摘要：It is now accepted that the precise dating
of certain periods is complicated by extreme
variability of atmospheric 14C content
shown at times in the 14C calibration curve.
This complication arises from variations in
atmospheric 14C content and is known as
wiggles in the calibration curve. Radiocarbon
age ‘plateaus’, are caused by a decrease
in the atmospheric 14C concentration and
appear as a slowing down of the 14C clock
such as occurred during the Younger Dryas
(YD) chronozone. In eff ect, similar 14C ages
apply across a range of up to 500 calendar
years. The opposite is observed when atmospheric
14C levels increase so that the 14C
clock appears to speed up. In such cases,
which include the beginning of the YD and
Pre-Boreal intervals, the true age of a sample,
taking dating errors into account, may
spread across a comparatively wide 14C age
range.
