All,
The following, sent by Mark McClure <
mclure@RADIOCARBON.ORG>, through the Radiocarbon mailing list <
C14-L@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>, should be of interest to anyone wishing to wax eloquent about the chronological calibration intricacies of the C14 dating window.
Given its focus and importance, it is posted here instead of the Bookyard.
Jacques Cinq-Mars
Calibrated radiocarbon ages are the basis for comparison between many records in paleoclimatological, geophysical, and archaeological studies. It is therefore necessary to have a standard radiocarbon calibration data set for intercomparisons to be valid. The radiocarbon community has recognized this need and hence has adopted an international standard for calibration, IntCal04 which was ratified at the 18th International Radiocarbon Conference in Wellington New Zealand. The importance of the quality of the data set used for calibration cannot be overstated. The IntCal04 working group and the journal Radiocarbon is thus pleased to announce the release and publication of IntCal04: Calibration Issue" as a special issue of Radiocarbon (v46, n3, 2004). Concurrent with the IntCal04 release and consistent with previous incarnations of IntCal is a revision and update of the calibration software program CALIB.
We would like to thank all of the working group authors, collaborators, reviewers, and the radiocarbon community for participating in this process. Special thanks to the Radiocarbon staff, especially managing editor Mark McClure.
Please visit
http://www.radiocarbon.org to download personal copies of IntCal04 and links to internationally standardized and accepted radiocarbon calibration software programs (BCal, CAL25, CALIB, OxCal).
The IntCal issue and release of the IntCal04 data sets would not have been possible without the financial assistance of the Leverhulme Trust, the NSF's Earth System History Program, and the University of Arizona/Radiocarbon. The NSF's Earth System History Program funded revision and updating of CALIB.
