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Radiocarbon Dating in the Arctic Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ingrid U Olsson*
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics, Uppsala University, Box 530, S-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden
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The Landnám of Iceland is usually dated too early by the 14C dating method, at least to judge from the tradition according to the Landnámabók. Various sources of error are considered. One, the use of driftwood, can be excluded in many cases, since birch is often selected for dating purposes. Second, the settlers may have brought wood with them. A third obvious source of uncertainty is the age of a tree before felling. It is difficult to explain the seemingly too early results by secular global variations of 14C content. A regional low level of 14C may result from volcanic activity or the small size of the land areas in the Arctic region.

Type
III. 14C Applications
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

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