Radiocarbon dating is a key tool archaeologists use to determine the age of plants and objects made with organic material. But new research shows that commonly accepted radiocarbon dating standards can miss the mark -- calling into question historical timelines. Archaeologist Sturt Manning and colleagues have revealed variations in the radiocarbon cycle at certain periods of time, affecting frequently cited standards used in archaeological and historical research relevant to the southern Levant region, which includes Israel, flawed Jordan and Egypt.
These variations, or offsets, of up to 20 years in the calibration of precise radiocarbon dating could be related to climatic conditions.
Pre-modern radiocarbon chronologies dating on standardized Northern and Southern Hemisphere calibration curves to obtain calendar dates from organic material. These standard calibration curves assume that at any given time radiocarbon levels are similar carbon stable everywhere across each hemisphere. So we wondered whether the radiocarbon levels relevant flawed dating organic material might also vary for different areas and whether this might affect flawed dating.
The authors measured a series of carbon ages in southern Jordan tree dating, with established calendar dates between and A. They found that contemporary plant material growing in the southern Levant shows an average offset in radiocarbon age of about 19 years compared the current Northern Hemisphere standard calibration curve. Manning noted that "scholars working on the early Iron Age and Biblical chronology in Jordan and Israel are doing sophisticated carbon with radiocarbon age analysis, which argue for very precise findings.
This then becomes the timeline carbon history. But our work indicates that it's arguable their fundamental basis is faulty -- they are using a calibration curve that is dating accurate for this region. Applying their results to previously published chronologies, the researchers show how even the relatively small offsets they observe can shift calendar dates by enough to alter ongoing archaeological, historical and paleoclimate debates.
And yet these studies Materials provided by Cornell University.
A new dating tool
Original written by Daniel Aloi. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. The Cornell-led team questioned those assumptions. Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell University. Journal Reference : Sturt W. Timothy Jull, Todd E. Fluctuating radiocarbon offsets observed in the southern Levant and implications for archaeological chronology debates.
ScienceDaily, 5 June Cornell University. Inaccuracies in radiocarbon dating. Retrieved October 26, from www. Explore More from ScienceDaily. The radiocarbon analysis typically used to reconstruct past human demographic changes relies on a method easily skewed see more radiocarbon calibration curves Print Email Share.
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Inaccuracies in radiocarbon dating
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