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rice

Radiocarbon Calibration Equations

Radiocarbon is widely used for dating a range of archaeological and geographical objects. This package provides a number of functions to calibrate radiocarbon dates, including ones to transfer values between different timescales (F14, D14C, pMC, C14 ages), to simulate the impacts of contamination, and to plot one or more calibrated dates.

Please check out the vignettes folder for a tutorial. In short, install the package from github, load it and run the two main functions:

require(remotes)
install_github("Maarten14C/rice")
library(rice)
calibrate(2450,20)
contaminate(55000, 100, .05, 1)
draw.contamination()

Installation

To use high-resolution maps, install the rnaturalearthhires package from GitHub (see https://github.com/ropensci/rnaturalearthhires).

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Install

install.packages('rice')

Monthly Downloads

897

Version

2.2.0

License

GPL (>= 2)

Issues

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Repository

https://github.com/Maarten14C/rice

Maintainer

Maarten Blaauw

Last Published

June 15th, 2026

Functions in rice (2.2.0)

Transform Delta14C into F14C

Transform Delta14C into pMC

Find the calBP age(s) crossing a C14 age.

Calculate pMC ages from F14C values.

Calculate pMC values from C14 ages

Transform F14C into Delta14C

Deprecated. Use C14toF14C instead

adjust.background

Adjust a radiocarbon age for background measurements

Deprecated. Use C14topMC instead.

calculate cal BC/AD ages from b2k ages

Combine multiple radiocarbon dates within bins

Calculate age ranges

Calculate C14 ages from F14C values.

Combine multiple radiocarbon dates assuming they belong to the same single year

Find the 14C age and error belonging to a b2k age.

adjust.fractionation

Adjust a radiocarbon age for fractionation

calculate cal BP ages from b2k ages

Find the pMC and error belonging to a b2k age.

Find the pMC and error belonging to a cal BP age.

calBPtoDelta14C

Find the Delta14C and error belonging to a cal BP age.

Find the F14C and error belonging to a cal BP age.

calculate b2k ages from cal BP ages

Find the Delta14C and error belonging to a b2k age.

Find the F14C and error belonging to a b2k age.

calculate cal BC/AD ages from cal BP ages

Find the 14C age and error belonging to a cal BP age.

Comparison dates calibrated using both the t distribution (Christen and Perez 2009) and the normal distribution.

Make a table of calibrated dates

Simulate the impact of contamination on a radiocarbon age

Draw the asymmetric relationship between 14C and F14C

Calculate calibrated distribution

To be retired - coverage of one distribution by another.

Draw a calibration curve.

Simulate removing contamination from a radiocarbon age

Draw Delta14C and the calibration curve.

Plot individual calibrated dates.

Find the calibrated probability of a calendar age for a 14C date.

Find nearby shell-derived dR values

draw.contamination

Draw contamination impacts

translate between timescales

Amount of C14 particles in a sample

Check whether hpds of two distributions overlap

Estimate a missing radiocarbon age from fractions

add calibrated distributions to a plot.

A map of 180k archaeological C-14 dates

Calculate highest posterior density

Plot regional shell-derived dR values

point.estimates

Calculate a point estimate

Transform pMC into Delta14C

Deprecated. Use pMCtoC14 instead.

Calculate pMC ages from F14C values.

Calculate C14 ages from pMC values.

Calculate the amount of muck/contamination to explain an observed C14 age

The overlap between calibrated C14 dates

Probability of a date lying within a cal BP range

Find the probability of a calibrated date being older than a certain age

Test if a set of radiocarbon dates can be combined

Plot and summarize the dR values

Radiocarbon Equations

Add a gamma distribution to a calibrated date

rice: Radiocarbon Equations

Add a normal distribution to a calibrated date

Listen to radiocarbon being measured

return a random calendar age from a calibrated distribution

The spread among calibrated dates

Calculate the weighted mean of C14 ages

Smooth a calibration curve

Find the probability of a calibrated date being of a certain age or younger than it

The time span between two calibrated dates

Find the 14C age and error belonging to a cal BC/AD age.

Find the F14C and error belonging to a cal BC/AD age.

Find the pMC and error belonging to a cal BC/AD age.

calculate cal BP ages from cal BC/AD ages

Find the cal BCAD age(s) crossing a C14 age.

Calculate F14C values from C14 ages

calculate b2k from cal BC/AD ages

Find the Delta14C and error belonging to a cal BC/AD age.

Transform C14 age(s) into Delta14C

Find the b2k age(s) crossing a C14 age.

Calculate C14 ages from F14C values.

Calculate F14C values from C14 ages

Transform Delta14C into C14 age

Deprecated. Use F14CtoC14instead