Caitlin E Buck
Biographic Data
| ID | 286171 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Caitlin E Buck |
| GIVEN NAMES | Caitlin E |
| FAMILY NAME | Buck |
| SIGNATURE | BUCK C E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sheffield |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0872-9504 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4806 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 14 |
Bayesian radiocarbon modelling for beginners
Due to freely available, tailored software, Bayesian statistics is now the dominant paradigm for archaeological chronology construction in the UK and much of Europe and is increasing in popularity in the Americas. Such software provides users with powerful tools for Bayesian inference for chronological models with little need to undertake formal study of statistical modelling or computer programming. This runs the risk that it is reduced to the s…
Bayesian chronology construction and substance time
Beyond Chronology, Using Bayesian Inference to Evaluate Hypotheses in Archaeology
Archaeologists frequently use probability distributions and null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) to assess how well survey, excavation, or experimental data align with their hypotheses about the past. Bayesian inference is increasingly used as an alternative to NHST and, in archaeology, is most commonly applied to radiocarbon date estimation and chronology building. This article demonstrates that Bayesian statistics has broader application…
Digital chronological data reuse in archaeology: Three case studies with varying purposes and perspectives
A simple Bayesian approach to tree‐ring dating
Tree‐ring dating involves matching sequences of ring widths from undated timbers to dated sequences known as ‘master’ chronologies. Conventionally, the undated timbers (from a building or woodland) are sequentially matched against one another, using t ‐tests to identify the relative offsets with the ‘best’ match, thus producing a ’site’ chronology. A date estimate is obtained when this is matched to a local master chronology of known calendar age…
Interpretation of lake sediment accumulation rates
The pattern of ancient sediment accumulation in lake basins is usually determined for the sole purpose of obtaining a chronology of the sequence. We develop graphical representations of lake basins and how they fill with sediment in order to make generalisations about sediment patterns which can be used to distinguish those that relate to an aspect of changing environment from those that relate solely to the shape of the basin itself. Our goal is…
Archaeological sequence diagrams and Bayesian chronological models
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon calibration curves have been revised utilizing newly available and updated data sets from 14 C measurements on tree rings, plant macrofossils, speleothems, corals, and foraminifera. The calibration curves were derived from the data using the random walk model (RWM) used to generate IntCal09 and Marine09, which has been revised to account for additional uncertainties and error structures. The new curves were r…
SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The Southern Hemisphere SHCal04 radiocarbon calibration curve has been updated with the addition of new data sets extending measurements to 2145 cal BP and including the ANSTO Younger Dryas Huon pine data set. Outside the range of measured data, the curve is based upon the ern Hemisphere data sets as presented in IntCal13, with an interhemispheric offset averaging 43 ± 23 yr modeled by an autoregressive process to represent the short-term correla…
Selection and Treatment of Data for Radiocarbon Calibration: An Update to the International Calibration (IntCal) Criteria
High-quality data from appropriate archives are needed for the continuing improvement of radiocarbon calibration curves. We discuss here the basic assumptions behind 14 C dating that necessitate calibration and the relative strengths and weaknesses of archives from which calibration data are obtained. We also highlight the procedures, problems, and uncertainties involved in determining atmospheric and surface ocean 14 C/ 12 C in these archives, i…
IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0-50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal04 and Marine04 radiocarbon calibration curves have been updated from 12 cal kBP (cal kBP is here defined as thousands of calibrated years before AD 1950), and extended to 50 cal kBP, utilizing newly available data sets that meet the IntCal Working Group criteria for pristine corals and other carbonates and for quantification of uncertainty in both the 14 C and calendar timescales as established in 2002. No change was made to the curves…
A flexible approach to assessing synchroneity of past events using Bayesian reconstructions of sedimentation history
Uncertain Judgements: Eliciting Experts' Probabilities
Elicitation is the process of extracting expert knowledge about some unknown quantity or quantities, and formulating that information as a probability distribution. Elicitation is important in situations, such as modelling the safety of nuclear installations or assessing the risk of terrorist attacks, where expert knowledge is essentially the only source of good information. It also plays a major role in other contexts by augmenting scarce observ…
Developments in radiocarbon calibration for archaeology
This update on radiocarbon calibration results from the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference at Oxford in April 2006, and is essential reading for all archaeologists. The way radiocarbon dates and absolute dates relate to each other differs in three periods: back to 12400 cal BP, radiocarbon dates can be calibrated with tree rings, and the calibration curve in this form should soon extend back to 18000 cal BP. Between 12400 and 26000 cal BP,…
Intcal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP
A new calibration curve for the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages has been constructed and internationally ratified to replace IntCal98, which extended from 0–24 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950). The new calibration data set for terrestrial samples extends from 0–26 cal kyr BP, but with much higher resolution beyond 11.4 cal kyr BP than IntCal98. Dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples cover the period f…
Marine04 Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr Bp
New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and provide much higher resolution, greater precision, and more detailed structure than IntCal98. For the Marine04 curve, dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring…
Bayesian tools for tephrochronology
It is suggested that Bayesian statistical methods for radiocarbon data interpretation, already widely used in archaeology, also have potential to improve the dating of tephra layers and hence enhance their use for tephrochronology. By re-analysing data from a recently published paper in which the authors sought to identify the calendar date of the eruption of fourteenth-century AD Kaharoa Tephra, a key marker in New Zealand prehistory, it is show…
The Late Glacial human reoccupation of north-western Europe: New Approaches to Space-Time Modelling
How and when was northern Europe reoccupied at the end of the last Ice Age? Radiocarbon dates from the earliest post-glacial contexts provide one answer: they offer a sequence in which the regions of Europe, from the Upper Rhine to Britain, saw the return of humans. The authors use Bayesian methods to model a chronology and thus arrive at a sequence with clear assessments of uncertainty
Preliminary Report of the First Workshop of the Intcal04 Radiocarbon Calibration/Comparison Working Group
The first meeting of the IntCal04 working group took place at Queen's University Belfast from April 15 to 17, 2002. The participants are listed as co-authors of this report. The meeting considered criteria for the acceptance of data into the next official calibration dataset, the importance of including reliable estimates of uncertainty in both the radiocarbon ages and the cal ages, and potential methods for combining datasets. This preliminary r…
BCal: An on-line Bayesian radiocarbon calibration tool
In this paper we describe newly launched software for on-line Bayesian calibration of archaeological radiocarbon determinations. The software is known as BCal and we invite members of the world-wide archaeological research community to use it should they so wish. All that is required to gain access to the software is a computer connected to the Internet with a modern World-wide Web browser (of the sort you are probably using to read this). BCal d…
A Novel Approach to Selecting Samples for Radiocarbon Dating
Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach
Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relati…
The Bayesian Approach to the Interpretation of Archaeological Data
Archaeologists are increasingly becoming aware of an approach to data investigation known as Bayesian statistics. In this paper we outline both the philosophical and statistical background to the approach. We show that it provides a logical and coherent framework in which to make inferences on the basis of both data and a priori expert knowledge. We note that adoption of the Bayesian framework is particularly timely since there have been recent d…
Estimating the Duration of Archaeological Activity Using 14 C Determinations
One of the questions that archaeologists have always hoped to be able to answer using radiocarbon dating is: ‘How long did this activity last?'. It has for some time been accepted that this question cannot adequately be addressed by simply calibrating single radiocarbon determinations. Rather, it is necessary to find means for coherently relating such determinations to one another and to the archaeology from which they came. In addition, most arc…
Making the most of radiocarbon dating: Some Statistical Considerations
The revised radiocarbon calibration curve, published last year, extends back into the Pleistocene the radiocarbon determinations that can be converted to real calendar years. For determinations of any age, the right judgements and statistical considerations must be followed if the real information held in the determinations is to be found. Here is advice with some worked examples
IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0-50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal04 and Marine04 radiocarbon calibration curves have been updated from 12 cal kBP (cal kBP is here defined as thousands of calibrated years before AD 1950), and extended to 50 cal kBP, utilizing newly available data sets that meet the IntCal Working Group criteria for pristine corals and other carbonates and for quantification of uncertainty in both the 14 C and calendar timescales as established in 2002. No change was made to the curves…
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon calibration curves have been revised utilizing newly available and updated data sets from 14 C measurements on tree rings, plant macrofossils, speleothems, corals, and foraminifera. The calibration curves were derived from the data using the random walk model (RWM) used to generate IntCal09 and Marine09, which has been revised to account for additional uncertainties and error structures. The new curves were r…
Intcal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP
A new calibration curve for the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages has been constructed and internationally ratified to replace IntCal98, which extended from 0–24 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950). The new calibration data set for terrestrial samples extends from 0–26 cal kyr BP, but with much higher resolution beyond 11.4 cal kyr BP than IntCal98. Dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples cover the period f…
SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The Southern Hemisphere SHCal04 radiocarbon calibration curve has been updated with the addition of new data sets extending measurements to 2145 cal BP and including the ANSTO Younger Dryas Huon pine data set. Outside the range of measured data, the curve is based upon the ern Hemisphere data sets as presented in IntCal13, with an interhemispheric offset averaging 43 ± 23 yr modeled by an autoregressive process to represent the short-term correla…
Calibration of radiocarbon results pertaining to related archaeological events
Combining archaeological and radiocarbon information: A Bayesian approach to calibration
A recent and significant improvement in radiocarbon dating has been the increased ability of the radiocarbon laboratories to provide results combining precision with accuracy. This improvement has been accompanied by increasing recognition that the information must be expressed on the calendar, rather than on the radiocarbon, time-scale. Despite the attempts of Ottaway (1987) and Pearson (1987), archaeologists are not sufficiently aware of the st…
Marine04 Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr Bp
New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and provide much higher resolution, greater precision, and more detailed structure than IntCal98. For the Marine04 curve, dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring…
Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach
Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relati…
BCal: An on-line Bayesian radiocarbon calibration tool
In this paper we describe newly launched software for on-line Bayesian calibration of archaeological radiocarbon determinations. The software is known as BCal and we invite members of the world-wide archaeological research community to use it should they so wish. All that is required to gain access to the software is a computer connected to the Internet with a modern World-wide Web browser (of the sort you are probably using to read this). BCal d…
Selection and Treatment of Data for Radiocarbon Calibration: An Update to the International Calibration (IntCal) Criteria
High-quality data from appropriate archives are needed for the continuing improvement of radiocarbon calibration curves. We discuss here the basic assumptions behind 14 C dating that necessitate calibration and the relative strengths and weaknesses of archives from which calibration data are obtained. We also highlight the procedures, problems, and uncertainties involved in determining atmospheric and surface ocean 14 C/ 12 C in these archives, i…
The Late Glacial human reoccupation of north-western Europe: New Approaches to Space-Time Modelling
How and when was northern Europe reoccupied at the end of the last Ice Age? Radiocarbon dates from the earliest post-glacial contexts provide one answer: they offer a sequence in which the regions of Europe, from the Upper Rhine to Britain, saw the return of humans. The authors use Bayesian methods to model a chronology and thus arrive at a sequence with clear assessments of uncertainty
The Bayesian Approach to the Interpretation of Archaeological Data
Archaeologists are increasingly becoming aware of an approach to data investigation known as Bayesian statistics. In this paper we outline both the philosophical and statistical background to the approach. We show that it provides a logical and coherent framework in which to make inferences on the basis of both data and a priori expert knowledge. We note that adoption of the Bayesian framework is particularly timely since there have been recent d…
Making the most of radiocarbon dating: Some Statistical Considerations
The revised radiocarbon calibration curve, published last year, extends back into the Pleistocene the radiocarbon determinations that can be converted to real calendar years. For determinations of any age, the right judgements and statistical considerations must be followed if the real information held in the determinations is to be found. Here is advice with some worked examples
Archaeological sequence diagrams and Bayesian chronological models
Estimating the Duration of Archaeological Activity Using 14 C Determinations
One of the questions that archaeologists have always hoped to be able to answer using radiocarbon dating is: ‘How long did this activity last?'. It has for some time been accepted that this question cannot adequately be addressed by simply calibrating single radiocarbon determinations. Rather, it is necessary to find means for coherently relating such determinations to one another and to the archaeology from which they came. In addition, most arc…
Developments in radiocarbon calibration for archaeology
This update on radiocarbon calibration results from the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference at Oxford in April 2006, and is essential reading for all archaeologists. The way radiocarbon dates and absolute dates relate to each other differs in three periods: back to 12400 cal BP, radiocarbon dates can be calibrated with tree rings, and the calibration curve in this form should soon extend back to 18000 cal BP. Between 12400 and 26000 cal BP,…
Preliminary Report of the First Workshop of the Intcal04 Radiocarbon Calibration/Comparison Working Group
The first meeting of the IntCal04 working group took place at Queen's University Belfast from April 15 to 17, 2002. The participants are listed as co-authors of this report. The meeting considered criteria for the acceptance of data into the next official calibration dataset, the importance of including reliable estimates of uncertainty in both the radiocarbon ages and the cal ages, and potential methods for combining datasets. This preliminary r…
Bayesian tools for tephrochronology
It is suggested that Bayesian statistical methods for radiocarbon data interpretation, already widely used in archaeology, also have potential to improve the dating of tephra layers and hence enhance their use for tephrochronology. By re-analysing data from a recently published paper in which the authors sought to identify the calendar date of the eruption of fourteenth-century AD Kaharoa Tephra, a key marker in New Zealand prehistory, it is show…
A Novel Approach to Selecting Samples for Radiocarbon Dating
Interpretation of lake sediment accumulation rates
The pattern of ancient sediment accumulation in lake basins is usually determined for the sole purpose of obtaining a chronology of the sequence. We develop graphical representations of lake basins and how they fill with sediment in order to make generalisations about sediment patterns which can be used to distinguish those that relate to an aspect of changing environment from those that relate solely to the shape of the basin itself. Our goal is…
Bayesian chronology construction and substance time
A simple Bayesian approach to tree‐ring dating
Tree‐ring dating involves matching sequences of ring widths from undated timbers to dated sequences known as ‘master’ chronologies. Conventionally, the undated timbers (from a building or woodland) are sequentially matched against one another, using t ‐tests to identify the relative offsets with the ‘best’ match, thus producing a ’site’ chronology. A date estimate is obtained when this is matched to a local master chronology of known calendar age…
Bayesian radiocarbon modelling for beginners
Due to freely available, tailored software, Bayesian statistics is now the dominant paradigm for archaeological chronology construction in the UK and much of Europe and is increasing in popularity in the Americas. Such software provides users with powerful tools for Bayesian inference for chronological models with little need to undertake formal study of statistical modelling or computer programming. This runs the risk that it is reduced to the s…
Digital chronological data reuse in archaeology: Three case studies with varying purposes and perspectives
Combining archaeological and radiocarbon information: A Bayesian approach to calibration
A recent and significant improvement in radiocarbon dating has been the increased ability of the radiocarbon laboratories to provide results combining precision with accuracy. This improvement has been accompanied by increasing recognition that the information must be expressed on the calendar, rather than on the radiocarbon, time-scale. Despite the attempts of Ottaway (1987) and Pearson (1987), archaeologists are not sufficiently aware of the st…
Calibration of radiocarbon results pertaining to related archaeological events
Estimating the Duration of Archaeological Activity Using 14 C Determinations
One of the questions that archaeologists have always hoped to be able to answer using radiocarbon dating is: ‘How long did this activity last?'. It has for some time been accepted that this question cannot adequately be addressed by simply calibrating single radiocarbon determinations. Rather, it is necessary to find means for coherently relating such determinations to one another and to the archaeology from which they came. In addition, most arc…
Making the most of radiocarbon dating: Some Statistical Considerations
The revised radiocarbon calibration curve, published last year, extends back into the Pleistocene the radiocarbon determinations that can be converted to real calendar years. For determinations of any age, the right judgements and statistical considerations must be followed if the real information held in the determinations is to be found. Here is advice with some worked examples
The Bayesian Approach to the Interpretation of Archaeological Data
Archaeologists are increasingly becoming aware of an approach to data investigation known as Bayesian statistics. In this paper we outline both the philosophical and statistical background to the approach. We show that it provides a logical and coherent framework in which to make inferences on the basis of both data and a priori expert knowledge. We note that adoption of the Bayesian framework is particularly timely since there have been recent d…
A Novel Approach to Selecting Samples for Radiocarbon Dating
Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach
Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relati…
BCal: An on-line Bayesian radiocarbon calibration tool
In this paper we describe newly launched software for on-line Bayesian calibration of archaeological radiocarbon determinations. The software is known as BCal and we invite members of the world-wide archaeological research community to use it should they so wish. All that is required to gain access to the software is a computer connected to the Internet with a modern World-wide Web browser (of the sort you are probably using to read this). BCal d…
Preliminary Report of the First Workshop of the Intcal04 Radiocarbon Calibration/Comparison Working Group
The first meeting of the IntCal04 working group took place at Queen's University Belfast from April 15 to 17, 2002. The participants are listed as co-authors of this report. The meeting considered criteria for the acceptance of data into the next official calibration dataset, the importance of including reliable estimates of uncertainty in both the radiocarbon ages and the cal ages, and potential methods for combining datasets. This preliminary r…
Bayesian tools for tephrochronology
It is suggested that Bayesian statistical methods for radiocarbon data interpretation, already widely used in archaeology, also have potential to improve the dating of tephra layers and hence enhance their use for tephrochronology. By re-analysing data from a recently published paper in which the authors sought to identify the calendar date of the eruption of fourteenth-century AD Kaharoa Tephra, a key marker in New Zealand prehistory, it is show…
The Late Glacial human reoccupation of north-western Europe: New Approaches to Space-Time Modelling
How and when was northern Europe reoccupied at the end of the last Ice Age? Radiocarbon dates from the earliest post-glacial contexts provide one answer: they offer a sequence in which the regions of Europe, from the Upper Rhine to Britain, saw the return of humans. The authors use Bayesian methods to model a chronology and thus arrive at a sequence with clear assessments of uncertainty
Intcal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP
A new calibration curve for the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages has been constructed and internationally ratified to replace IntCal98, which extended from 0–24 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950). The new calibration data set for terrestrial samples extends from 0–26 cal kyr BP, but with much higher resolution beyond 11.4 cal kyr BP than IntCal98. Dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples cover the period f…
Marine04 Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr Bp
New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and provide much higher resolution, greater precision, and more detailed structure than IntCal98. For the Marine04 curve, dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring…
Uncertain Judgements: Eliciting Experts' Probabilities
Elicitation is the process of extracting expert knowledge about some unknown quantity or quantities, and formulating that information as a probability distribution. Elicitation is important in situations, such as modelling the safety of nuclear installations or assessing the risk of terrorist attacks, where expert knowledge is essentially the only source of good information. It also plays a major role in other contexts by augmenting scarce observ…
Developments in radiocarbon calibration for archaeology
This update on radiocarbon calibration results from the 19th International Radiocarbon Conference at Oxford in April 2006, and is essential reading for all archaeologists. The way radiocarbon dates and absolute dates relate to each other differs in three periods: back to 12400 cal BP, radiocarbon dates can be calibrated with tree rings, and the calibration curve in this form should soon extend back to 18000 cal BP. Between 12400 and 26000 cal BP,…
A flexible approach to assessing synchroneity of past events using Bayesian reconstructions of sedimentation history
IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0-50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal04 and Marine04 radiocarbon calibration curves have been updated from 12 cal kBP (cal kBP is here defined as thousands of calibrated years before AD 1950), and extended to 50 cal kBP, utilizing newly available data sets that meet the IntCal Working Group criteria for pristine corals and other carbonates and for quantification of uncertainty in both the 14 C and calendar timescales as established in 2002. No change was made to the curves…
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon calibration curves have been revised utilizing newly available and updated data sets from 14 C measurements on tree rings, plant macrofossils, speleothems, corals, and foraminifera. The calibration curves were derived from the data using the random walk model (RWM) used to generate IntCal09 and Marine09, which has been revised to account for additional uncertainties and error structures. The new curves were r…
SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
The Southern Hemisphere SHCal04 radiocarbon calibration curve has been updated with the addition of new data sets extending measurements to 2145 cal BP and including the ANSTO Younger Dryas Huon pine data set. Outside the range of measured data, the curve is based upon the ern Hemisphere data sets as presented in IntCal13, with an interhemispheric offset averaging 43 ± 23 yr modeled by an autoregressive process to represent the short-term correla…
Selection and Treatment of Data for Radiocarbon Calibration: An Update to the International Calibration (IntCal) Criteria
High-quality data from appropriate archives are needed for the continuing improvement of radiocarbon calibration curves. We discuss here the basic assumptions behind 14 C dating that necessitate calibration and the relative strengths and weaknesses of archives from which calibration data are obtained. We also highlight the procedures, problems, and uncertainties involved in determining atmospheric and surface ocean 14 C/ 12 C in these archives, i…
Archaeological sequence diagrams and Bayesian chronological models
Interpretation of lake sediment accumulation rates
The pattern of ancient sediment accumulation in lake basins is usually determined for the sole purpose of obtaining a chronology of the sequence. We develop graphical representations of lake basins and how they fill with sediment in order to make generalisations about sediment patterns which can be used to distinguish those that relate to an aspect of changing environment from those that relate solely to the shape of the basin itself. Our goal is…
A simple Bayesian approach to tree‐ring dating
Tree‐ring dating involves matching sequences of ring widths from undated timbers to dated sequences known as ‘master’ chronologies. Conventionally, the undated timbers (from a building or woodland) are sequentially matched against one another, using t ‐tests to identify the relative offsets with the ‘best’ match, thus producing a ’site’ chronology. A date estimate is obtained when this is matched to a local master chronology of known calendar age…
Digital chronological data reuse in archaeology: Three case studies with varying purposes and perspectives
Beyond Chronology, Using Bayesian Inference to Evaluate Hypotheses in Archaeology
Archaeologists frequently use probability distributions and null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) to assess how well survey, excavation, or experimental data align with their hypotheses about the past. Bayesian inference is increasingly used as an alternative to NHST and, in archaeology, is most commonly applied to radiocarbon date estimation and chronology building. This article demonstrates that Bayesian statistics has broader application…
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (24 works) · Radiocarbon dating (19 works) · Archaeology (16 works) · Computer Science (16 works) · Geology (15 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (14 works) · Statistics (14 works) · Bayesian probability (13 works) · Mathematics (13 works) · Artificial Intelligence (12 works)