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Intersting Technique
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 9:38 am
by Minimalist
If it is proven this could be a fantastic mechanism for dating ceramics.
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/arti ... ent-relics
Fire and water are all that is needed to unlock the internal clocks' of archaeological remains and accurately reveal their age, say scientists. The research, published online today in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, will help archaeologists date remains that are thousands of years old, and also reveal where other techniques go wrong.
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:24 am
by Leona Conner
Great, just as long as nothing comes up older than 12,000 years. Cuz if they do, the fundies will be screaming.
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:25 am
by Minimalist
They'd be screaming anyway. It's what they do.
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:05 am
by curious01
Minimalist wrote:They'd be screaming anyway. It's what they do.
HAHAH!
Hahahahahah!
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:07 pm
by Samra
I was notified of this yesterday and the implications for accurately dating the Aegean Bronze Age are profound.
I recently finished a paper titled "The Bronze Age Eruption of Santorini and Late Minoan IB Destruction Event" where I cited the limitations of using ceramics as anything other than a relative indicator of absolute chronology.
Sheppard Baird
www.minoanatlantis.com
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 5:25 pm
by Minimalist
Nice write up, Samra. This technique, if it proves out, does look to make "stratigraphy" about as obsolete as alchemy.
I wonder if it would work on Jomon pottery?
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 7:24 am
by Samra
I'm glad you liked it. It's been very well received and I hope the research on Crete will begin this summer. Perhaps I'll start a topic on it here.
It will be interesting to see what the technique's full range and limitations will be. One can only hope for Jomon.
Sheppard Baird
www.minoanatlantis.com
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:58 am
by kbs2244
We have discussed this at another site.
The big problem is that high heat “resets the clock” by driving out the absorbed moisture.
In England known medieval bricks have been tested as 60 years old.
That is the date of a WWII fire bombing.
So anything that gets real hot would throw this technique out.
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 11:05 am
by Minimalist
The shroud of Turin nuts claim that heat interferes with C14 dating, too.
I suppose the question on this technique is: How much heat?
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 11:59 am
by Digit
They'd be screaming anyway.
I'm deaf!
Roy.
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:12 pm
by Minimalist
Well....at YOUR age!
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:31 pm
by Digit
Careful young man!
Roy.
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:29 am
by kbs2244
I don't think it would take too much heat to reset the clock.
Water boils at 212 F so anything over that would start to dry it out.
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 10:09 am
by Minimalist
If I recall, pottery requires a minimum temperature of 1300F to fire.
212 is easily surpassed by any camp fire/brush fire. 1300f is a tad harder to attain naturally. So the question comes down is it the pottery or the water which has to be heated.
It will be interesting to see what their tests reveal.
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:35 pm
by kbs2244
True.
I was thinking of water absorbed after fireing.
But the fireing should not allow that.
So we have to think about water sealed in by the fireing.
I will see if I can find the post about the English bricks.
I would guess that a WWII firestorm would exceed 1300 F though.