Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-65tv2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-25T00:16:12.033Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comment on ‘Determination of the Radiocarbon Age of Parchment of the Vinland Map’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

K R Ludwig
K R Ludwig*
Affiliation:
Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, California, 94709, USA. Email: kludwig@bgc.org.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

I wish to point out some statistical errors in the uncertainty calculations for the radiocarbon age of the Vinland Map (Donahue et al. 2002). First, the authors state that the 14C measurements of samples with chemical treatments B, C, D, and E “… result in consistent radiocarbon ages”, and that “… two (of these analyses) are 1.5 sigma, and the others are one sigma or less, from the weighted average.” In fact, the overall scatter of the data show that it is improbable that these data are statistically coherent, largely because analysis J21C lies 2.1 sigma from the weighted mean.

Information

Type
Notes, Comments, and Letters
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , 2002 , pp. 597 - 598
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

References

Bevington, PR. 1969. Data reduction and error analysis for the physical sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill. p 73.Google Scholar
Donahue, DJ, Olin, JS, Harbottle, G. 2002. Radiocarbon dating of parchment of the Vinland map. Radiocarbon 44(l):45–52.Google Scholar
McIntyre, GA, Brooks, C, Compston, W, Turek, A. 1966. The statistical assessment of Rb-Sr isochrons. Journal of Geophysical Research 71:5459–68.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 1995. Radiocarbon calibration and analysis of stratigraphy: the OxCal Program. Radiocarbon 37(2):425–430.Google Scholar
Wendt, I, Carl, C. 1991. The statistical distribution of the mean squared weighted deviation. Chemical Geology (Isotope Geoscience Section) 86:275–85.Google Scholar