Radiocarbon and Historical Chronology of Old World History: How Reliable Are Our Dating Methods?

Co-presented by The Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and ISAW

Manfred Bietak (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental and European Archaeology)

For some periods, historical and radiocarbon chronologies are at odds with each other, producing results that differ by 100 years or more. Recent studies on the date of the Thera eruption may create the impression that all problems have been solved in favor of the scientific dating methods, postulating that archaeologists have made serious mistakes in dating their contexts. This lecture will scrutinize the problems of radiocarbon dating methods, assess the limits of precision in Ancient Egyptian chronology, and present a new proposal for the synchronization between Egyptian and Old Babylonian chronologies.

This lecture is sponsored by Malcolm H. Wiener and The Achelis Foundation.

There will be a reception folowing the event.

This is a public event.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.