The Impact of Radiocarbon Dating on Old World Archaeology: Past Achievements and Future Expectations

Abstract

Half a century since radiocarbon was first used in the archaeology of the Old World, it seems that the expectations of W F Libby may be becoming a reality. In 1952 (Libby 1952:97), he wrote:Archaeologists, geologists and palynologists are continually searching for the means to improve methods of counting time. The … relative chronologies lack precision and direct correlation with the calendar, except when they may be checked with, … for example, the calendar based on tree-ring counts.