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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

781

Version

2.3.0

License

GPL (>= 2)

Issues

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Repository

https://github.com/Maarten14C/rice

Maintainer

Maarten Blaauw

Last Published

August 19th, 2026

Functions in rice (2.3.0)

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

Transform Delta14C into C14 age

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

Calculate F14C values from C14 ages

Calculate pMC ages from F14C values.

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

Deprecated. Use C14toF14C instead

Deprecated. Use C14topMC instead.

calculate cal BP ages from b2k ages

calculate cal BC/AD ages from b2k ages

Find the F14C and error belonging to a b2k age.

Find the pMC and error belonging to a b2k age.

calculate cal BC/AD ages from cal BP ages

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

calculate b2k ages from cal BP ages

Calculate C14 ages from F14C values.

adjust.fractionation

Adjust a radiocarbon age for fractionation

adjust.background

Adjust a radiocarbon age for background measurements

Find the Delta14C and error belonging to a b2k age.

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

Calculate C14 ages from F14C values.

Combine multiple radiocarbon dates within bins

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

Calculate age ranges

calBPtoDelta14C

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

Simulate removing contamination from a radiocarbon age

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

Plot individual calibrated dates.

Draw the asymmetric relationship between 14C and F14C

Calculate calibrated distribution

Draw Delta14C and the calibration curve.

To be retired - coverage of one distribution by another.

Simulate the impact of contamination on a radiocarbon age

Check whether hpds of two distributions overlap

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

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

draw.contamination

Draw contamination impacts

Make a table of calibrated dates

Draw a calibration curve.

translate between timescales

Estimate a missing radiocarbon age from fractions

Calculate highest posterior density

Amount of C14 particles in a sample

add calibrated distributions to a plot.

Find nearby shell-derived dR values

The overlap between calibrated C14 dates

Probability of a date lying within a cal BP range

Calculate pMC ages from F14C values.

Transform pMC into Delta14C

A map of 180k archaeological C-14 dates

Plot regional shell-derived dR values

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

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

Add a gamma distribution to a calibrated date

Deprecated. Use pMCtoC14 instead.

Calculate C14 ages from pMC values.

Plot and summarize the dR values

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

Add a normal distribution to a calibrated date

Calculate the weighted mean of C14 ages

rice: Radiocarbon Equations

The spread among calibrated dates

Radiocarbon Equations

Smooth a calibration curve

The time span between two calibrated dates

point.estimates

Calculate a point estimate

Test if a set of radiocarbon dates can be combined

Listen to radiocarbon being measured

return a random calendar age from a calibrated distribution

Simulate a radiocarbon date

calculate cal BP ages from cal BC/AD ages

Calculate F14C values from C14 ages

Transform C14 age(s) into Delta14C

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

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

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

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

Fill the atmosphere and ocean with 14C

calculate b2k from cal BC/AD ages

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

Deprecated. Use F14CtoC14instead

Transform Delta14C into F14C

Calculate pMC values from C14 ages

Transform Delta14C into pMC

Transform F14C into Delta14C