Abstract
CARBON-14 dating has become of great importance and it is therefore necessary to determine the possible deviations between radiocarbon and actual ages. A radiocarbon age, given in radiocarbon years elapsed since the origin of the sample, is based on 14C decay and is calculated from the ratio of the present 14C activity of the sample to the 14C activity of the standard (95 per cent of the 14C activity of NBS oxalic acid). The standard 14C activity is assumed to be identical to the atmospheric 14C activity over the whole time interval over which 14C dating is used. Thus the conventional radiocarbon age does not allow for deviations in atmospheric 14C content during the past. As a result, radiocarbon years need not always be equal to solar years.
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STUIVER, M. Tree Ring, Varve and Carbon-14 Chronologies. Nature 228, 454–455 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/228454a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/228454a0
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