 |
|
Fire and water reveal new archaeological dating method
May 20, 2009Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way of dating archaeological objects - using fire and water to unlock their 'internal clocks'.
The simple method promises to be as significant a technique for dating ceramic materials as radiocarbon dating has become for organic materials such as bone or wood.
A team from The University of Manchester and The University of Edinburgh has discovered a new technique which they call 'rehydroxylation dating' that can be used on fired clay ceramics like bricks, tile and pottery.
Working with The Museum of London, the team has been able to date brick samples from Roman, medieval and modern periods with remarkable accuracy.
They have established that their technique can be used to determine the age of objects up to 2,000 years old - but believe it has the potential to be used to date objects around 10,000 years old.
The exciting new findings have been published online today (20 May 2009) by the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
The method relies on the fact that fired clay ceramic material will start to chemically react with atmospheric moisture as soon as it is removed from the kiln after firing. This continues over its lifetime causing it to increase in weight - the older the material, the greater the weight gain.
In 2003 the Manchester and Edinburgh team discovered a new law that precisely defines how the rate of reaction between ceramic and water varies over time.
The application of this law underpins the new dating method because the amount of water that is chemically combined with a ceramic provides an 'internal clock' that can be accessed to determine its age.
The technique involves measuring the mass of a sample of ceramic and then heating it to around 500 degrees Celsius in a furnace, which removes the water.
The sample is then monitored in a super-accurate measuring device known as a microbalance, to determine the precise rate at which the ceramic will combine with water over time.
Using the time law, it is possible to extrapolate the information collected to calculate the time it will take to regain the mass lost on heating - revealing the sample's age.
Lead author Dr Moira Wilson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), said: "These findings come after many years of hard work. We are extremely excited by the potential of this new technique, which could become an established way of determining the age of ceramic artefacts of archaeological interest.
"The method could also be turned on its head and used to establish the mean temperature of a material over its lifetime, if a precise date of firing were known. This could potentially be useful in climate change studies.
"As well as the new dating method, there are also more wide-ranging applications of the work, such as the detection of forged ceramic."
The three-year £100,000 project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, with the microbalance - which measures mass to 1/10th of a millionth of a gram - funded by a £66,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC).
Researchers are now planning to look at whether the new dating technique can be applied to earthenware, bone china and porcelain.
University of Manchester
Working with The Museum of London, the team has been able to date brick samples from Roman, medieval and modern periods with remarkable accuracy.
They have established that their technique can be used to determine the age of objects up to 2,000 years old - but believe it has the potential to be used to date objects around 10,000 years old.
The exciting new findings have been published online today (20 May 2009) by the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
The method relies on the fact that fired clay ceramic material will start to chemically react with atmospheric moisture as soon as it is removed from the kiln after firing. This continues over its lifetime causing it to increase in weight - the older the material, the greater the weight gain.
In 2003 the Manchester and Edinburgh team discovered a new law that precisely defines how the rate of reaction between ceramic and water varies over time.
The application of this law underpins the new dating method because the amount of water that is chemically combined with a ceramic provides an 'internal clock' that can be accessed to determine its age.
The technique involves measuring the mass of a sample of ceramic and then heating it to around 500 degrees Celsius in a furnace, which removes the water.
The sample is then monitored in a super-accurate measuring device known as a microbalance, to determine the precise rate at which the ceramic will combine with water over time.
Using the time law, it is possible to extrapolate the information collected to calculate the time it will take to regain the mass lost on heating - revealing the sample's age.
Lead author Dr Moira Wilson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), said: "These findings come after many years of hard work. We are extremely excited by the potential of this new technique, which could become an established way of determining the age of ceramic artefacts of archaeological interest.
"The method could also be turned on its head and used to establish the mean temperature of a material over its lifetime, if a precise date of firing were known. This could potentially be useful in climate change studies.
"As well as the new dating method, there are also more wide-ranging applications of the work, such as the detection of forged ceramic."
The three-year £100,000 project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, with the microbalance - which measures mass to 1/10th of a millionth of a gram - funded by a £66,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC).
Researchers are now planning to look at whether the new dating technique can be applied to earthenware, bone china and porcelain.
University of Manchester
More Archaeological Dating Current Events and Archaeological Dating News Articles
 |
Chronometric Dating in Archeology (Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science) by R.E. Taylor (Editor), Martin J. Aitken (Editor) Since World War II, there has been tremendous success in the development of new methods for dating artifacts; the so-called "radiocarbon revolution" was only the first such discovery. The increasing accuracy of the various new techniques has brought about major changes in archaeological research strategies. This important new text compiles the work of some of today's most innovative archaeologists who summarize progress in their respective techniques over the last 30 years -- with an emphasis on developments of the last five -- and the status of current research. |
 |
Global Treasures PREHISTORIC MALTA Directed By: TravelVideoStore.com Also With: TravelVideoStore.com (Producer) |
 |
Seriation, Stratigraphy, and Index Fossils - The Backbone of Archaeological Dating by Michael J. O'Brien (Author), R. Lee Lyman (Author) It is difficult for today's students of archaeology to imagine an era when chronometric dating methods were unavailable. However, even a casual perusal of the large body of literature that arose during the first half of the twentieth century reveals a battery of clever methods used to determine the relative ages of archaeological phenomena, often with considerable precision. Stratigraphic excavation is perhaps the best known of the various relative-dating methods used by prehistorians. Although there are several techniques of using artifacts from superposed strata to measure time, these are rarely if ever differentiated. Rather, common practice is to categorize them under the heading `stratigraphic excavation'. This text distinguishes among the several techniques and argues... |
 |
Radiocarbon Dating (Interpreting the Past Series) by Sheridan Bowman (Author) Radiocarbon Dating inaugurates a new series, "Interpreting the Past," published jointly by the British Museum and the University of California Press. Approaching archaeological techniques and artifacts from an interpretive viewpoint, the series looks in detail at specific classes of artifacts that have contributed most to our knowledge of the past, and at particular investigative techniques that are now being used to refine this knowledge and thereby to question previous assumptions. In Radiocarbon Dating, Sheridan Bowman provides a much-needed introduction to the complex field of carbon dating. Writing lucidly and knowledgeably, she explains the uses and quirks of radiocarbon results, illustrating them with such famous examples as Stonehenge and the Shroud of Turin.... |
|
The Origin of Modern Humans and the Impact of Chronometric Dating by Chris B. Stringer (Author), Chris B. Stringer (Editor), Martin Jim Aitken (Editor), P. A. Mellard (Editor), Paul Mellars (Editor) This volume of papers delivered to The Royal Society in February of 1992 explores the debate over the "single center" hypothesis of human origins versus "multi-regional evolution." Over the last five years there has been growing support for a recent "Out of Africa" origin of modern humans--based on fresh interpretations of the palaeoanthropological and archaeological evidence, new applications of physical dating techniques to important sites, and a greatly increased genetic data base on recent human variation and its geographical patterning. But there has also been a parallel growth of doubts about interpretations of the new evidence from some workers. This book provides a review of recent progress and allows some of these doubts to be aired and discussed. In addition to the editors, the... | |
 |
It's About Time: A History of Archaeological Dating in North America by Stephen E Nash (Editor) |
|
Near East Destruction Datings, Archaeological and Historical Studies: The Cases of Samaria (722 B.C.) and Tarsus (696 B.C.).(Review) (book review): An ... The Journal of the American Oriental Society by Jr., T. Cuyler Young (Author) This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1002 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: Near East Destruction Datings, Archaeological and Historical Studies: The Cases of Samaria (722 B.C.) and Tarsus (696 B.C.).(Review) (book review) Author: Jr., T. Cuyler Young Publication: The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed) Date: January 1, 2000 Publisher: American Oriental Society Volume: 120 Issue: 1 Page:... | |
|
Radiocarbon dating of archaeological samples (sambaqui) using CO"2 absorption and liquid scintillation spectrometry of low background radiation [An article ... Journal of Environmental Radioactivity] by M.L.T.G. Mendonca (Author), J.M. Godoy (Author), R.P. da Cruz (Author), Perez (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: Sambaqui means, in the Tupi language, a hill of shells. The sambaquis are archaeological sites with remains of pre-historical Brazilian occupation. Since the sambaqui sites in the Rio de Janeiro state region are older than 10,000 years, the applicability of CO"2 absorption on Carbo-sorb^(R) and ^1^4C determination by counting on a low background liquid scintillation counter was tested. In the present work, sambaqui shells were treated with H"3PO"4 in a closed vessel in order to generate CO"2. The... | |
|
Near Eastern Destruction Datings As Sources for Greek and Near Eastern Iron Age Chronology: Archaeological and Historical Studies : The Cases of Samaria ... & Near Eastern Civilization , No 19) by Stig Forsberg (Author) | |
|
Kin Kletso A Pueblo III Community in Chaco Canyon New Mexico bound with Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring Dating of the Archaeological Sites in the Chaco Canyon ... by VIVIAN (Gordon ) and Tom Mathews (Author) |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |