Radiocarbon dating and Egyptian chronology: can C-14 dating contribute to the chronology?
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Radiocarbon dating, invented by Libby during 1940s, has had a major impact on archaeology. Archaeologists now have access to independent dates of prehistoric and historical periods. Egyptian chronology, which had been established by historical records, was to benefit by this dating method, realizing cross-check between radiocarbon dates and the calendar dates established by historical evidence. However, as the number of samples increased, discrepancies between the radiocarbon and calendar dates have been found: The calendar dates are higher than the radiocarbon dates for earlier Egyptian historic finds (Derricourt 1971:271). This discrepancy caused many Egyptologist to reject the applicability of the radiocarbon dating method to Egypt. ln this paper, we will review calibration of the radiocarbon dates with the results of Dynasty I and Amarna periods, and the contribution and limitation of C-14 dating to Egyptian chronology in order to determine whether such rejection can be justified.
Authors: 浩明 渡邉, Hiroaki Watanabe
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W214687275