Quantitative Chronology in Archaeology • ananke

Overview

Simple radiocarbon calibration and chronological analysis. This package allows the calibration of radiocarbon ages and modern carbon fraction (F¹⁴C) values using multiple calibration curves. It allows the calculation of highest density region intervals and credible intervals. The package also provides tools for visualising results and estimating statistical summaries.

This package is currently experimental. This means that it is functional, but interfaces and functionalities may change over time, testing and documentation may be lacking.

To cite ananke in publications use:

Frerebeau N (2026). ananke: Quantitative Chronology in Archaeology. Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France. doi:10.5281/zenodo.13236285 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13236285. R package version 0.2.0, https://packages.tesselle.org/ananke/.

This package is a part of the tesselle project https://www.tesselle.org.

Installation

You can install the released version of ananke from CRAN with:

install.packages("ananke")

And the development version from Codeberg with:

# install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_git("https://codeberg.org/tesselle/ananke")

Usage

## Load packages
library(ananke)
#> Loading required package: aion

ananke uses aion for internal date representation. Look at vignette("aion", package = "aion") before you start.

## Data from Bosch et al. 2015
data("ksarakil")

## Graphical parameters
par(mar = c(4, 6, 1, 1) + 0.1) # Adjust margins

## Calibrate multiple ages
cal <- c14_calibrate(
  values = ksarakil$date,
  errors = ksarakil$error,
  names = ksarakil$code,
  curves = "marine13",
  reservoir_offsets = 53,
  reservoir_errors = 43,
  from = 50000, to = 0
)

## Plot calibrated ages
ridgelines(cal, calendar = CE())


## 95% intervals
hdr95 <- interval_hdr(cal, level = 0.95)
as.data.frame(hdr95, calendar = CE())
#>        label  start    end    p
#> 1  GrA-53005 -28472 -27538 0.95
#> 2  GrA-54848 -30837 -29740 0.95
#> 3  GrA-53006 -36920 -35614 0.95
#> 4  GrA-57545 -38737 -37401 0.95
#> 5  GrA-54847 -41927 -40650 0.95
#> 6  GrA-57544 -38765 -37560 0.95
#> 7  GrA-57598 -39991 -38970 0.95
#> 8  GrA-57599 -41784 -40694 0.95
#> 9  GrA-53001 -36676 -35245 0.95
#> 10 GrA-54846 -41804 -40640 0.95
#> 11 GrA-57602 -39504 -38384 0.95
#> 12 GrA-57603 -40553 -39761 0.95
#> 13 GrA-57542 -39129 -37916 0.95
#> 14 GrA-53004 -41346 -40383 0.95
#> 15 GrA-57597 -42000 -40766 0.95
#> 16 GrA-53000 -42451 -41111 0.95

## Plot intervals
plot(hdr95, calendar = CE(), lwd = 2)

Translation

This package provides translations of user-facing communications, like messages, warnings and errors, and graphical elements (axis labels). The preferred language is by default taken from the locale. This can be overridden by setting of the environment variable LANGUAGE (you only need to do this once per session):

Sys.setenv(LANGUAGE = "<language code>")

Languages currently available are English (en) and French (fr).

Bchron enables quick calibration of radiocarbon dates, age-depth modelling, relative sea level rate estimation, and non-parametric phase modelling.
rcarbon includes functions not only for basic calibration, uncalibration, and plotting of one or more dates, but also a statistical framework for building demographic and related longitudinal inferences from aggregate radiocarbon date lists.
rintcal consists of a data compilation of the IntCal radiocarbon calibration curves and provides a number of functions to assist with calibrating dates and plotting calibration curves.

Contributing

Please note that the ananke project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.

References

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Albarède, F., and M. Juteau. 1984. “Unscrambling the Lead Model Ages.” Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 48 (1): 207–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(84)90364-8.

Allègre, Claude. 2005. Géologie isotopique. Belin sup. Paris: Belin.

Boers, Niklas, Bedartha Goswami, and Michael Ghil. 2017. “A Complete Representation of Uncertainties in Layer-Counted Paleoclimatic Archives.” Climate of the Past 13 (9): 1169–80. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1169-2017.

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Heaton, Timothy J, Peter Köhler, Martin Butzin, Edouard Bard, Ron W Reimer, William E N Austin, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, et al. 2020. “Marine20 The Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55,000 Cal BP).” Radiocarbon 62 (4): 779–820. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.68.

Hogg, Alan G, Timothy J Heaton, Quan Hua, Jonathan G Palmer, Chris SM Turney, John Southon, Alex Bayliss, et al. 2020. “SHCal20 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–55,000 Years Cal BP.” Radiocarbon 62 (4): 759–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.59.

Hogg, Alan G, Quan Hua, Paul G Blackwell, Mu Niu, Caitlin E Buck, Thomas P Guilderson, Timothy J Heaton, et al. 2013. “SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years Cal BP.” Radiocarbon 55 (4): 1889–1903. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16783.

Hua, Quan, and Mike Barbetti. 2004. “Review of Tropospheric Bomb 14C Data for Carbon Cycle Modeling and Age Calibration Purposes.” Radiocarbon 46 (3): 1273–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033142.

Hua, Quan, Mike Barbetti, and Andrzej Z Rakowski. 2013. “Atmospheric Radiocarbon for the Period 1950–2010.” Radiocarbon 55 (4): 2059–72. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177.

Hua, Quan, Jocelyn C Turnbull, Guaciara M Santos, Andrzej Z Rakowski, Santiago Ancapichún, Ricardo De Pol-Holz, Samuel Hammer, et al. 2022. “Atmospheric Radiocarbon for the Period 1950–2019.” Radiocarbon 64 (4): 723–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2021.95.

Hughen, K., S. Lehman, J. Southon, J. Overpeck, O. Marchal, C. Herring, and J. Turnbull. 2004. “14C Activity and Global Carbon Cycle Changes over the Past 50,000 Years.” Science 303 (5655): 202–7. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1090300.

Hughen, Konrad A, Mike G L Baillie, Edouard Bard, J Warren Beck, Chanda J H Bertrand, Paul G Blackwell, Caitlin E Buck, et al. 2004. “Marine04 Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP.” Radiocarbon 46 (3): 1059–86. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033002.

Hyndman, Rob J. 1996. “Computing and Graphing Highest Density Regions.” The American Statistician 50 (2): 120. https://doi.org/10.2307/2684423.

Kueppers, Lara M., John Southon, Paul Baer, and John Harte. 2004. “Dead Wood Biomass and Turnover Time, Measured by Radiocarbon, Along a Subalpine Elevation Gradient.” Oecologia 141 (4): 641–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1689-x.

McCormac, F G, A G Hogg, P G Blackwell, C E Buck, T F G Higham, and P J Reimer. 2004. “Shcal04 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–11.0 Cal Kyr BP.” Radiocarbon 46 (3): 1087–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033014.

Millard, Andrew R. 2014. “Conventions for Reporting Radiocarbon Determinations.” Radiocarbon 56 (2): 555–59. https://doi.org/10.2458/56.17455.

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Reimer, P J, M G L Baillie, E Bard, A Bayliss, J W Beck, P G Blackwell, C Bronk Ramsey, et al. 2009. “IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0–50,000 Years Cal BP.” Radiocarbon 51 (4): 1111–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200034202.

Reimer, Paula J, William E N Austin, Edouard Bard, Alex Bayliss, Paul G Blackwell, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Martin Butzin, et al. 2020. “The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 Cal kBP).” Radiocarbon 62 (4): 725–57. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41.

Reimer, Paula J, Mike G L Baillie, Edouard Bard, Alex Bayliss, J Warren Beck, Chanda J H Bertrand, Paul G Blackwell, et al. 2004. “Intcal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 Cal Kyr BP.” Radiocarbon 46 (3): 1029–58. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200032999.

Reimer, Paula J, Edouard Bard, Alex Bayliss, J Warren Beck, Paul G Blackwell, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Caitlin E Buck, et al. 2013. “IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years Cal BP.” Radiocarbon 55 (4): 1869–87. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947.

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Stuiver, Minze, Paula J. Reimer, Edouard Bard, J. Warren Beck, G. S. Burr, Konrad A. Hughen, Bernd Kromer, Gerry McCormac, Johannes van der Plicht, and Marco Spurk. 1998. “INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000–0 Cal BP.” Radiocarbon 40 (3): 1041–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200019123.

Stuiver, Minze, Paula J. Reimer, and Thomas F. Braziunas. 1998. “High-Precision Radiocarbon Age Calibration for Terrestrial and Marine Samples.” Radiocarbon 40 (3): 1127–51. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200019172.

Ward, G. K., and S. R. Wilson. 1978. “Procedures for Comparing and Combining Radiocarbon Age Determinations: A Critique.” Archaeometry 20 (1): 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1978.tb00208.x.

ananke