How do scientists determine the age of ancient artifacts?
In: 1
There is a technique called thermoluminescence which is used for items like pottery. Some crystalline materials – such as the minerals in clay can trap energy from radiation. When the clay is fired, all the trapped energy is released as light. Then, when the item is abandoned in an archaeological site it begins to trap more energy from the environment, the longer it is buried, the more energy is stored in the pottery. If the item is then recovered and heated, it releases light – the longer it has been buried, the more light it emits. The age of the item can then be calculated.
For items made of wood, dendrochronology is possible. Trees lay down rings of growth each year, the thickness of the ring depends on how well the tree grew in a given year. As the weather changes from year to year, the rings produce a unique pattern of growth. It’s possible to compare the pattern of rings in a wooden object with reference samples of known age to determine their age. For places like Western Europe where there are detailed records of tree growth going back a few thousand years, this technique can be used to date objects with incredible accuracy.
Latest Answers