Prehistoric layers
The latest issue of New Scientist has an article summarizing findings from a paper in the journal Science, discussing how lake sediments in Japan may provide a new way of calibrating C14 dates.
It is hoped that the sediments will provide accurate calibration back to 60,000 years ago (current calibration techniques only extend back c. 12,500 years).
The article also has, in typical New Scientist fashion, a helpful couple of lines explaining what radiocarbon dating is all about.
There’s also a longer summary of the paper on the EurekAlert website and another version on the Nature website.
Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1226660
