An illustrated guide to measuring radiocarbon from archaeological samples

Radiocarbon dating has been central to the construction of archaeological chronologies for over 50 years. The archaeological, scientific and (increasingly) statistical methods for interpreting radiocarbon measurements to produce these chronologies have become ever more sophisticated. The accurate measurement of the radiocarbon content of an archaeological sample is, and always has been, fundamental to any interpretation. This article provides an overview of the different approaches adopted for measuring radiocarbon from archaeological samples by laboratories at the start of the 21st century