Posted by Yon Bard on June 22, 1999 at 20:07:58:
In Reply to: Re: Sources of error in Carbon-14 dating? posted by Steve Price on June 22, 1999 at 19:00:08:
: Dear Craig,
: When you say,
: "Due to the non-monotonic decay of the C-14 level with time over this period (since about 1650) it is impossible to date any material accurately using C-14."
: What do you estimate is the uncertainty level? That is, how inaccurate is the method over that period? Also, how accurate is it in the range of years in which it is "accurate"?
:
: Thanks,
: Steve Price
Steve, if I understand things correctly, the main problem with datings of recently made rugs is not so much the margin of error (though that is also a significant problem) but the ambiguity of which one of several possible ranges the observation belongs to, due to the several peaks in C14 levels during this period. This is why the results in the Hali article are reported as belonging to several possible ranges. You can deduce the margins of error associated with each interval from the HALI article.
Regards, Yon
Regards, Yon