DOCSLIB.ORG

Radiocarbon Users Conference

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Radiocarbon Users Conference RADIOCARBON USERS CONFERENCE WELLINGTON 17th & 18th August 1971 RÄBIOCABBON USERS' CONíERENCE held at INSTITUTE OP NUCLEAR SCIENCES LOWER HUTT NEW ZEALAND 17TH to 18TH AUGUST 1971 Department of Scientific & Industrial Research New Zealand Government Printer 1 Aug 1971 Wellington 2a INDEX continued The Selection of Archaeological Samples for 196-205 Radiocarbon Dating L. Lockerbie Possible Use of Natural ffax Extracted from 206-209 Peat? as a Radiocarbon Sating Material T.L.Grant-Taylor The Reporting of Very Old Radiocarbon Dates 210-213 K. J. Gougfa FOREWORD This Radiocarbon Users conference was first suggested by Dr David Kear, Director of New Zealand Geological Survey and enthusiastically taken up by Dr Rafter, Director of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences. It was organised with a view to providing a single forum for many of the aspects that affect radiocarbon dates, hoping to avoid the pitfalls of tco great specialisation in any field. There are continuous developments as might be expectedt and quite a number of these developments have been made here at the New Zealand Laboratory, not only in the actual mechanical process of dating but also in the background philosophy, and understanding of lene natural processes affecting the carbon component of fossils. The New Zealand Laboratory was one of the first two or three to be established, and is now the oldest contin- uously operating radiocarbon laboratory in the world. The laboratory has been in existence now for about 20 years» our first date list being published in 1953» I wish to thank all who have helped me in the prep- aration for this conference, particularly those people who are presenting papers and especially Mrs E.M. Tiller of my office. ' T.L. Grknt-Taylor INDEX History and Concepts of Radiocarbon Dating 3-21 T. A. Rafter An Evaluation of Some Methods of Radiocarbon 22-28 Counting K. J. Gough Gas Counters and Counting 29-36 D.R. Currie Practionation of Carbon Isotopes by Higher Plante 37-46 J. H. Troughton Tree Rings and Radiocarbon Dates 4-7-51 H. S. Jansen The Presence of Humic Acias in Radiocarbon-Dated 52-58 Charcoal J.M.Bailey and K. S.Birrell Contamination of Radiocarbon Samples 59-64- T.L.Grant-Taylor Selection of Samples for Radiocarbon Dating for 65-70 Geological Purposes T. L. Grant-Taylor Radiocarbon Dating of Soil Organic Matter: 71-85 Its Scope and Limitations K. M. Goh The Use of Radiocarbon in Measuring the Turnover 86-98 of Soil Organic Blatter J.D.Stout Radiocarbon Dating in Botany 99-111 N. T. Moar Radiocarbon Chronology of Late Quaternary Rhyolite 112-116 Tephra Deposits C.G.Vucetich and ff.A. Pu"> lar Ages, inferred from 11+C Da tes,of some Tephra and 117-138 other deposits from Rotorua, Taupo, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Hawke'a Bay Districts W.A.Pullar and Janice £. Heine 1UC Dates in the Quaternarj^Geology of t^e "Golden Coast".Wellington C. A. Fleming Identification of ffood from Tree Stumps and Drift 14.9-I56 flood associated witb Tephra Layers in Alluvium ani of Charcoal from Tephra Layers ff.A. Pullar and R.N.Patel The Use of Radiocarbon Dating in Marine Geology 137-164 J.V.Eade Radiocarbon Dating of Bone Organic and Inorganic 163-181 Matter H.Polach Degradative Methods as Aids in Soil Humic Acid 182-191 Characterisation K.R.Tate Low Temperature Ashing 192-195 P.C.Rankin 3. HISTORY ANO CONCEPTS OF RADIOCARBON DAi.% An address to the Radiocarbon Users Conference Wellington - August 17-18, 1971 by O T.A. Rafter SUMMARY The paper discusses some of the main controversial issues reported to the "Radiocarbon Variations and Absolute Chronology" symposium held at Uppsala from 11 to 15 August 1969. 14 The ccnst&ncy of the C production rate is one of the main. uncertainties in the reliability of the carbon-14 dating Method. How this is being estimated, and preliminary suggested corrections for carbon-14 against dendrochronological ages, are given. 4. In 1969 I was invited to attend the XII Nobel Symposium at Uppsala, where I presented four papers on the work of the Institute. The proceedings of the symposium were published recently in this rather elegant volume and I have reprints here of the four papers we presented. After the Uppsala Conference, I was invited to the ANZAAS Conference at Adelaide on my way home. I said that I would review the papers presented at Uppsala on Radiocarbon Variations and Absolute Chronology. I spent a wet Sunday in Zurich working on this review and a day before the lecture, preparing notes. Since then I have had little opportunity to go over these notes again, but I felt they would 09 worth revising for. this Radiocarbon Users Conference. Thirty-two papers were presented that could be loosely grouped into sessions devoted to: (1) Historical Chronology (£) l/arved Clay Chronology (3) Dendrochronology (4) Radiocarbon Reservoir Problems (5) Astro - and Geophysical Phenomena and their Effect on Radiocarbon Variations (6) Dating Methods and Related Analyses Dr W.F. Libby, in an open session at the conclusion of the Conference, gave an excellent review of the carbon-14 method. I think it would be appropriate here to briefly¿go over the principles of the method so that we can see more clearly the problems involved as far as our own interests are concerned. Carbon>14 is produced by cosmic rays coming from outer space that, bombarding the atmospheric gases, produce neutrons that, fortunately for us, are rapidly absorbed by nitrogen atoms, forming C-14 as illustrated by the equation 14 * n • 14W 14 • The excitad C atom, by a process we are still not sure about, oxidises to CO.. 14 • 14 * CO C • IL Carbon-14 is a radioactive species of carbon, disintegrating back to 14 N by the emission of a beta particle. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 55B0 years or a mean life of 8033 years and its decay follows what mathematicians call an exponential curve. 5600 11,200 Time This curve relates activity to time by an equation A. = A e that we need not worry about any further, t o 6. 14 The C0? molecules rapidly mix with the normal CCL molecules of the atmosphere and through the sun's energy and the photosynthetic process in the green leaves of plants is assimilated intu plants and so into animals and human beings such as you and me. We therefore have the relationship sunlight • 'CO--*- HO + plants —> complex organic compounds * The indicates that the organic compounds are tagged by a v/ery símil number of C-14 atoms present (actually only about one C-14 atom per 1012 D-12 atoms). If uie are to use the radioactive decay of carbon-14 as a method of dating, we must not only be confident that the decay rate is constant but also that the concentration of C-14 per unit weight initially was also constant. By this I moan that the number of C-14 atomg per gram of carbon synthesised by trees at the beginning of this Í¡ century is the same as that synthesised by trees 10, 20, 30 or 40,000 •t years agoc The concentration of C-14 is therefore controlled by the relationship ¿C-14/ = Cosmic ray production rate Pool of carbon 2n per cm /sec 8g carbon/cm the pool is made up approximately as follows: 2 living matter = 0.3 g per cm atmosphere oceans humus 7. Note that most of the carbon is in the oceans so that the circulation patterns of the norId*s oceans is of great importanos in what follows. WB have assumed that the C-14 production rate has remained constant over the last 40,000 years and that the C-14 produced was uniformly mixed in a few hundred years within the "pool" and finally, that after death on removal from its natural environment, the specimen be it human, plant, animal, shell or soil, is isolated from C-14 contamination with the anvironment, so that decay of C-14 is the only process that can vary 'che C-14 concentration. When the C-14 dating method was first developed, it was accurate to only _• 250 years and its reliability was checked against historically dated materials. Subsequently, the accuracy was improved to _• 50 years. Troubles were then experienced with historical specimens because in many cases the C-14 method dated only the time of removal of the carbon specimen from its natural environment, not the historicel event. These two events could be separated by hundreds of years, e.g., a coffin to date the death of an Egyptian king. This difficulty could at first be overcome by using short-lived materials, e.g., seeds, leaves, sandals, etc., bu*- the question that remained unanswered was the constancy of the C-14 production rate. An attempt to arrive at this was attempted by comparing the C-14 activity in trees, that had been accurately dated by the science of dendrochronology. In 1958 a Dutch scientist, ds vries showed for the first time that a secular effect existed, i.e., a set 14 of long-term changos in the contemporary concentration of CO. in 8, the atmosphere at a particular location, as well as differences that may exist between different locations. This work was extended by Suess of the University of California, San Diego, using the giant sequoia that had a tree-ring age over 2,000 years. The possibility of studying in more detail the C-14 variations in the atmosphere was greatly extended by Dr C.W.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Amarna Period Down to the Opening of Sety I's Reign
    oi.uchicago.edu STUDIES IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION * NO.42 THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Thomas A. Holland * Editor with the assistance of Thomas G. Urban oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu Internet publication of this work was made possible with the generous support of Misty and Lewis Gruber THE ROAD TO KADESH A HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE BATTLE RELIEFS OF KING SETY I AT KARNAK SECOND EDITION REVISED WILLIAM J. MURNANE THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO STUDIES IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION . NO.42 CHICAGO * ILLINOIS oi.uchicago.edu Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-63725 ISBN: 0-918986-67-2 ISSN: 0081-7554 The Oriental Institute, Chicago © 1985, 1990 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 1990. Printed in the United States of America. oi.uchicago.edu TABLE OF CONTENTS List of M aps ................................ ................................. ................................. vi Preface to the Second Edition ................................................................................................. vii Preface to the First Edition ................................................................................................. ix List of Bibliographic Abbreviations ..................................... ....................... xi Chapter 1. Egypt's Relations with Hatti From the Amarna Period Down to the Opening of Sety I's Reign ...................................................................... ......................... 1 The Clash of Empires
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Egyptian Chronology and the Book of Genesis
    Answers Research Journal 4 (2011):127–159. www.answersingenesis.org/arj/v4/ancient-egyptian-chronology-genesis.pdf Ancient Egyptian Chronology and the Book of Genesis Matt McClellan, [email protected] Abstract One of the most popular topics among young earth creationists and apologists is the relationship of the Bible with Ancient Egyptian chronology. Whether it concerns who the pharaoh of the Exodus was, the background of Joseph, or the identity of Shishak, many Christians (and non-Christians) have wondered how these two topics fit together. This paper deals with the question, “How does ancient Egyptian chronology correlate with the book of Genesis?” In answering this question it begins with an analysis of every Egyptian dynasty starting with the 12th Dynasty (this is where David Down places Moses) and goes back all the way to the so called “Dynasty 0.” After all the data is presented, this paper will look at the different possibilities that can be constructed concerning how long each of these dynasties lasted and how they relate to the biblical dates of the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the Patriarchs. Keywords: Egypt, pharaoh, Patriarchs, chronology, Abraham, Joseph Introduction Kingdom) need to be revised. This is important During the past century some scholars have when considering the relationship between Egyptian proposed new ways of dating the events of ancient history and the Tower of Babel. The traditional dating history before c. 700 BC.1 In 1991 a book entitled of Ancient Egyptian chronology places its earliest Centuries of Darkness by Peter James and four of dynasties before the biblical dates of the Flood and his colleagues shook the very foundations of ancient confusion of the languages at Babel.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 13 Radiocarbon Date Calibration Using Historically Dated
    V.R. Switsur CHAPTER 13 RADIOCARBON DATE CALIBRATION USING HISTORICALLY DATED SPECIMENS FROM EGYPT AND NEW RADIOCARBON DETERMINATIONS FOR EL·AMARNA by V .R. Switsur (Godwin Laboratory, .University of Cambridge) 13.1 Egyptian historical chronolo1ie1 From the inception of the radiocarbon dating method there has been much interest in the dating of samples from ancient Egypt. No other ancient civilisation has left a legacy of such great quantity and variety of datable materials spanning so long a range of time. Using disparate methods, it is generally possible to assign dates to many Egyptian events and objects and hence construct a comprehensive historical chronology. Despite inevitable scholarly disagreements over detail, the main chronology appears lo be a rigid structure of interlocking facts. Nevertheless there is always the rerrnle possibility of bias. A foundation stone of this edifice is one of the three calendars used by the ancient Egyptians, the Civil Calendar. It had evidently been devised to begin with the onset of the annual Nile inundation, and In>re particularly with an astronomical event which occurred at this time of year: the first day that the star Sirius appeared on the eastern horizon irnnediately prior to the rising sun (the heliacal rising of Sirius). In the absence of a leap year in this calendar, however, the first day advanced by one day in four years with r espect to the solar year, resulting in the coincidence of the heliacal rising of Sirius with the first day of the calendar year only once in about 1460 years. This is known as the Sothic Cycle and varies slightly.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Stone Quarry Landscapes In
    QuarryScapes: quarry stone ancient Mediterranean landscapes in the Eastern QuarryScapes: ancient QuarryScapes:stone quarry landscapes ancient stone in quarrythe Eastern landscapes Mediterranean in the EasternGeological Survey of MediterraneanNorway, Special Publication, 12 Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 Abu-Jaber et al. (eds.) et al. 12 Abu-Jaber Special Publication, Geological Survey of Norway, Abu-Jaber, N., Bloxam, E.G., Degryse,P. and Heldal, T. (eds.) Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 The NGU Special Publication series comprises consecutively numbered volumes containing papers and proceedings from national and international symposia or meetings dealing with Norwegian and international geology, geophysics and geochemistry; excursion guides from such symposia; and in some cases papers of particular value to the international geosciences community, or collections of thematic articles. The language of the Special Publication series is English. Editor: Trond Slagstad ©2009 Norges geologiske undersøkelse Published by Norges geologiske undersøkelse (Geological Survey of Norway) NO-7491 Norway All Rights reserved ISSN: 0801-5961 ISBN: 978-82-7385-138-3 Design and print: Trykkpartner Grytting AS Cover illustration: Situated far out in the Eastern Desert in Egypt, Mons Claudianus is one of the most spectacular quarry landscapes in Egypt. The white tonalite gneiss was called marmor claudianum by the Romans, and in particular it was used for large objects such as columns and bathtubs. Giant columns of the stone can be seen in front of Pantheon in Rome. Photo by Tom Heldal. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORWAY SPECIAL PUBLICATION n Contents Introduction Abu-Jaber, N., Bloxam, E.G., Degryse, P.
    [Show full text]
  • UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Growth and Influence of Interregional Exchange in the Southern Levant's Iron Age I-II Transition, Examined through Biblical, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Sources Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7wg1m1rv Author Malena, Sarah Lynn Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO FERTILE CROSSROADS: The Growth and Influence of Interregional Exchange in the Southern Levant’s Iron Age I-II Transition, Examined through Biblical, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Sources A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Sarah Lynn Malena Committee in Charge: Professor Thomas E. Levy, Co-Chair Professor William H. C. Propp, Co-Chair Professor Richard Elliott Friedman Professor David M. Goodblatt Professor Patrick Hyder Patterson 2015 © Sarah Lynn Malena, 2015 All rights reserved. SIGNATURE PAGE The Dissertation of Sarah Lynn Malena is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair __________________________________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Egyptian Chronology
    Ancient Egyptian Chronology Edited by Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, and David A. Warburton BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2006 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ancient Egyptian chronology I edited by Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, and David A. Warburton; with the assistance of Marianne Eaton-Krauss. p. cm. - (Handbook of Oriental studies. Section I, The Near and Middle East ; v. 83) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-90-04-11385-5 ISBN-IO: 90-04-11385-1 1. Egypt-History-To 332 E.C.-Chronology. 2. Chronology, Egyptian. 3. Egypt-Antiquities. I. Hornung, Erik. 11. Krauss, Rolf. III. Warburton, David. IV. Eaton-Krauss, Marianne. DT83.A6564 2006 932.002'02-dc22 2006049915 ISSN 0169-9423 ISBN-IO 90 04 11385 1 ISBN-I 3 9789004 11385 5 © Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. KoninkIijke Brill NV incorporates the iInprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, mc Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS CONTENTS Acknowledgments .. Xl Introduction . Erik Homung PART I EGYPTIAN CHRONOGRAPHICAL TRADITION AND METHOD OF DATING 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology
    The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 7 Article 37 2013 Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology Anne Habermehl Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Habermehl, Anne (2013) "Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology," The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 7 , Article 37. Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol7/iss1/37 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Creationism. Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship ANCIENT EGYPT, THE ICE AGE, AND BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY Anne Habermehl, B.SC., 25 Madison ST, Cortland, NY 13045 USA KEYWORDS: Biblical chronology, timeline, Ice Age, ancient Egypt, Nile Delta, Nile River, archaeology of prehistoric Egypt, geology of prehistoric Egypt, Masoretic, Septuagint. ABSTRACT The history, archaeology, geography, and geology of ancient Egypt are examined with respect to the post-Flood Ice Age. It is shown that the Ice Age must have ended before the formation of the Nile Delta, and therefore well before the beginnings of Egyptian civilization and Abraham’s visit to Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiocarbon Challenges Archaeo-Historical Time Frameworks in the Near East Bruins, Hendrik J.; Van Der Plicht, Johannes
    University of Groningen Radiocarbon challenges archaeo-historical time frameworks in the near East Bruins, Hendrik J.; van der Plicht, Johannes Published in: Radiocarbon IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2001 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Bruins, H. J., & van der Plicht, J. (2001). Radiocarbon challenges archaeo-historical time frameworks in the near East: The Early Bronze Age of Jericho in relation to Egypt. Radiocarbon, 43(3), 1321-1332. Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 25-09-2021 RADIOCARBON CHALLENGES ARCHAEO-HISTORICAL TIME FRAMEWORKS IN THE NEAR EAST: THE EARLY BRONZE AGE OF JERICHO IN RELATION TO EGYPT Hendrik J Bruins 1 Johannes van der Plicht 2 ABSTRACT. Our stratified radiocarbon dates from EB Jericho (Trench III) on short-lived material are significantly older than conventional archaeo-historical time frameworks.
    [Show full text]
  • Chronology and Archaeology in Ancient Egypt
    Table of contents Foreword xi Abbreviations and journals xiii Bibliography xvi Michael Dee, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Joanne M. Rowland: Evaluating the effectiveness of radiocarbon studies of the Old Kingdom 1 Recent radiocarbon studies of the Old Kingdom have produced dates that are significantly offset from historical estimates. As part of the Egyptian Chronology Project at the University of Oxford, the procedures and results from many of these studies are currently being examined. The data are being modelled using Bayesian statistics and the key methodologies, from sample collection to pre-treatment, are being evaluated. The insights gained are enabling the performance of radiocarbon dating to be optimised for Dynastic sites. This update includes simple archaeological and statistical approaches that have already proven successful. Eventually, the Oxford Egyptian Chronology Project aims to combine existing and next) measurements to give a precise radiocarbon-based chronology for ancient Egypt. Joanne M. Rowland: Building bridges between radiocarbon, relative and historical chronologies: the case of early Egypt 10 The chronology ofPre- and Early Dynastic Egypt remains one of the most flexible, yet complex issues in our understanding of early Egypt. A recent compilation of radiocarbon measurements showed that in excess of a third of all dates published relate to Pre- and Early Dynastic contexts. Furthermore, more than tivo-thirds of the radiocarbon dates prior to the First Dynasty have been obtained during the last 20 years, as compared with only half of the First and Second Dynasty dates. This is as reflective of the increase in r->sear<~h into the Predynastic as it is of our application of scientific dating methods.
    [Show full text]
  • Discussions in Egyptology 33, 1995
    DISCUSSIONS IN EGYPTOLOGY 33 1995 DISCUSSIONS IN EGYPTOLOGY ISSN 0268-3083 © 1995 Authors All Rights Reserved Editor: Alessandra Nibbi Reviews Editor: Angela Tooley TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial note The Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 1995. A. Alcock A Note on the Historical Works of Naguib Mahfouz. 7 J. Goldberg Centuries of Darkness and Egyptian Chronology: 11 Another Look. W. Honig Die 9 Götter von Heliopolis in der Cheopspyramide. 33 E. Iversen Two Suggestions Concerning Obelisks. 41 J. A. R. Legon The Orion Correlation and Air-shaft Theories. 45 O. Ndigi L'expression des cardinaux et des ordinaux en égyptien 57 • et en basaa. P. O'Mara Can the Giza Pyramids be dated Astronomically? Logical 73 Foundations for an Old Kingdom Astronomical Chronology. J. G. Read Placement of El-Lahun Lunar Dates and Resulting 87 Chronology. J Rousseau Metrologie et coudée. 115 G. Takâcs Aegyptio-Afroasiatica II. 123 J. Vercoutter The Unesco 'Campaign of Nubia" in the Sudan. Success or Failure? 133 REVIEWS T. DuQuesne K. Koch, Geschichte der ägyptischen Religion von den Pyramiden bis zu den Mysterien der Isis. (Kohlhammer Verlag, Köln, 1993): also D. Meeks and C. Favard- 141 Meeks, La vie quotidienne des dieux égyptiens. (Hachette, 1993). B. Midant- Reynes J. Crowfoot-Payne, Catalogue of the Predynastic 157 Egyptian Collection in the Ashmolean Museum. (Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1993). L. Morenz G. Lapp, Typologie der Särge und Sargkammern von der 161 6. bis 13. Dynastie, (SAGA 7, Heidelberg, 1993). R. Park S. Bickel. La cosmogonie égyptienne avant le Nouvel 169 Empire. (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis. 134. Editions Universitaires Fribourg.
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Developments in Near Eastern Chronology and Radiocarbon Dating
    A R T I C L E S RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NEAR EASTERN CHRONOLOGY AND RADIOCARBON DATING Michael G. Hasel Institute of Archaeology Southern Adventist University WHAT THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT The chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt are often cited as a basis for substantiating a long history and prehistory for the development of civilization in the Near East. This article provides a state-of-the-art appraisal of ancient Near Eastern chronologies in Mesopotamia and Egypt. It focuses on recent developments in both fields by assessing the current astronomical and historical bases for these chronologies and addressing the relative nature of chron- ology before the second millennium B.C. It documents the trend over the past sixty years to shorten the historical chronology of the Near East. This causes a widening gap between historical dates and the most recent data from 14C samples. This data has major implications for lengthening certain historical and prehistoric periods. The impasse between the historical methods of dating and 14C dating will then be evaluated. The chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt are often cited as a basis for substantiating a long history and prehistory for the development of civilization in the Near East. It is often on the basis of the archaeologi- cal evidence that the arguments are made for the reinterpretation of the biblical chronological data (Kitchen 1966:36-37; Geraty 1974:16; Archer 1979:361; Blocher 1984:215-219; Stek 1990:223-225; Thompson 1991:228-229; Taylor 2000:98; Guy 2003:8). Recent archaeological and anthropological research has produced new data for the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Radiocarbon Dating History
    RADIOCARBON, Vol 51, Nr 1, 2009, p 1–43 © 2009 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona RADIOCARBON DATING HISTORY: EARLY DAYS, QUESTIONS, AND PROBLEMS MET Ingrid U Olsson Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Uppsala, Sweden. Email: [email protected]. ABSTRACT. W F Libby’s new dating method from the 1940s, based on experience in physics and chemistry, opened pos- sibilities to check and revise chronologies built on other principles than radioactive decay. Libby’s method initially implied collaboration with archaeologists to demonstrate that it worked but also with physicists to improve the technique to measure low β– activities. Chemists, geophysicists, botanists, physiologists, statisticians, and other researchers have contributed to a prosperous interdisciplinary development. Some pitfalls were not recognized from the beginning, although issues such as contamination problems were foreseen by Libby. Pretreatment of samples was discussed very early by de Vries and collabo- rators, among others. This subject has not yet been abandoned. Closely related to pretreatment is the choice of fraction to be dated and chemicals to be used, especially for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements. Calibration against tree rings and comparison with dates obtained using other methods as well as intercomparison projects are partly history but still very actual. The impact by man and climate is also studied since the early days of the method. Also, the carbon cycle has been of great interest. The tools for measurements and statistical analysis have been improved during these first 3 or 4 decades, allowing interpretations not possible earlier.
    [Show full text]