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No Systematic Early Bias to Mediterranean 14C Ages: Radiocarbon Measurements from Tree-Ring and Air Samples Provide Tight Limits to Age Offsets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Sturt W Manning ,
Mike Barbetti ,
Bernd Kromer ,
Peter Ian Kuniholm ,
Ingeborg Levin ,
Maryanne W Newton  and
Paula J Reimer
Sturt W Manning
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, PO Box 217 Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AB, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected].
Mike Barbetti
Affiliation:
NWG Macintosh Centre, Madsen Building F09, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. Email: [email protected].
Bernd Kromer
Affiliation:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Umweltphysik der Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120, Germany. Email: [email protected].
Peter Ian Kuniholm
Affiliation:
The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology, B-48 Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853–3201, USA. Email: [email protected].
Ingeborg Levin
Affiliation:
Institut für Umweltphysik der Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120, Germany. Email: [email protected].
Maryanne W Newton
Affiliation:
The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology, B-48 Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853–3201, USA. Email: [email protected].
Paula J Reimer
Affiliation:
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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Existing data and theory do not support a recent assertion that upwelling of old carbon has led to systematically 100–300 yr too old radiocarbon ages for the Mediterranean region. Similarly, the prehistoric tree-ring record produced over 3 decades by the Aegean Dendrochronology Project is shown to provide robust, well-replicated data, contrary to a recent unfounded assertion. 14C and dendrochronology provide an accurate and precise chronometric framework for the Mediterranean region.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , 2002 , pp. 739 - 754
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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