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Towards a Radiocarbon Chronology of the Late-Glacial: Sample Selection Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

M J C Walker ,
C Bryant ,
G R Coope ,
D D Harkness ,
J J Lowe  and
E M Scott
M J C Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Wales, Lampeter, Wales SA48 7ED, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected].
C Bryant
Affiliation:
NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 OQF, United Kingdom
G R Coope
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
D D Harkness
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 OQF, United Kingdom
J J Lowe
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
E M Scott
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QW, United Kingdom
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Abstract

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This paper outlines a dating program designed to test the reproducibility of radiocarbon dates on different materials of Late-Glacial age (plant macrofossils, fossil beetle remains, and the “humic” and “humin” chemical fractions of limnic sediments) using a combination of radiometric (beta counting) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques. The results have implications for the design of sampling strategies and for the development of improved dating protocols, both of which are important if a high-precision 14C chronology for the Late-Glacial is to be achieved.

Type
II. Our ‘Wet’ Environment
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 43 , Issue 2B: Proceedings of the 17th International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 2 of 3), Conference Editors: Israel Carmi, Elisabetta Boaretto , 2001 , pp. 1007 - 1019
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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