A key archaeological tool for dating biological remains has proven inaccurate.
New research suggests that the main dating tool used by archaeologists can be mistaken for decades. The time elapsed since the death of an organism is determined by comparing stable isotopes of carbon with radioactive carbon-14 in biological fragments. Comparison of historical epochs by radiocarbon in the Northern Hemisphere showed that, perhaps, scientists were somewhat rushed to conclusions about the dispersion of carbon-14 in the atmosphere.
Researchers at Cornell University studied samples of juniper growing in Jordan between 1610 and 1940 and plotted an accurate timeline of annual changes in atmospheric carbon-14. It turned out that these data differ from the official calibration by two decades. The difference may not seem very significant, but there are examples where such inaccuracies can be decisive. Thus, the dating of the archaeological layers of the Bronze and Iron Age in Tel Rehov turned out to be controversial. Several decades of difference could end the ongoing debate over Solomon's biblical kingdom. Archaeologist Sturt Manning, author of the study, states: “Our work has shown the fallacy of one of the fundamental foundations. It turned out that the calibration curve used so far was not accurate."