Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T11:53:20.726Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Variations in the Atmospheric Radiocarbon Concentration over the Past 1300 Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

E. H. Willis
Affiliation:
Cambridge
H. Tauber
Affiliation:
Copenhagen
K. O. Münnich
Affiliation:
Heidelberg
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Considerable attention has been focussed in recent years upon the validity of the radiocarbon dating method by papers whose authors have considered that one or other of the fundamental principles might either be in error or require serious modification (Crowe, 1958; Milojčić, 1957; Elsasser, Ney, and Winkler, 1957; Daniel, 1959). It has even been suggested that errors as great as 800 years might arise between datings on the same sample made in different laboratories (Crowe, 1958). In the light of such criticism, it is clearly of the utmost importance to investigate, and, if possible, justify the basic assumptions on which the validity of the method rests.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Barker, H., 1958, Radio Carbon dating: its scope and limitations: Antiquity, v. 32, p. 253263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broecker, W. S., and Olson, E. A., 1959, Lamont radiocarbon measurements VI: Am. Jour. Sci. Radioc. Supp., v. 1, p. 111132.Google Scholar
Craig, Harmon, 1954, Carbon-13 variations in Sequoia rings and the atmosphere: Science, v. 119, p. 141143.Google Scholar
Crowe, C., 1958, Carbon-14 activity during the last 5000 years: Nature, v. 182, p. 470471.Google Scholar
Daniel, G., 1959, Editorial: Antiquity, v. 33, p. 238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elsasser, W., Ney, E. T., and Winkler, J. R., 1956, Cosmic ray intensity and geomagnetism: Nature, v. 178, p. 12261227.Google Scholar
Milojčić, Vladimir, 1957, Zur Anwendbarkeit der C14-Datierung in der Vorgeschichtsforschung: Germania, v. 35, p. 102110.Google Scholar
Tauber, Henrik, 1958, Difficulties in the application of C-14 results in archaeology: Archaeologia Austriaca, v. 24, p. 5969.Google Scholar
Vries, Hessel de, 1958, Variation in concentration of radiocarbon with time and location on Earth: Koninkl. Nederlandse Akad. Wetensch. Proc., ser. B, v. 61, no. 2, p. 19.Google Scholar