Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale

这项研究允许Minze Stuiver博士与其他实验室的同事一起对一系列德国和爱尔兰橡树进行放射性碳测定，这些橡树的年代大约在公元前5,000到8,000年之间。该样本中树木年轮的绝对年龄是通过构建从现在开始并追溯到过去的年度年轮年表独立确定的。有了这些新的测定，斯图弗博士将构建一系列校准，从而能够将无线电碳年准确地转换为真实年龄。尽管这两者密切相关，但它们并不完全相同。使用这项技术，已经建立了从现在到公元前5000年的校准，这个项目将把这一时间再延长大约3000年。由于“放射性碳龄”和“真实年龄”之间的复杂关系，有时不同真实年龄的材料可以得出相同的放射性碳龄。在某些放射性碳年龄，真实年龄的可能范围可能较小，而在另一些年龄则可能较大。对于考古学家来说，当比较一个文化区域和另一个文化区域时，这些差异可能是极其重要的。对于更近的时期，斯图弗博士的校准曲线允许人们对此进行修正，重要的是将其延长到更早的时间。这项研究不仅对考古学家，而且对天文学家和地球物理学家都很重要，因为这些数据提供了关于太阳辐射和地球磁场变化的信息。

This research permits Dr. Minze Stuiver, together with colleagues from other laboratories, to conduct radiocarbon determinations on a series of German and Irish oak trees, which date from between ca. 5,000 and 8,000 B.C. The absolute ages of tree rings within this sample are independently determined through the construction of an annual ring chronology which starts at the present and works back into the past. With these new determinations, Dr. Stuiver will construct a series of calibrations which will allow the accurate conversion of radio carbon years into true age. Although the two are closely correlated they are not identical. Using this technique calibrations have been established from the present back to 5,000 B.C., and this project will extend this by approximately another 3,000 years. Because of the complicated relationship between "radiocarbon age" and "true age," sometimes materials with different true ages can give the same radiocarbon age. At some radiocarbon ages, the possible range of true ages can be smaller and at others larger. For archaeologists these discrepancies can be extremely important when comparisons are made from one culture area to another. For the more recent period, Dr. Stuiver's calibration curve allows one to correct for this, and it is important that this be extended further back in time. This research is important not only to archaeologists but to astronomers and geophysicists, since the data provides information about changes in both solar radiation and in the earth's magnetic field.