Radiocarbon Fluctuations During the Third Millennium BC

Abstract

Precision 14C analyses have been performed on samples comprising 1 to 4 annual rings from the south-central European dendrochronologic sequence of sub-fossil oak wood covering the period 1930 to 3100 bc. Apart from a major deviation in the 29th century bc, the 14C fluctuations have amplitudes of ca 10‰ and a possible periodicity of 90 years. A 14C peak at 2190 bc has a rise- and decay-time of <20 years indicating rather abrupt changes in the production rate of 14C. The 14C calibration curve derived from these data can be used for precise dating of the Early Bronze Age in the Near East.

Pretoria Radiocarbon Dates III

“…This intercalibration is at present probably not better that ± 20 yr for most laboratories. In addition, the previously reported difference between 14C dates for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (Lerman, Mook & Vogel, 1970) has recently been confirmed (Vogel et al, 1986) and our best estimate at present is that samples from mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere are ca 30 yr older than those from Europe. Taking both the current values for laboratory calibration and this effect into account, the calibration curve given in Figure 1 has been constructed, and this curve has been used for interpreting the (Jones, 1940;Walker, 1983) and LSA industry.…”

A 426-year floating tree-ring chronology fromPhyllocladus trichomanoidesburied by the Taupo eruption at Pureora, central North Island, New Zealand

“…The widely quoted date of A.D. 131 (Healy et al, 1964) was not adopted because, since it was published much more work has been done on the corrections required to convert 14C ages to true ages derived by dendrochronology (Stuiver and Pearson, 1986;Lerman, Mook and Vogel, 1970;Vogel, Fuls and Visser, 1986). Wilson et al (1980) have proposed a date of A.D. 186, based on historical Roman and Chinese records.…”

Investigating the Interhemispheric 14C Offset in the 1st Millennium AD and Assessment of Laboratory Bias and Calibration Errors

“…This approach was necessarily confined to relatively young samples because of a lack of older dendrochronologically robust Southern Hemisphere data sets. Lerman et al 1970 Northern Patagonia/Europe-North America ∼AD 1835 36 ± 8 Vogel et al 1986 South Africa/Netherlands AD 1840-1890 36 ± 7 Vogel et al 1993 South Some studies wiggle-matched older floating Southern Hemisphere tree-ring data sets against Northern Hemisphere curves, and did not find an interhemispheric offset (e.g. Barbetti et al 1992Barbetti et al , 1995Sparks et al 1995).…”