ABSTRACT
The critical evaluation of any set of 14C data requires a systematic examination of the full range of factors that can affect both the accuracy and precision of 14C-based age determinations. For people purpose, accuracy is concerned with the degree of correctness of the age assignment, which means how close the 14C age estimate is to the true age of a sample. This chapter considers precision to refer to the time interval within which a 14C-inferred age expression lies. Four major elements influencing the general or overall accuracy and precision of 14C-based age determinations were identified. They are contextual, compositional, systemic, and experimental elements. Radiocarbon data can also be employed to provide an independent correlation of sequences built up on the basis of strictly archaeological criteria with environmental sequences derived from geomorphological data or from the study of major regional or sub-continental floral and faunal successions.
