOSAMS"(http://www.whoi.edu/nosams/page.do?pid=40146).WoodsHole
OceanographicInstitution.2007.Retrieved27August2013.
Bowman(1995),pp.3839.
Taylor(1987),pp.125126.
Bowman(1995),pp.4041.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.155.
Aitken(1990),p.6667.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.59.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.5354.
14
14
Stuiver,M.Braziunas,T.F.(1993)."Modellingatmospheric Cinfluencesand Cagesofmarinesamplesto
10,000BC"(https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/1558/1562).Radiocarbon35
(1):137189.
Walker(2005),pp.3537.
Aitken(1990),pp.103105.
Walker(2005),pp.207209.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.148149.
"Radiocarbon:InformationforAuthors"(http://www.radiocarbon.org/Authors/authorinfo.pdf)(PDF).
Radiocarbon.UniversityofArizona.May25,2011.pp.57.Retrieved1January2014.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.29.
Millard,AndrewR.(2014)."ConventionsforReportingRadiocarbonDeterminations"
(https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/17455).Radiocarbon56(2):555559.
doi:10.2458/56.17455(https://dx.doi.org/10.2458%2F56.17455).
Mook&Waterbolk(1985),pp.4849.
Higham,T.etal.(2014)."ThetimingandspatiotemporalpatterningofNeanderthaldisappearance".Nature512
(7514):306309.Bibcode:2014Natur.512..306H(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Natur.512..306H).
doi:10.1038/nature13621(https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature13621).PMID25143113
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25143113).
Bowman(1995),pp.5354.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),pp.3437.
Bousman&Vierra(2012),p.4.
Macdougall(2008),pp.9495.
Libby(1965),p.84.
Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.288.

84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.

Taylor&BarYosef(2014),p.288.
Taylor(1997),p.70.
Taylor(1987),pp.143146.
Renfrew(2014),p.13.
Walker(2005),pp.7779.
Walker(2005),pp.5777.
Walker(2005),pp.93162.

Sources
Aitken,M.J.(1990).SciencebasedDatinginArchaeology.London:Longman.ISBN0582493099.
Aitken,MartinJ.(2003)."RadiocarbonDating".InEllis,Linda.ArchaeologicalMethodandTheory.
NewYork:GarlandPublishing.pp.505508.
Bianchi,ThomasS.Canuel,ElizabethA.(2011).ChemicalMarkersinAquaticEcosystems.
Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress.ISBN9780691134147.
Bousman,C.BrittVierra,BradleyJ.(2012)."Chronology,EnvironmentalSetting,andViewsofthe
TerminalPleistoceneandEarlyHoloceneCulturalTransitionsinNorthAmerica".InBousman,C.
BrittVierra,BradleyJ.FromthePleistocenetotheHolocene:HumanOrganizationandCultural
TransformationsinPrehistoricNorthAmerica.CollegeStation,Texas:TexasA&MUniversity
Press.pp.115.ISBN9781603447607.
Bowman,Sheridan(1995)[1990].RadiocarbonDating.London:BritishMuseumPress.ISBN0
714120472.
Cronin,ThomasM.(2010).Paleoclimates:UnderstandingClimateChangePastandPresent.New
York:ColumbiaUniversityPress.ISBN9780231144940.
Dass,Chhabil(2007).FundamentalsofContemporaryMassSpectrometry.Hoboken,NewJersey:
JohnWiley&Sons.ISBN9780471682295.
ErikssonStenstrm,KristinaSkog,GranGeorgiadou,ElisavetGenberg,JohanJohansson,Anette
(2011).Aguidetoradiocarbonunitsandcalculations(http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?
func=downloadFile&recordOId=2173656&fileOId=2173661).Lund:LundUniversity.
Ferronsky,V.I.Polyakov,V.A.(2012).IsotopesoftheEarth'sHydrosphere.NewYork:Springer.
ISBN9789400728554.
Killick,David(2014)."Usingevidencefromnaturalsciencesinarchaeology".InChapman,Robert
Alison,Wylie.MaterialEvidence:LearningFromArchaeologicalPractice.Abingdon,UK:
Routledge.pp.159172.ISBN9780415837453.
L'Annunziata,MichaelF.(2007).Radioactivity:IntroductionandHistory.Amsterdam:Elsevier.
ISBN9780444527158.
L'Annunziata,MichaelF.Kessler,MichaelJ.(2012)."Liquidscintillationanalysis:principlesand
practice".InL'Annunziata,MichaelF.HandbookofRadioactivityAnalysis(3rded.).Oxford:
AcademicPress.pp.423573.ISBN9780123848734.
Libby,WillardF.(1965)[1952].RadiocarbonDating(2nd(1955)ed.).Chicago:Phoenix.
Macdougall,Doug(2008).Nature'sClocks:HowScientistsMeasuretheAgeofAlmostEverything.
Berkeley,California:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.ISBN9780520249752.
Malainey,MaryE.(2010).AConsumer'sGuidetoArchaeologicalScience.NewYork:Springer.
ISBN9781441957047.
Maslin,MarkA.Swann,GeorgeE.A.(2006)."Isotopesinmarinesediments".InLeng,MelanieJ.
IsotopesinPalaeoenvironmentalResearch.Dordrecht:Springer.pp.227290.ISBN97814020
25037.
Mook,W.G.Waterbolk,H.T.(1985).HandbooksforArchaeologists:No.3:RadiocarbonDating.
Strasbourg:EuropeanScienceFoundation.ISBN2903148449.
Post,WilfredM.(2001)."Carboncycle".InGoudie,AndrewCuff,DavidJ.EncyclopediaofGlobal

Change:EnvironmentalChangeandHumanSociety,Volume1.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
pp.127130.ISBN0195145186.
Renfrew,Colin(2014)."Foreword".InTaylor,R.E.BarYosef,Ofer.RadiocarbonDating.Walnut
Creek,California:LeftCoastPress.pp.1214.ISBN9781598745900.
Schoeninger,MargaretJ.(2010)."Dietreconstructionandecologyusingstableisotoperatios".In
Larsen,ClarkSpencer.ACompaniontoBiologicalAnthropology.Oxford:Blackwell.pp.445464.
ISBN9781405189002.
ilar,Jan(2004)."Applicationofenvironmentalradionuclidesinradiochronology:Radiocarbon".In
Tykva,RichardBerg,Dieter.ManmadeandNaturalRadioactivityinEnvironmentalPollutionand
Radiochronology.Dordrecht:KluwerAcademicPublishers.pp.150179.ISBN1402018606.
Suess,H.E.(1970)."Bristleconepinecalibrationoftheradiocarbontimescale5200B.C.tothe
present".InOlsson,IngridU.RadiocarbonVariationsandAbsoluteChronology.NewYork:John
Wiley&Sons.pp.303311.
Taylor,R.E.(1987).RadiocarbonDating.London:AcademicPress.ISBN0124336639.
Taylor,R.E.(1997)."Radiocarbondating".InTaylor,R.E.Aitken,MartinJ.ChronometricDating
inArchaeology.NewYork:PlenumPress.pp.6597.ISBN0306457156.
Taylor,R.E.BarYosef,Ofer(2014).RadiocarbonDating(2nded.).WalnutCreek,California:Left
CoastPress.ISBN9781598745900.
Terasmae,J.(1984)."Radiocarbondating:someproblemsandpotentialdevelopments".InMahaney,
W.C.QuaternaryDatingMethods.Amsterdam:Elsevier.pp.115.ISBN0444423923.
Theodrsson,Pll(1996).MeasurementofWeakRadioactivity.Singapore:WorldScientific
Publishing.ISBN9810223153.
Trumbore,SusanE.(1996)."Applicationsofacceleratormassspectrometrytosoilscience".In
Boutton,ThomasW.Yamasaki,Shinichi.MassSpectrometryofSoils.NewYork:MarcelDekker.
pp.311340.ISBN0824796993.
Tuniz,C.Zoppi,U.Barbetti,M.(2004)."Radionuclidedatinginarchaeologybyacceleratormass
spectrometry".InMartini,M.Milazzo,M.Piacentini,M.PhysicsMethodsinArchaeometry.
Amsterdam:IOSPress.pp.385405.ISBN9781586034245.
Walker,Mike(2005).QuaternaryDatingMethods
(http://ww2.valdosta.edu/~dmthieme/Geomorph/Walker_2005_QuaternaryDatingMethods.pdf)
(PDF) .Chichester:JohnWiley&Sons.ISBN9780470869277.
Warneck,Peter(2000).ChemistryoftheNaturalAtmosphere.London:AcademicPress.ISBN012
7356320.

Externallinks
14

RADONdatabaseforEuropean Cdates(http://radon.ufg.unikiel.de)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radiocarbon_dating&oldid=670458350"
Categories: Radiometricdating Radioactivity Carbon Isotopesofcarbon Americaninventions
Conservationandrestoration Radiocarbondating
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon8July2015,at02:35.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.