Dateringsresultat

Dateringsresultat is the outcome of a dating analysis that estimates the age of a specimen, artefact, or event. It is produced by dating methods across the natural and archaeological sciences, including radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence, uranium-series dating, and various isotopic or stratigraphic approaches. A dateringsresultat usually consists of an age estimate, an accompanying uncertainty, the dating method used, and contextual information about the material and its stratigraphic or archaeological context. In many cases the age is given as a calendar date (calibrated years) rather than raw laboratory units like radiocarbon years “BP.” Radiocarbon dates, for example, are calibrated against a reference curve (e.g., IntCal) to convert radiocarbon years into calendar years, producing a probability distribution rather than a single point.

Results may be reported as a single date with an uncertainty or as a date range (e.g., 3500–3200 cal BCE) at a given confidence level (commonly 68% or 95%). When possible, multiple dates from the same site or object are integrated into an age model to improve precision and consistency with stratigraphy. The reliability of a dateringsresultat depends on sample quality, contamination, reservoir effects, calibration, and the appropriateness of the dating method for the material.

Limitations include inherent uncertainties and potential biases, and differences in the time-span and error structure among methods. Dateringsresultat plays a key role in placing finds within broader chronologies and in testing hypotheses about cultural sequences, environmental changes, or archaeological and geological events.

Related topics include radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, and luminescence dating.