Data for the Southern African Radiocarbon Database hosted by Oxford Radiocabon Accelerator Unit and integrated with OxCal (https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/sadb/db - OxCal login required). The database currently features c. 2700 dates, spanning the full 14C range.
See Loftus et al., 2019, An archaeological radiocarbon database for southern Africa. Antiquity. (https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.75). The database has been updated since publication but the descriptions and conclusions are largely unchanged.
Spatial distribution of dates across southern Africa, showing the preponderance of dates in South Africa, and large areas with no published dates available.
The Southern African Radiocarbon Database (SARD) is a new online, open-access database of published radiocarbon dates from southern African archaeological contexts. Compatible with the calibration, Bayesian modelling and mapping functionality of the OxCal software, the SARD will greatly assist in the documentation and analysis of chronological trends across the subcontinent. This article introduces the database and presents two case studies that demonstrate its utility and its integration with OxCal, comparing the temporal distribution of radiocarbon dates in two archaeologically well-investigated regions, and assessing the timing of Middle to Later Stone Age technological developments across the African subcontinent.
Histogram of all dates in the database through time, showing the increase in dates for the late Holocene.
The 14C data and references are provided as separate csv files, and together in an excel file. The excel file also includes a sheet with non-14C dates (OSL, etc), collected non-systematically.
Description of fields
- Site code: Unique 3 letter code
- DecdegS: Latitude in decimal degrees
- DecdegE: Longitude in decimal degrees
- Country: SA, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique or Zimbabwe
- Province or district:
- RFZ: Rainfall zone, defined according to when most precipitation falls, summer, winter, or year-round (SA specific)
- Biome: According to the SANBI National Vegetation Map (SA specific)
- Stratigraphic context: Site specific detail - strat units, etc
- Dating technique: AMS vs conventional
- Material dated: Follows the ORAU database categories, charcoal, bone, etc. Esp. note if marine derived for calibration.
- Species: Scientific name
- Lab ID: Unique 14C lab ID
- Date: date in radiocarbon years BP
- Uncertainty: measurement error
- Archaeological Period: Southern African Stone Age categories - MSA, LSA, Iron Age, historic
- Archaeological Sub-chronology: Robberg, Wilton, etc. - Use with Caution
- Sample context: Notes if hearth, etc.
- Site Type: rock shelter, open air, burial, etc.
- delta 13: Stable carbon isotope value, if available.
- refcode: Unique code for citation reference, see ref sheet.
- Notes: Especially notes if researcher considered date unreliable