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Calibration of 14C Histograms1: A Comparison of Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ad Stolk ,
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist ,
Kilian P. V. Hekhuis ,
Henk J. A. Berendsen  and
Johannes van der Plicht
Ad Stolk
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Kilian P. V. Hekhuis
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Henk J. A. Berendsen
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Johannes van der Plicht
Affiliation:
Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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Abstract

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The interpretation of 14C histograms is complicated by the non-linearity of the 14C time scale in terms of calendar years, which may result in clustering of 14C ages in certain time intervals unrelated to the (geologic or archaeologic) phenomenon of interest. One can calibrate 14C histograms for such distortions using two basic approaches. The KORHIS method constructs a 14C histogram before calibration is performed by means of a correction factor. We present the CALHIS method based on the Groningen calibration program for individual 14C ages. CALHIS first calibrates single 14C ages and then sums the resulting calibration distributions, thus yielding a calibrated 14C histogram. The individual calibration distributions are normalized to a standard Gaussian distribution before superposition, thus allowing direct comparison among various 14C histograms. Several experiments with test data sets demonstrate that CALHIS produces significantly better results than KORHIS. Although some problems remain (part of the distortions due to 14C variations cannot be eliminated), we show that CALHIS offers good prospects for using 14C histograms, particularly with highly precise and accurate 14C ages.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , 1994 , pp. 1 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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