Radiocarbon dating

graffiti, dated as early as 1602. But it was not until 1906, when the cave paintings in the main chamber of the cave—Salon Noir—were acknowledged as prehistoric, that the preservation of the cave and the study of the paintings began. Now, through radiocarbon dating of the charcoal, we know the rock art is at least 14,000 years old. 14,000 years! So, to be clear, our interpretations of the cave art – the spirals and the dots – emphasize how much symbols can mean in artistic expression. So, let’s…

Stonehenge. One of Great Britain’s most well-known and ancient landmarks, this roughly circular arrangement of stones is visited by countless tourists each year. So well-known is Stonehenge in fact, that the geography and culture of the United Kingdom can no longer be discussed without at least a passing mention of the landmark. It is safe to say that Stonehenge has deeply rooted itself within Britain’s history and identity and yet, despite how ostensibly important it is, it is interesting to…

hard to tell if this was the case. In other culture their time scale is stranger, if a person in the group gets older it is said they are 100 years old. It would be smart to radiocarbon date something and know that culture time scale to actually record the approximate time of their mythology. For example, radiocarbon dating Australian aborigines to tell about when they believe their dreamtime and how it fits into the climate and environment of Australia at the time. If this was after a time of…

Many dig sites such a Topper, Meadowcroft, and Cactus Hill, have been found to contain artifacts dating back 12,500 years ago. The New York Times article The New World’s Earliest People; Tests Hint Campsite is 15,000 Years Old states that blade-like stone tools were found at a lower level of the Cactus Hill dig site. However, these tools did not closely…

how much you can learn there. It is a very large and interesting museum that contains a lot of different informations and talked about many different topics. One of the many interesting things I saw and learned about in the museum is the the fossil dating and about their relative and/or absolute age. In order to find the age of the special kind of fossil named hominid, there are 2 different types of techniques. The first type is called relative, which shows a fossil as older in age or younger…

The Shroud of Turin is one of the most analyzed artifacts in the world, consuming well over 100,000 hours of research. It bears the image of a bearded man who was crucified. The wounds shown on the Shroud are similar to the ones that Jesus suffered as described in the four gospels, and many believe that it is the Shroud in which Jesus was wrapped after his crucifixion. The history of the Shroud is uncertain because it did not seem to surface until the 6th century, but because there is no…

look, the paintings' specialized modernity made them appear to be moderately later, maybe 10,000 to 15,000 years of age. Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal in the black pigments demonstrated that the earlier paintings in the cave were made 35,000 years prior. The date toppled the possibility that Europe's earliest art paintings were simple and straightforward. More than 80 radiocarbon dates have been taken from the torch marks and paintings on the walls, as well as the animal bones and charcoal…

Homo sapiens is the name of the species that rules today 's Earth. It means in Latin man (Homo) that is wise (Sapiens), but who are these "wise men" that have made their way to the top of the food chain you may ask? Well, they are we, like you and me, humans that have out competed our fellow homos into extinction. How do we know this though? Well, around 3.3 million years ago people started to become curious about how we Homo Sapiens came to be and human evolution in a whole. One may think that…

largest active volcano in Europe and one of the world's most frequently erupting volcanoes.” (Mount Etna: Facts) Mount Etna’s earliest known eruption was in 6190 BCE. The second known eruption was in 5150 BCE. These eruptions are known because of radiocarbon found in the area. The date of when this volcano was formed is not certain like most volcanos this one was formed on plate boundaries. Mount Etna is called a Stratovolcano. A Stratovolcano is made from layers of ash and lava. Another name…

The oldest footprints in North America have been discovered on Calvert Island in British Columbia, Canada. The amazing archaeological discovery features 12 footprints that indicate at least three separate individuals, possibly living as a family group. Calvert Island's First Family Found in the Oldest Footprints in North America On a small island off the coast of British Columbia, a family of two adults and one child huddled around a fire. They circled around the stone-ringed fire pit,…