Is it Possible to Find a Good Point Estimate of a Calibrated Radiocarbon Date
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9242923 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adam Michczyński (0000-0003-2795-6830) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 393-401 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Radiocarbon (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0033822200042326 |
| OpenAlex | W1884159809 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 26 |
| References cited | 5 |
The result from probabilistic calibration of a radiocarbon date is given in the form of a probability density function. Consequently, reporting a 68% or 95% confidence interval has became a commonly accepted practice. However, many users of 14 C dates still try to present the results of calibration as a single point. This manner of presentation is often applied during the construction of age-depth models due to its convenience and simplicity. In this paper, the author tests whether it is possible to find a good point estimate of a calibrated 14 C date. The idea of the tests is to compare, using computer simulation, the true value of the calendar age with the age calculated based on the probabilistic calibration of the 14 C date and the method of finding the point estimate. The test is carried out for the following point estimates: mode, median, average, the central point of the confidence intervals, and the local mode inside the confidence intervals. The results show that none of these may be considered as a good estimate
Calibration · Confidence interval · Econometrics · Geometry · Physics · Point estimation · Probabilistic logic · Radiocarbon dating · Simplicity · Statistics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Mathematics · Geology · Paleontology
Current practices in building and reporting age-depth models
First Peoples in a New World
Methods and code for ‘classical’ age-modelling of radiocarbon sequences
Late Pleistocene hydrological settings at world heritage Tsodilo Hills (NW Kalahari, Botswana), a site of ancient human occupation
Biogeography of Crop Progenitors and Wild Plant Resources in the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene of West Asia, 14.7–8.3 ka
Building a high-resolution chronology for northern Hokkaido – A case study of the Late Holocene Hamanaka 2 site on Rebun Island, Hokkaido (Japan)
The aid of Bayesian radiocarbon modeling in assessing the chronology of Middle Bronze Age Sicily at the site level. A case study
A Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates from prehistoric sites in the Haidai Region, East China, for evaluation of the archaeological chronology
Latest Holocene depositional history of the southern Venice Lagoon, Italy
Understanding inhabited landscapes from remains of Fabaceae tree fruit used by agro-pastoralist societies in the high deserts of the south-central Andes, Argentina, between 1,600 and 1,000 bp
An island-wide assessment of the chronology of settlement and land use on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) based on radiocarbon data
High-precision AMS 14C chronology for Gatecliff Shelter, Nevada
A Bayesian 14C chronology of Early and Middle Bronze Age in Sicily. Towards an independent absolute dating
Spatiotemporal modelling of radiocarbon dates using linear regression does not indicate a vector of demic dispersal associated with the earliest Gravettian assemblages in Europe
Years of charcoal production in the Low Countries
The Viking Age settlement pattern of Langholt, North Iceland
Carbon Reservoir Effects in Eastern Oyster from Apalachicola Bay, USA
Probabilistic 14 C Age-Depth Models Aiding the Reconstruction of Holocene Paleoenvironmental Evolution of a Marshland from Southern Hungary
C Dates and Spatial Statistics
Spatiotemporal Patterns on the Appearance of the First Trapeze Industries in the Late Mesolithic of the Iberian Peninsula
Systematic Bias of Radiocarbon Method
Continuity in the Use of Shallow Sites of the Salado River Basin in the Pampean Region, Argentina
The Chronology of Settlements with Pre‐Inca and Inca Occupations Superimposed
The Myths and Realities of Bayesian Chronological Modeling Revealed
Análisis cronológico de las ocupaciones humanas en la cuenca inferior del río Deseado, Patagonia Argentina
Cronología radiocarbónica de estilos alfareros arqueológicos
The intercept is a poor estimate of a calibrated radiocarbon age
Intcal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP
A Comparison of Methods Used for the Calibration of Radiocarbon Dates
Improvement of the Procedure for Probabilistic Calibration of Radiocarbon Dates
Histograms Obtained From Computerized Radiocarbon Age Calibration
| Citations per year | 1.53 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Highly cited | No |