In May 1995 an impressive karstic cave possessing dozens of burials dating to the main phase of the Chalcolithic Period (ca. 4500–3500 bce) was discovered in Peqi'in in the high hills of Galilee in northern Israel. It was subsequently excavated over the course of the following months. The large amount of unique ceramic ossuaries and the variety of burial offerings shed light, for the first time, on this critical societal development period in a region where its remains have rarely been found. Although the major significance of the cave is as a mortuary center, it was also utilized in a domestic capacity some centuries previously, during the generally less familiar Early Chalcolithic Period. We present here the dating of 22 14C samples collected from these separate phases of cave use. Their interpretation should aid in understanding of the absolute dating of the Chalcolithic Period and its relation to the period preceding its inception.
The following list consists of dates of archaeological samples, obtained by gas-proportional counting of ethane, between 1985 and the end of 1991. During this time a close cooperation has been established with the Israel Antiquities Authority, which now has an archaeologist (D.S.) participating in the operation of the lab and serving as a liaison officer with the archaeological community.
The accepted state-of-the-art 14C dating method relies on calibration curves to determine initial 14C levels in a sample. The paper reconsiders the basis of 14C dating and offers a possible alternative that eliminates the need to employ calibration curves. The idea is to measure the level of radiogenic nitrogen atoms retained in the sample molecules after 14C β-decay. The practicality of this alternative method still has to be proven.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.