Radiocarbon dating: avoiding errors by avoiding mixed samples

Abstract

Chronology and its refinement continues to be important, especially in the methods by which the dates are actually achieved. Here, the question of whether single object/bone samples provide more accurate dates than mixed samples is debated, and applied to samples from prehistoric Scotland. In an appendix, the recent radiocarbon dating of samples from within the Calanais stone circle on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, opens up further debate on phasing and occupation.