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Thought carbon dating was just a lab gimmick until I saw the 2,300 year old basket from the Qumran caves
I figured samples got passed around until someone got the answer they wanted, but a curator in Jerusalem showed me the raw calibration curve for that basket and the margin was only 30 years. How often do you guys double check the lab reports before accepting a date?
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shane_nguyen12d ago
Check that the margin is really plus or minus 30 years, because the number on the report usually means something different than people expect. Carbon dating gives you a range with a confidence level attached, so a result might read as 2300 years old plus or minus 30 at one sigma, and that same sample at two sigma could stretch closer to 60 or 70 years. Those ranges also assume the sample was never handled with oils or resins and that the calibration curve itself fits the region. Curators do check the raw lab sheets, but most of the checking is about context and chain of custody, not just the final number.
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