Week 3 Part 2

Question 1

What are the two forms of radio metric age estimation?

Answer 1

• Those that measure radioactive decay

- Those that measure damage caused by radioactive decay

Question 2

What on Earth is thermoluminescence?

Answer 2

Measures electrons that have been trapped in pottery or rocks
- Electrons accumulate over time

Question 3

What isotope of carbon is radiocarbon

Answer 3

C14

Question 4

What exactly does radiocarbon measure?

Answer 4

The ratio of Carbon 14 to stable carbon

Question 5

Why would we not want to do radiocarbon dating on Tutunkamun’s body

Answer 5

1/ The sample must be destroyed in order to be tested

Question 6

Why do archaeologists hate calling carbon dating; dating?

Answer 6

Because its more like an estimate

- There is often great standard deviation

Question 7

What year is viewed as the present for radioactive dating?

Answer 7

1950

• so all estimates are standardised and are BASED ON YEARS BEFORE PRESENT

Question 8

What were the problems with Libby’s approach?

Answer 8

1/ Half life time was a hundred years off
2/ Artefacts often contaminated with older materials
3/ Because radiocarbon takes longer to get to the Southern Hemisphere, material is incorrectly labelled as older
4/ Sea material has less radiocarbon naturally, making them seem older
5/ Different amounts of radiocarbon in air after nuclear testing for example

Question 9

How did dendrochronology come into all of this?

Answer 9

Used trees to establish the amount of radiocarbon in the air during certain periods
- Used to then properly interpret artefact age

Question 10

What is calibration?

Answer 10

The term for the process of accounting for all these factors once you have your initial age estimate