Carbon Dating Gets an Update

ananyo writes "Climate records from a Japanese lake are set to improve the accuracy of carbon dating, which could help to shed light on archaeological mysteries such as why Neanderthals became extinct. Carbon dating is used to work out the age of organic material. But the technique assumes that the amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere was constant — any variation would speed up or slow down the clock. Since the 1960s, scientists have started accounting for the variations by calibrating the clock against the known ages of tree rings. The problem is that tree rings provide a direct record that only goes as far back as about 14,000 years. Now, using sediment from bed of Lake Suigetsu, west of Tokyo, researchers have pushed the calibration limit back much further. Two distinct sediment layers have formed in the lake every summer and winter over tens of thousands of years. The researchers collected roughly 70-meter core samples from the lake and painstakingly counted the layers to come up with a direct record stretching back 52,000 years. The re-calibrated clock could help to narrow the window of key events in human history. Take the extinction of Neanderthals, which occurred in western Europe less than 30,000 years ago. Archaeologists disagree over the effects changing climate and competition from recently arriving humans had on the Neanderthals' demise. The more accurate carbon clock should yield better dates for any overlap of humans and Neanderthals, as well as for determining how climate changes influenced the extinction of Neanderthals."

It is not very accurate, to begin with!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Carbon dating to me seems to be used to further scientific data, in order to achieve the results they want. Captain Obvious says it is very inaccurate, and no matter what they have done or try, to advance Carbon dating techniques it already as that stigma of doubt because it is impossible to get within a few hundred years, let alone decades. Not saying that another technique cannot be used or something new won't come along but I do not buying into the Carbon Dating reports..

I not against Carbon dating or the results, but I om not going to bet my life on it either.

Re:Lucky grad student

[Black Parrot]

The researchers collected roughly 70-meter core samples from the lake and painstakingly counted the layers to come up with a direct record stretching back 52,000 years.

Holy crap. "Painstakingly" doesn't even begin to cover counting 52,000 stripes in a core sample.

No problem, at 80 hours a week [slashdot.org] a grad student should be able to finish well before his indentured servitude expires.

Re:Neanderthals aren't extinct...

[Black Parrot]

...they dominate U.S. politics!

Probably because they also dominate the voting booths.

What affect did the glaciers have?

[erice]

I'm amazed that they found a clear seasonal pattern in a lake going back 52,000 years. Lakes are short lived structures, geologically speaking and 52,000 years is quite far into the last ice age. I guess the lake somehow managed to avoid being glaciated and managed to avoid being washed away by the melt waters. Impressive! I haven't located an ice age map of Japan so I don't know how much, if any, of Japan was actually covered by ice. It is far enough North but the ice sheet was not uniform. (Parts of Alaska were ice free)

Re:I don't get it ...

[dadelbunts]

I think the point of this article is that before this, they could only really look back 14,000. Since Neanderthals went extinct 30,000 years ago, that doesnt help much. Now they can look back 52,000 years. I know no one reads the article, but at least read the summary. Its all right there. I figured it out and im drunk.