Publication details
Quality Dating: A Well-Defined Protocol Implemented at ETH for High-Precision 14C-Dates Tested on Late Glacial Wood
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Radiocarbon |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2019.132 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2019.132 |
| Keywords | high-precision radiocarbon; IntCal; MICADAS; Preboreal Pine chronology; radiocarbon dating |
| Description | Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry have resulted in an unprecedented amount of new high-precision radiocarbon (C-14) -dates, some of which will redefine the international C-14 calibration curves (IntCal and SHCal). Often these datasets are unaccompanied by detailed quality insurances in place at the laboratory, questioning whether the C-14 structure is real, a result of a laboratory variation or measurement-scatter. A handful of intercomparison studies attempt to elucidate laboratory offsets but may fail to identify measurement-scatter and are often financially constrained. Here we introduce a protocol, called Quality Dating, implemented at ETH-Zurich to ensure reproducible and accurate high-precision C-14-dates. The protocol highlights the importance of the continuous measurements and evaluation of blanks, standards, references and replicates. This protocol is tested on an absolutely dated German Late Glacial tree-ring chronology, part of which is intercompared with the Curt Engelhorn-Center for Archaeometry, Mannheim, Germany (CEZA). The combined dataset contains 170 highly resolved, highly precise C-14-dates that supplement three decadal dates spanning 280 cal. years in IntCal, and provides detailed C-14 structure for this interval. |