| A Bayesian method has been proposed for analysing radiocarbon dates. The method takes into account stratigraphic constraints on recovered calendar dates. We find that the non-informative priors in use in the literature apply a bias towards wider date ranges which is not in general supported by substantial prior knowledge. We recommend using a prior which has a uniform marginal date range. We show how such priors are derived from a model of the deposition and observation process. We apply the method to relatively large data sets, examining the effect that various priors have on the reconstructed dates. |
Keywords
radiocarbon dating, stratigraphy, order constraint, Bayesian inference, MCMC
Math Review Classification
Last Updated
17 February 1999
Length
20 pages
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