A recent storm in Ireland uprooted a 200 year-old tree and embedded in its roots was a human skeleton. You can read the article and see some excellent images by clicking the link below.
BBC News Article
Examination of the skeleton has determined it to be a male between 17 and 20 years of age. Though the specific circumstances of the death are not known, evidence shows that he met a violent death, with several stab wounds in the chest area and one on the left hand.
The interesting aspect from an earth science perspective is that the skeleton's age was determined using radiocarbon dating, the same type paleontologists rely on to determine the age of fossilized, preserved and frozen remains, such as dinosaur bones, mummies and woolly mammoths.
In this case radiocarbon analysis shows the burial took place between 1030 and 1200 AD, approximately 900 years ago.
In earth science, we study a number of radiocarbon systems, such a uranium-lead or potassium - argon. These systems have long half lives and are most useful for dating older rocks. In this case, given that the items to be dated were carbon based and far younger, the carbon-12 to carbon-14 system was the chosen tool.
No comments:
Post a Comment