Critical to the success of any radiocarbon dating effort is a thoughtfully conceived sampling strategy. Planning ahead, the archeologist can articulate questions to address, identify datable material types recovered from excavation or pulled from curation , and select the most appropriate samples for dating. This approach allows efficient use of the radiocarbon budget and gives the archeologist confidence that the dating program will yield well-targeted chronological data in support of research evaluation and interpretation.
Prior to the development of AMS for radiocarbon dating in the early s, researchers were limited by the large sample size required by conventional measurement methods direct counting of radiocarbon decay. Back then archeologists often could not be choosey about materials they wanted to radiocarbon date because maximizing sample size was a driving concern. Consequently, they sometimes amassed charcoal fragments from large features like middens or scattered across occupation areas measuring meters across.
Additionally, there were few specialists able to identify the species of charred materials. The advent of accelerator mass spectrometry AMS dating triggered a sampling revolution in radiocarbon dating—archeologists suddenly could select from much smaller fragments of archeological materials, such as tiny pieces of charred plant remains and uncharred remains in arid and sheltered contexts.
With the high-resolution measurement capabilities of AMS, context and sample identification became critical. This exhibit section reviews some of the critical sample selection factors that researchers should consider when developing a radiocarbon dating strategy.
What does the archeologist hope to learn about the archeological site, feature, or artifact through radiocarbon dating?
