Wiggle matching, also known as carbon–14 wiggle-match dating (WMD) uses the non-linear relationship between ¹⁴C age

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

 and calendar age to match the shape of a series of closely sequentially spaced ¹⁴C dates with the ¹⁴C calibration curve. A numerical approach to WMD allows one to assess the precision of WMD chronologies. The method has both advantages and limitations vis-a-vis the calibration of individual dates. High-precision chronologies are needed for studies of rapid climate changes.
Alan Millard

Alan Millard

Alan Ralph Millard is Rankin Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, and Honorary Senior Fellow , at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology in the University of Liverpool....

 refers to wiggle matching as a way of dealing with the flat portion of the carbon 14 calibration graph which is known as the Hallstatt plateau

Hallstatt plateau

The Hallstatt plateau is a term used in archaeology that refers to a consistently flat area on graphs that plot radiocarbon dating against calendar dates. Radiocarbon dates of around 2450 BP always calibrate to ca. 800-400 BC, no matter the measurement precision. The carbon 14 dating method is...

,named after the Hallstatt culture

Hallstatt culture

The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...

period in central Europe with which it coincides.