Entre laboratoire et terrain: physiciens, chimistes et archeologues face au radiocarbone

Contrary to a common assumption, (methodological) improvements in science are not necessarily the direct consequences of technical innovations. The introduction of radiocarbon dating (or 14C) in archaeology confirms this assessment. Heralded as a revolutionary method around the 1950s, its impact on the development of European archaeology remained however very limited before the 1980s. Considering the specific conditions of science production in archaeology and in the field of laboratory sciences, this article aims at clarifying the concrete modalities of the close collaborations which were initiated between archaeologists, and physicists and nuclear chemists in the context of the development of radiocarbon dating.