Comments on Sveinbjörnsdóttir Et Al. (2004) and The Settlement of Iceland

Abstract

Radiocarbon dates on samples aimed to date the settlement of Iceland are given together with comments by the laboratory, since many of the results and descriptions given by Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (2004) in Radiocarbon, together with new results, are in error. The intention of this paper is to present correct dates and further relevant information regarding samples used earlier and to discuss possible complications inherent in the method of Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (2004). Examples are given of how critical the collection, treatment, and interpretation of samples may be. An age difference between birch charcoal and grains for a site is expected due to various reasons. If the difference amounts up to ∼100 yr, as reported by Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (2004), it must only to a small degree be due to biological age. Reference to an excavation report, details regarding stratigraphy, and discussions of the risk for displacement and contamination are missing in their paper. A final evaluation of the time for settlement should not be done until more research is completed and other possible or earlier suggested or even dated sites are discussed. A summary is given of the research on the island and volcanic effects on the 14C activity of the atmospheric CO2, especially over Iceland.