Fluctuating radiocarbon offsets observed in the southern Levant and implications for archaeological chronology debates

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
S W ManningTodd E Lange

Abstract

Considerable work has gone into developing high-precision radiocarbon (14C) chronologies for the southern Levant region during the Late Bronze to Iron Age/early Biblical periods (∼1200-600 BC), but there has been little consideration whether the current standard Northern Hemisphere 14C calibration curve (IntCal13) is appropriate for this region. We measured 14C ages of calendar-dated tree rings from AD 1610 to 1940 from southern Jordan to investigate contemporary 14C levels and to compare these with IntCal13. Our data reveal an average offset of ∼19 14C years, but, more interestingly, this offset seems to vary in importance through time. While relatively small, such an offset has substantial relevance to high-resolution 14C chronologies for the southern Levant, both archaeological and paleoenvironmental. For example, reconsidering two published studies, we find differences, on average, of 60% between the 95.4% probability ranges determined from IntCal13 versus those approximately allowing for the observed offset pattern. Such differences affect, and even potentially undermine, several current archaeological and historical positions and controversies.

References

Apr 12, 2003·Science·Hendrik J BruinsAmihai Mazar
Oct 29, 2008·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Thomas E LevyLisa Tauxe
Jun 19, 2010·Science·Christopher Bronk RamseyAndrew J Shortland
Dec 19, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Sergio M Vicente-SerranoArturo Sanchez-Lorenzo
Jan 20, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Fusa MiyakeToshio Nakamura
Feb 15, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Erez Ben-YosefOded Lipschits

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Citations

Aug 6, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Charlotte PearsonPeter Kuniholm
Mar 25, 2020·Science Advances·Sturt W ManningCarla S Hadden
Dec 14, 2018·Science Advances·Sturt W ManningEva M Wild
Jul 11, 2020·Scientific Reports·J TintnerE Smidt

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Software Mentioned

OxCal Delta _ R
IntCal13
OxCal
SHCal13

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