Dating

Question 1

How do we know about dates of Caesar’s accomplishments?

Answer 1

He wrote letters dated by the year of the consul, which can be compared to the list of consuls

Question 2

How far back does the list of Consuls extend?

Answer 2

~508BC-1400AD; to Byzantine empire

Question 3

What kingslists exist?

Answer 3

King lists of Persia, Egypt (Turing Papyrus), and Sumeria

Question 4

What is the King List of Persia associated with?

Answer 4

Astronomical events; extends to ~800BC

Question 5

Why are the King Lists of Egypt and Sumeria unreliable?

Answer 5

List reigns of gods, and start way after their civilisation started

Question 6

What was the theory of origin of civilisation in the Victorian era?

Answer 6

Cultural diffusion occurred from centres of high culture; civilisation diffused outwards from the Fertile Crescent, which are river valleys which periodically flood and deposit fertile silt; regions of the Fertile Crescent were Ancient Egypt (~5000BC), Ancient Mesopotamia (~5300BC), and Sundaland

Question 7

What was Sundaland?

Answer 7

An area in the South China Sea, which was flooded and covered by rising sea levels, causing sophisticated culture to escape along Asia into the Middle-East, to the hotspots of civilisation

Question 8

What was the assumption made by Victorian and Edwardian archaeologists about similar structures, objects, etc. found in Britain/ Northern France that were also in Middle-East and Eastern Europe?

Answer 8

Anything found in Britain was assumed to be younger

Question 9

What is seriation?

Answer 9

A relative, floating dating method; compares age by depth that an object is discovered at; can be combined with comparison of structures

Question 10

When was radiocarbon dating invented?

Answer 10

~1945AD; known as the radiocarbon revolution

Question 11

What is the % error of radiocarbon dating?

Answer 11

+-10% error

Question 12

What is radiocarbon dating?

Answer 12

An absolute dating method; cosmic radiation produces radioactive C-14; animal takes up the different C isotopes; animal dies and so C-14 is no longer replenished; C-14 starts decaying (half life of 5730 years, C-14 –> N-14 (loss of neutron)); C-14: C-12/13 ratio found by measuring emissions of beta radiation/ MS

Question 13

Why was radiocarbon dating such a revolution?

Answer 13

Disproved theories of high culture in Egypt and Babylonia being origin, as structures from northwest Europe predated those in Asia and Middle-East by centuries/millenia

Question 14

What are the five types of limitations to radiocarbon dating?

Answer 14

Irregularity of the calibration curve; types of samples; fractionation; reservoir effects; predictable limit of ~50,000 years

Question 15

Why are there irregularities in the calibration curve?

Answer 15

Plateaus exist, such as during the Dark Ages; a volcanic event affected C-14 content in air; at the beginning of the Cold War there was an increase in radioactivity due to the testing of nuclear weapons; burning fossil fuels dilutes C-14 content as sources are ancient and depleted of C-14

Question 16

Why do types of samples create limitations for radiocarbon dating?

Answer 16

E.g. corn regrows each year and is used in that year, whilst trees lie around dead for seasons/years without use

Question 17

What is fractionation?

Answer 17

Lighter isotopes are preferentially absorbed for photosynthesis, diluting C-14 pick-up

Question 18

How can limitations from fractionation be resolved?

Answer 18

Use C-13: C-12 ratio

Question 19

What is the reservoir effect?

Answer 19

Molluscs extract carbonate from sea water which is “old” and depleted of C-14, leading to an overestimate of age

Question 20

What is Sr-isotope analysis?

Answer 20

Sr-86:Sr-87 ratio; old rocks have high ratio, young rocks have old

Question 21

How can Sr-isotope allow for estimation of an origin of an individual?

Answer 21

Nature of geology influences diet, so can measure Sr isotopes in enamel of skeletons’ teeth

Question 22

How far back does dendrochronology account for?

Answer 22

Over 26,000 years

Question 23

How has the analysis of corbelled tombs/ passage graves changed over the centuries?

Answer 23

Corbelled passage-graves were found in Brittany in UK, similar to corbelling found in Greece, such as the Tomb of Atreus. Initially it was thought that the corbelling in the UK was a mimic of those in Greece, as those in Greece were much more sophisticated, being much higher, and the stones were dressed, in addition to the theory of Greek high civilisation being older than UK. With radiocarbon dating, however, was found that those in UK were from 4700BC, about 3000 years before those of Mycenean culture. Thus, a Megalithic culture (associated with introduction of agriculture into NW europe) from northwestern Europe seemed to predate the Bronze Age of Greece

Question 24

What is an example of how radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology can be used together?

Answer 24

Seahenge: storms in Norfolk stripped away sand and silt, revealing and upside-down tree-looking structure, surrounded by planks. This was presumed to be an excarnation platform. Radiocarbon dating allows identification ~2000 years back, whilst dendrochronology can identify ~9000 BP