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How Do Archaeologists Use Radiocarbon Dating In Archaeology

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Archaeology is the study of the human past through the examination of on the material remains left behind by past cultures and societies. (Sutton 2013:3) This academic discipline uses material remains from past cultures and societies to hypothesize how human life was like back in ancient times. For archaeologists, they examine the material remains from archaeological sites so they can learn about the past human behaviors of the people who used to live in the same area thousands of years ago. (Sutton 2013:3) One of the many questions archaeologists try to answer in their research is that how does human behavior change over time and does this change reflect of the material evidence. To solve this dilemma, archaeologists construct a chronology …show more content…

(Taylor and Bar-Yosef 2014:12) This dating technique is known as Radiocarbon dating. The following essay examines the role Radiocarbon Dating has in chronology, the step by step process of Radiocarbon Dating, the disadvantages of using Radiocarbon Dating, and several examples how archaeologists use Radiocarbon Dating to determine the actual date of the material remains in their research. To examine the role Radiocarbon Dating has played in archaeology, we must first discuss what Radiocarbon Dating is as a dating technique. Radiocarbon Dating otherwise known as Carbon – 14 dating is defined as a dating technique which the amount of radiocarbon (14C) within an organic sample is measured and used to determine how long ago a specimen died. (Sutton 2013:163) Dating techniques or dating methodology is used in archaeology to determine chronology of any …show more content…

Radiocarbon Dating has its own disadvantages which limit how archaeologists determine the chronology of archaeological sites and the remains discovered within these sites. For example, Radiocarbon Dating can only look at remains that were once alive. (Sutter 2013:163) Some of these remains include animal bones, shells, charcoal, skin, leather, wood, grass, and seeds. (Sutter 2013:163) These organic remains however, must be persevered under the right conditions for a radiocarbon analysis. Remains discovered in several archaeological sites might show high levels of soil acidity. (Sutter 2013:163) High levels of soil acidity will cause damage to the organic remains and these remains cannot be used as samples for radiocarbon analysis. (Sutter 2013:163) Another example which features one of the disadvantages while using Radiocarbon Dating is that this dating technique is only accurate for dates ranging from 300 to 50,000 years. (Sutton 2013:163) This chronometric technique is only useful to identify objects from early modern human history and human prehistory. One example which features the use Radiocarbon Dating to determine an estimated age range of an archaeological find is in Nick Porch’s and Peter Kershaw’s article Comparative AMS 14C Dating of Plant Macrofossils, Beetles and Pollen Preparations. This article features a

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