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Improvement of the Procedure for Probabilistic Calibration of Radiocarbon Dates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Mieczysław F Pazdur  and
Danuta J Michczyńska
Mieczysław F Pazdur
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Silesian Technical University, Krzywoustego 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Danuta J Michczyńska
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Silesian Technical University, Krzywoustego 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland
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Abstract

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A set of computer procedures for probabilistic calibration of 14C dates was developed at the Gliwice Radiocarbon Laboratory for the IBM PC compatible microcomputer. The program comprises three main options: 1) calibration of a single 14C date, 2) calibration of a set of arbitrary dates, 3) calibration of a set of related dates. Results of calibration are presented in the form of graphs and numeric data, including tables of selected quantiles and inter-quantile ranges of resulting probability distribution of cal age. In this paper, we present the aims of the program, with a short description of its structure, show examples of working with output data in terms of expected archaeological application, and consider the possibility of standardization of calibration procedures.

Type
III. Global 14C Variations
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 31 , Issue 3: June 20-25, 1988 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia , 1989 , pp. 824 - 832
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

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