tails the counting of the rings that are produced annually by trees. When patterns emerge among trees of the same region, one can start counting in one tree and finish in an older tree. This method is very accurate since each ring coincides with a calendar year. A graph was created which is used to convert C-14 dates to tree years. (Renfrew, 1973). Figure 3. {"T o Calibrate a radiocarbon date, its position on the horizontal axis (x-axis) is found. The point on the curve which lies vertically above it is then located. The corrected, calendar date is the date on the vertical axis (y axis), reading horizontally along to the left from this point on the curve." (Pg. 71 Renfrew, 1973)} The concentration of C-14 became more stable after there was the 1950s testing of A-bombs. (Renfrew, 1973).When it was introduced, there were some reported problems of radiocarbon dating. Most of the problems reported dealt with the selection and collection of samples to be dated. All the samples are delicate and can be contaminated in different ways. For example, the contamination of a sample, by mixing it with samples of other dates could occur; therefore, the dates rendered could not have been accurate. A sample could have been contaminated due to a fungus growth on the sample; thus again, the dates obtained would have been altered due to the fungus. This problem can be alleviated by burning the sample in a current of pure oxygen. All these problems have nothing to do with radiocarbon dating, but with the origin and handling of the samples. (Libby, 1955). A shortcoming of radiocarbon dating is that it is limited. Dates older than 70,000 years cannot be dated because the amount of C-14 is insignificant. (Renfrew, 1973). Further research in the field of dating will perhaps one day bring forth a new method of dating that will allow scientist to date earlier years. From the time of its introduction, C-14 dating has been in a constant process of improv...
