MedAfriCarbon radiocarbon database and web app are outcomes of the MedAfrica Project —Archaeological deep history and dynamics of Mediterranean Africa, ca. 9600-700 BC. The dataset presented here includes a collection of 1584 calibrated archaeological 14C dates from 1587 samples collected from 368 sites located in Mediterranean Africa (plus some additional dates whose published information is incomplete). The majority of the dates are linked to cultural and environmental variables, notably the presence/absence of different domestic/wild species and specific material culture.

[1] The dataset is unusual because the majority of the dates within it have been annotated with further cultural and environmental variables, notably the presence/absence of different domestic/wild species and particular material culture traits. MedAfriCarbon also includes a publicly-accessible web application that facilitates data exploration and informal analysis.

[2] The MedAfricaCarbon web app provides a friendly graphical interface through which to explore the database, based on the Shiny platform, and running on a server at the University of Cambridge (https://theia.arch.cam.ac.uk/MedAfriCarbon). The app is structured as a tabbed dashboard allowing spatial, temporal, and attribute based queries, on-the-fly calibration of each date, the creation of summed probability distribution (SPD) of radiocarbon dates analyses (via the rcarbon package), as well access to the linked bibliography and custom-downloads of selected subsets.

[3] Time Period Covered: ca. 12.000–600 cal. BC

[4] This dataset was first published at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3630619