Radiocarbon dating: past, present-day and future - development of I.P. Gerasimov ideas

The ideas of I.P. Gerasimov on the radiocarbon soil age are outlined; the notions of absolute and relative soil age introduced by him are defined. Current trends in organic matter dating are discussed. The proposals on the “dating” soil fraction by the radiocarbon method are considered, as well as interpretations of the data obtained as related to new approaches in the studies of soil organic matter. The recent trends in search of new “dating” fractions are the following: dating of different pools of organic matter, dating of particle-size and densitometric fractions. The problems of radiocarbon dating application to soils and sediments in archaeological soil science are discussed. Basing on the results of dating performed for the organic matter of cultural layers of Early Medieval settlement it is shown that the organic matter of soils and pedosediments in archaeological objects may be a reliable source of information either for compiling chronological schemes, so for a comprehensive analysis of soil-forming processes operating in humanly modified materials. It is shown that the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Institute of geography, RAS, is now applying progressive methodology, among which the preparation of samples - carbon graphitization to obtain data by means of accelerated mass-spectrometry is worth mentioning.