High-Precision <sup>14</sup>C Measurement of German and Irish Oaks to Show the Natural <sup>14</sup>C Variations from 7890 to 5000 BC

Pearson, G. W.; Becker, Bernd; Qua, Florence

doi:10.1017/s0033822200013849

Cited by 77 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…The 11,850-0 cal BP segment was constructed from 14C age measurements reported by the Belfast, Heidelberg, PretorialGroningen and Seattle laboratories (Stuiver, Reimer and Braziunas 1998;Kromer and Spurk 1998;McCormac et al 1998a and b;Pearson, Becker and Qua 1993;Vogel and van der Plicht 1993;Kromer et al 1986). Decadal 14C ages back to 11,614 cal BP were constructed by taking the average 14C age of all samples with cal midpoints within the cal decade.…”

Section: Atmospheric and Marine Intcal98 Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combining these results with those obtained by Belfast for bidecadal samples led to a 20-yr calibration curve which has until now been used for most age calibrations Pearson, Becker and Qua 1993;Stuiver and Reimer 1993 ) Many 14C ages have been determined on dendrodated wood covering only a couple of years. Instead of disregarding these high-precision measurements, we used a different approach for the INTCAL98 calibration curve.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

et al. 1998

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ABSTRACT. The focus of this paper is the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages for the interval 24,000-0 cal BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), based upon a sample set of dendrochronologically dated tree rings, uranium-thorium dated corals, and varve-counted marine sediment. The 14C age-cal age information, produced by many laboratories, is converted to 14C profiles and calibration curves, for the atmosphere as well as the oceans. We discuss offsets in measured 14C ages and the errors therein, regional 14C age differences, tree-coral 14C age comparisons and the time dependence of marine reservoir ages, and evaluate decadal vs. single-year 14C results. Changes in oceanic deepwater circulation, especially for the 16,000-11,000 cal BP interval, are reflected in the A14C values of INTCAL98.

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Section: Atmospheric and Marine Intcal98 Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

et al. 1998

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“…REPLICATE ANALYSIS 1986 TO 1993 Pearson, Becker and give the reason for moving the 1986 Belfast calibration data by ca. 18 yr toward older dates as a variation in measurement efficiency with time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location-Dependent Differences in the ¹⁴C Content of Wood

et al. 1995

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ABSTRACT. The long 14C chronologies currently used as calibration curves combine results from wood that grew in the western United States, the British Isles and Germany. Although these results show few significant differences in the 14t content of contemporaneous wood when averaged over the length of the chronology (i.e., the means of overlapping sections of chronology are the same), closer examination shows considerable variability. Separating the sections of chronology according to the provenance of the wood used for calibration reveals patterns that suggest small but finite differences in the i4C content of wood from different locations. We conclude that there is some evidence that German and American wood give dates older by between 20 and 40 yr from those of Irish oak for some periods. Additionally we suggest that the shift of the Belfast 1986 calibration data by ca. 18 yr toward older dates may not be valid and that the resultant offset between the Belfast 1986 and Seattle 1993 data shows a small but real difference in the 14C content of contemporaneous American, German and Irish wood.Intralaboratory measurements made in Belfast on contemporaneous German and Irish oak, and bristlecone pine and Irish oak, give offsets of 39 and 41 yr, respectively, with the Irish oak dating younger. Previous studies, in which sample pairs of American and English and French wood were processed in the same laboratory, also showed American wood to be slightly depleted in 14C. None of the findings of this study would significantly alter calibrated "C dates.

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“…From the perspective of the 1980s, when the outlines of the M-/L-PPNB transition emerged, this perception was supported by the radiocarbon record. Pre-dating the 1993 extension of the Holocene calibration series of 14 C from German and Irish oaks to 7890 BC (Pearson et al 1993), the majority of discussions had to take place in terms of uncalibrated radiocarbon ages. Given the substantial uncertainties on many of these determinations, the 2-σ measurement uncertainties of the M-PPNB associated radiocarbon samples came to an end around 8500 14 C BP, creating an appearance of a watershed event.…”

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confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Evidence for the Pace of the M-/L-PPNB Transition in 8th Millennium BC Southwest Asia

Jacobsson

2017

Radiocarbon

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Abstract:The transition from the Middle to Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) happened throughout southwest Asia in the mid-8th millennium cal BC. It entailed the abandonment of a number of sites, rapid growth of others, as well as the widespread of morphologically domestic caprines. What remains an unknown is how rapid these processes were in real time. Over the period when the transition was taking place, the calibration curve has two shallow sections divided by a sudden drop, which for many of the older dates creates an illusion of a sudden cultural break around 7600-7500 cal BC. Yet a more detailed study presented in this paper suggests that the transition event could have been spread over a more extended period of time. This, however, is still far from certain due to risks of old wood effects and complexities of site formation. Keywords: Legacy dates, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Bayesian analysisThe tempo of cultural transformations is fundamental to understanding their nature and thus identifying factors that caused (pre)history to follow the specific path it took. When rapid changes take place, corresponding major causal factors, such as abrupt climate change (Childe 1936;Weninger et al. 2009), or a socio-political upheaval (Gebel 2004), have to be invoked and explored. Slower rates of change often imply greater continuity (Harding 2004) and the study of the transitions in question becomes one of tracing the connections in the processes involved. These are basic considerations, but they show that understanding change in prehistory often requires specific chronological resolution and that in turn leads to specific requirements of 14 C chronologies. This paper discusses whether these requirements are fulfilled for the transition from the Middle to Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (M-and L-PPNB), which took place in south-west Asia in the eighth millennium BC. The aim is to look beyond the apparent abruptness of the transition, induced by the shape of the calibration curve, and evaluate whether it is possible to derive good temporal estimates for some of its associated processes. The discussion takes place from a 14 C perspective and makes no assertions as to how the transition might appear from the perspective of other markers, such as lithic technologies. Archaeological background to the M-/L-PPNB transition and effects of the calibration curveThe Neolithic of south-west Asia (mid-tenth to the sixth millennium cal BC) was a period when a number of earlier practices persisted, such as the wide-ranging exchange networks ( Figure 1). Hence the chronological variability on either side of 7500 cal BC was hidden and an impression of an abrupt transition emerged in the 14 C record. While the interpretation in terms of sudden change might be correct, its radiocarbon basis is an artifact of the radiocarbon calibration curve. Assessing the abruptness of the M-/L-PPNB transition: methodologyWith the development of the calibration curve for the eighth millennium cal BC, the increasing number and precision of 14 C determinatio...

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High-Precision ¹⁴C Measurement of German and Irish Oaks to Show the Natural ¹⁴C Variations from 7890 to 5000 BC

Cited by 77 publications

References 9 publications

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

Location-Dependent Differences in the ¹⁴C Content of Wood

Radiocarbon Evidence for the Pace of the M-/L-PPNB Transition in 8th Millennium BC Southwest Asia

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High-Precision 14C Measurement of German and Irish Oaks to Show the Natural 14C Variations from 7890 to 5000 BC

Cited by 77 publications

References 9 publications

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 cal BP

Location-Dependent Differences in the 14C Content of Wood

Radiocarbon Evidence for the Pace of the M-/L-PPNB Transition in 8th Millennium BC Southwest Asia

Contact Info

Product

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High-Precision ¹⁴C Measurement of German and Irish Oaks to Show the Natural ¹⁴C Variations from 7890 to 5000 BC

Location-Dependent Differences in the ¹⁴C Content of Wood