Mon Aug 26 00:54:29 1996

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From: "Dave Washburn" 
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Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 22:48:37 -7
Subject: Re: Carbon dating
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Stephen Carlson wrote:
> At 08:10  8/25/96 -0700, Mike Phillips wrote:
> >	Yes, that is what I was saying.  The rate of deposition is not a
> >constant, while the rate of decay is.  If you have an unanticipated variable,
> >you have too many variables (any variable unaccounted for by a formulaic
> >expression makes the result variable).  Yet, given the great amounts of time
> >we're dealing with, some results might actually be worth having around.  The
> >problem is that we can't be certain which results are worth keeping without
> >confirmation from other sources, hence, C-14 dating is not a stand-alone method
> >(or at least, shouldn't be, though it has been used as such at times).
> 
> I think that is why the C-14 readings are calibrated to the dendro-
> chronological (tree rings, very precise) findings.  The original point
> in this thread that the precision (i.e., the range of possible dates)
> of the C-14 dating is no better and perhaps worse than the paleo-
> graphical dating is a good one.  C-14 dating is not the magic bullet.
> 
> However, I believe that the C-14 dating of the DSS have shown that the
> old paleographical dating may have been off by a century.  Paleography
> too has its drawbacks.

It's my understanding that Carbon-14 dating of some Dead Sea scrolls 
basically confirmed the accuracy of the paleographical datings that 
had been done.  Do you know of NT manuscripts that have been C-14 
dated that gave the results your describe?

Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur/home.html
"Just reach out, and He'll reach in..."

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