A Simplified Approach to Calibrating ¹⁴C Dates

We propose a simplified approach to the calibration of radiocarbon dates. We use splines through the tree-ring data as calibration curves, thereby eliminating a large part of the statistical scatter of the actual data points. To express the age range, we transform the ± 1 σ and ± 2 σ values of the BP age to calendar dates and interpret them as the 68% and 95% confidence intervals. This approach bypasses the conceptual problems of the transfer of individual probability values from the radiocarbon to the calendar age. We have adapted software to make this calibration possible.