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A view from outside: recognising the big picture
Author(s) -
Baillie M. G. L.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(199910)14:6<625::aid-jqs496>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - tephrochronology , radiocarbon dating , chronology , relevance (law) , process (computing) , computer science , data science , history , geology , archaeology , paleontology , political science , volcano , law , tephra , operating system
Recent advances in chronology, brought about by ice‐core and tree‐ring records, by tephrochronology and high‐precision radiocarbon dating, have started to allow construction of what could be called the global picture. The process can only accelerate as more and more phenomena are dated. In the process a scheme will inevitably develop which will separate research results into two main classes—one relevant to the global picture, the other irrelevant in global terms. This paper seeks to address the issue, illustrating what is becoming possible. It suggests that we can already start to decide on relevance, that we can define some of the limits of our understanding and that we should start directing resources to globally‐relevant sites and topics.