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Wiggle-Match Dating of Tree-Ring Sequences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Mariagrazia Galimberti ,
Christopher Bronk Ramsey  and
Sturt W Manning
Mariagrazia Galimberti
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Christopher Bronk Ramsey*
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Sturt W Manning
Affiliation:
Department of Fine Art, University of Toronto, Canada; Also, Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, United Kingdom
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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Given the non-monotonic form of the radiocarbon calibration curve, the precision of single 14C dates on the calendar timescale will always be limited. One way around this limitation is through comparison of time-series, which should exhibit the same irregular patterning as the calibration curve. This approach can be employed most directly in the case of wood samples with many years growth present (but not able to be dated by dendrochronology), where the tree-ring series of unknown date can be compared against the similarly constructed 14C calibration curve built from known-age wood. This process of curve-fitting has come to be called “wiggle-matching.”

In this paper, we look at the requirements for getting good precision by this method: sequence length, sampling frequency, and measurement precision. We also look at 3 case studies: one a piece of wood which has been independently dendrochronologically dated, and two others of unknown age relating to archaeological activity at Silchester, UK (Roman) and Miletos, Anatolia (relating to the volcanic eruption at Thera).

Type
Part II
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 46 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 18th International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 2 of 2), Conference Editors: Nancy Beavan Athfield, Rodger J Sparks , 2004 , pp. 917 - 924
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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