Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding

Radiocarbon dating has undergone a number of ‘revolutions’ in the past 50 years. This is in part because it is a field in continuous development, but perhaps more because of its profound impact on archaeology and the nature of interdisciplinary research. In order to understand the use of radiocarbon...

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Päätekijä: Ramsey, C
Aineistotyyppi: Journal article
Julkaistu: Wiley 2008
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author Ramsey, C
author_facet Ramsey, C
author_sort Ramsey, C
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description Radiocarbon dating has undergone a number of ‘revolutions’ in the past 50 years. This is in part because it is a field in continuous development, but perhaps more because of its profound impact on archaeology and the nature of interdisciplinary research. In order to understand the use of radiocarbon as a dating tool, it is necessary to understand the life cycle of radiocarbon, from its production in the upper atmosphere, through its sequestration in reservoirs and samples and its final decay. Different elements in this life cycle lead to complications, or subtleties that need to be understood if we wish to develop high-resolution chronologies. Most of the changes that have influenced radiocarbon dating are revolutions in understanding of the natural world in disparate academic disciplines. More than ever, it is necessary for users of radiocarbon to understand and engage with the science that underlies the method.
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spelling oxford-uuid:3c4cf9ed-b14b-4ae0-8da6-c3957dfdc8bb2022-03-26T14:12:52ZRadiocarbon dating: revolutions in understandingJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:3c4cf9ed-b14b-4ae0-8da6-c3957dfdc8bbSocial Sciences Division - DaisyWiley2008Ramsey, CRadiocarbon dating has undergone a number of ‘revolutions’ in the past 50 years. This is in part because it is a field in continuous development, but perhaps more because of its profound impact on archaeology and the nature of interdisciplinary research. In order to understand the use of radiocarbon as a dating tool, it is necessary to understand the life cycle of radiocarbon, from its production in the upper atmosphere, through its sequestration in reservoirs and samples and its final decay. Different elements in this life cycle lead to complications, or subtleties that need to be understood if we wish to develop high-resolution chronologies. Most of the changes that have influenced radiocarbon dating are revolutions in understanding of the natural world in disparate academic disciplines. More than ever, it is necessary for users of radiocarbon to understand and engage with the science that underlies the method.
spellingShingle Ramsey, C
Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title_full Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title_fullStr Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title_full_unstemmed Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title_short Radiocarbon dating: revolutions in understanding
title_sort radiocarbon dating revolutions in understanding
work_keys_str_mv AT ramseyc radiocarbondatingrevolutionsinunderstanding