Accuracy vs. Precision: Understanding Potential Errors from Radiocarbon Dating on African Landscapes

The application of radiocarbon dating to determine the geochronology of archaeological sites is ubiquitous across the African continent. Accelerator mass spectrometry has made radiocarbon dating the most precise method to determine the death of living organisms that occurred within the last 50,000 years. However, the method is not without limitations and this review article provides Africanist archaeologists with cautionary insights as to when, where, and how to utilize radiocarbon dates. Specifically, the review will concentrate on the potential of carbon reservoirs and recycled organic remains to inflate apparent age estimates, diagenesis of carbon isotopes in variable pH ecologies, and hot-humid climates and non-climate-controlled archives that can compromise the efficacy of samples. Legacy radiocarbon ages must be critically examined for what method was used to generate the age, and calibration radiocarbon ages from critical periods of African prehistory lack precision to resolve significant debates. A multipronged dating strategy and careful selection of radiocarbon sample materials are advocated from the earliest stages of research design.