Archaeological Dating Stratigraphy and Seriation

Archaeologists use many different techniques to determine the age of a particular artifact, site, or part of a site. Two broad categories of dating or chronometric techniques that archaeologists use are called relative and absolute dating. Relative dating determines the age of artifacts or site, as older or younger or the same age as others, but does not produce precise dates.Absolute dating, methods that produce specific chronological dates for objects and occupations, was not available to archaeology until well into the 20th century. Stratigraphy and the Law of Superposition Stratigraphy is the oldest of the relative dating methods that archaeologists use to date things. Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition--like a layer cake, the lowest layers must have been formed first. In other words, artifacts found in the upper layers of a site will have been deposited more recently than those found in the lower layers. Cross-dating of sites, comparing geologic strata at one site with another location and extrapolating the relative ages in that manner, is still an important dating strategy used today, primarily when sites are far too old for absolute dates to have much meaning. The scholar most associated with the rules of stratigraphy (or law of superposition) is probably the geologist Charles Lyell. The basis for stratigraphy seems quite intuitive today, but its applications were no less than earth-shattering to archaeological theory. For example, JJA Worsaae used this law to prove the Three Age System. Seriation Seriation, on the other hand, was a stroke of genius. First used, and likely invented by archaeologist Sir William Flinders-Petrie in 1899, seriation (or sequence dating) is based on the idea that artifacts change over time. Like tail fins on a Cadillac, artifact styles and characteristics change over time, coming into fashion, then fading in popularity. Generally, seriation is manipulated graphically. The standard graphical result of seriation is a series of battleship curves, which are horizontal bars representing percentages plotted on a vertical axis. Plotting several curves can allow the archaeologist to develop a relative chronology for an entire site or group of sites. For detailed information about how seriation works, see Seriation: A Step by Step Description. Seriation is thought to be the first application of statistics in archaeology. It certainly wasnt the last. The most famous seriation study was probably Deetz and Dethlefsens study Deaths Head, Cherub, Urn and Willow, on changing styles on gravestones in New England cemeteries. The method is still a standard for cemetery studies. Absolute dating, the ability to attach a specific chronological date to an object or collection of objects, was a breakthrough for archaeologists. Until the 20th century, with its multiple developments, only relative dates could be determined with any confidence. Since the turn of the century, several methods to measure elapsed time have been discovered. Chronological Markers The first and simplest method of absolute dating is using objects with dates inscribed on them, such as coins, or objects associated with historical events or documents. For example, since each Roman emperor had his own face stamped on coins during his realm, and dates for emperors realms are known from historical records, the date a coin was minted may be discerned by identifying the emperor depicted. Many of the first efforts of archaeology grew out of historical documents--for example, Schliemann looked for Homers Troy, and Layard went after the Biblical Ninevah--and within the context of a particular site, an object clearly associated with the site and stamped with a date or other identifying clue was perfectly useful. But there are certainly drawbacks. Outside of the context of a single site or society, a coins date is useless. And, outside of certain periods in our past, there simply were no chronologically dated objects, or the necessary depth and detail of history that would assist in chronologically dating civilizations. Without those, the archaeologists were in the dark as to the age of various societies. Until the invention of dendrochronology. Tree Rings and Dendrochronology The use of tree ring data to determine chronological dates, dendrochronology, was first developed in the American southwest by astronomer Andrew Ellicott Douglass. In 1901, Douglass began investigating tree ring growth as an indicator of solar cycles. Douglass believed that solar flares affected climate, and hence the amount of growth a tree might gain in a given year. His research culminated in proving that tree ring width varies with annual rainfall. Not only that, it varies regionally, such that all trees within a specific species and region will show the same relative growth during wet years and dry years. Each tree then, contains a record of rainfall for the length of its life, expressed in density, trace element content, stable isotope composition, and intra-annual growth ring width. Using local pine trees, Douglass built a 450 year record of the tree ring variability. Clark Wissler, an anthropologist researching Native American groups in the Southwest, recognized the potential for such dating, and brought Douglass subfossil wood from puebloan ruins. Unfortunately, the wood from the pueblos did not fit into Douglasss record, and over the next 12 years, they searched in vain for a connecting ring pattern, building a second prehistoric sequence of 585 years. In 1929, they found a charred log near Show Low, Arizona, that connected the two patterns. It was now possible to assign a calendar date to archaeological sites in the American southwest for over 1000 years. Determining calendar rates using dendrochronology is a matter of matching known patterns of light and dark rings to those recorded by Douglass and his successors. Dendrochronology has been extended in the American southwest to 322 BC, by adding increasingly older archaeological samples to the record. There are dendrochronological records for Europe and the Aegean, and the International Tree Ring Database has contributions from 21 different countries. The main drawback to dendrochronology is its reliance on the existence of relatively long-lived vegetation with annual growth rings. Secondly, annual rainfall is a regional climatic event, and so tree ring dates for the southwest are of no use in other regions of the world. It is certainly no exaggeration to call the invention of radiocarbon dating a revolution. It finally provided the first common chronometric scale which could be applied across the world. Invented in the latter years of the 1940s by Willard Libby and his students and colleagues James R. Arnold and Ernest C. Anderson, radiocarbon dating was an outgrowth of the Manhattan Project, and was developed at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory. Essentially, radiocarbon dating uses the amount of carbon 14 available in living creatures as a measuring stick. All living things maintain a content of carbon 14 in equilibrium with that available in the atmosphere, right up to the moment of death. When an organism dies, the amount of C14 available within it begins to decay at a half life rate of 5730 years; i.e., it takes 5730 years for 1/2 of the C14 available in the organism to decay. Comparing the amount of C14 in a dead organism to available levels in the atmosphere, produces an estimate of when that organism died. So, for example, if a tree was used as a support for a structure, the date that tree stopped living (i.e., when it was cut down) can be used to date the buildings construction date. The organisms which can be used in radiocarbon dating include charcoal, wood, marine shell, human or animal bone, antler, peat; in fact, most of what contains carbon during its life cycle can be used, assuming its preserved in the archaeological record. The farthest back C14 can be used is about 10 half lives, or 57,000 years; the most recent, relatively reliable dates end at the Industrial Revolution, when humankind busied itself messing up the natural quantities of carbon in the atmosphere. Further limitations, such as the prevalence of modern environmental contamination, require that several dates (called a suite) be taken on different associated samples to permit a range of estimated dates. See the main article on Radiocarbon Dating for additional information. Calibration: Adjusting for the Wiggles Over the decades since Libby and his associates created the radiocarbon dating technique, refinements and calibrations have both improved the technique and revealed its weaknesses. Calibration of the dates may be completed by looking through tree ring data for a ring exhibiting the same amount of C14 as in a particular sample--thus providing a known date for the sample. Such investigations have identified wiggles in the data curve, such as at the end of the Archaic period in the United States, when atmospheric C14 fluctuated, adding further complexity to calibration. Important researchers in calibration curves include Paula Reimer and Gerry McCormac at the CHRONO Centre, Queens University Belfast. One of the first modifications to C14 dating came about in the first decade after the Libby-Arnold-Anderson work at Chicago. One limitation of the original C14 dating method is that it measures the current radioactive emissions; Accelerator Mass Spectrometry dating counts the atoms themselves, allowing for sample sizes up to 1000 times smaller than conventional C14 samples. While neither the first nor the last absolute dating methodology, C14 dating practices were clearly the most revolutionary, and some say helped to usher in a new scientific period to the field of archaeology. Since the discovery of radiocarbon dating in 1949, science has leapt onto the concept of using atomic behavior to date objects, and a plethora of new methods was created. Here are brief descriptions of a few of the many new methods: click on the links for more. Potassium-Argon The potassium-argon dating method, like radiocarbon dating, relies on measuring radioactive emissions. The Potassium-Argon method dates volcanic materials and is useful for sites dated between 50,000 and 2 billion years ago. It was first used at Olduvai Gorge. A recent modification is Argon-Argon dating, used recently at Pompeii. Fission Track Dating Fission track dating was developed in the mid 1960s by three American physicists, who noticed that micrometer-sized damage tracks are created in minerals and glasses that have minimal amounts of uranium. These tracks accumulate at a fixed rate, and are good for dates between 20,000 and a couple of billion years ago. (This description is from the Geochronology unit at Rice University.) Fission-track dating was used at Zhoukoudian. A more sensitive type of fission track dating is called alpha-recoil. Obsidian Hydration Obsidian hydration uses the rate of rind growth on volcanic glass to determine dates; after a new fracture, a rind covering the new break grows at a constant rate. Dating limitations are physical ones; it takes several centuries for a detectable rind to be created, and rinds over 50 microns tend to crumble. The Obsidian Hydration Laboratory at the University of Auckland, New Zealand describes the method in some detail. Obsidian hydration is regularly used in Mesoamerican sites, such as Copan. Thermoluminescence dating Thermoluminescence (called TL) dating was invented around 1960 by physicists, and is based on the fact that electrons in all minerals emit light (luminesce) after being heated. It is good for between about 300 to about 100,000 years ago, and is a natural for dating ceramic vessels. TL dates have recently been the center of the controversy over dating the first human colonization of Australia. There are several other forms of luminescence dating as well, but they are not as frequently used to date as TL; see the luminescence dating page for additional information. Archaeo- and Paleo-magnetism Archaeomagnetic and paleomagnetic dating techniques rely on the fact that the earths magnetic field varies over time. The original databanks were created by geologists interested in the movement of the planetary poles, and they were first used by archaeologists during the 1960s. Jeffrey Eighmys Archaeometrics Laboratory at Colorado State provides details of the method and its specific use in the American southwest. Oxidized Carbon Ratios This method is a chemical procedure that uses a dynamical systems formula to establish the effects of the environmental context (systems theory), and was developed by Douglas Frink and the Archaeological Consulting Team. OCR has been used recently to date the construction of Watson Brake. Racemization Dating Racemization dating is a process which uses the measurement of the decay rate of carbon protein amino acids to date once-living organic tissue. All living organisms have protein; protein is made up of amino acids. All but one of these amino acids (glycine) has two different chiral forms (mirror images of each other). While an organism lives, their proteins are composed of only left-handed (laevo, or L) amino acids, but once the organism dies the left-handed amino acids slowly turn into right-handed (dextro or D) amino acids. Once formed, the D amino acids themselves slowly turn back to L forms at the same rate. In brief, racemization dating uses the pace of this chemical reaction to estimate the length of time that has elapsed since an organisms death. For more details, see racemization dating Racemization can be used to date objects between 5,000 and 1,000,000 years old, and was used recently to date the age of sediments at Pakefield, the earliest record of human occupation in northwest Europe. In this series, weve talked about the various methods archaeologists use to determine the dates of occupation of their sites. As youve read, there are several different methods of determining site chronology, and they each have their uses. One thing they all have in common, though, is they cannot stand alone. Each method that weve discussed, and each of the methods we havent discussed, may provide a faulty date for one reason or another. Radiocarbon samples are easily contaminated by rodent burrowing or during collection.Thermoluminescence dates may be thrown off by incidental heating long after the occupation has ended.Site stratigraphies may be disturbed by earthquakes, or when human or animal excavation unrelated to the occupation disturbs the sediment.Seriation, too, may be skewed for one reason or another. For example, in our sample we used the preponderance of 78 rpm records as an indicator of relative age of a junkyard. Say a Californian lost her entire 1930s jazz collection in the 1993 earthquake, and the broken pieces ended up in a landfill which opened in 1985. Heartbreak, yes; accurate dating of the landfill, no.Dates derived from dendrochronology may be misleading if the occupants used relict wood to burn in their fires or construct their houses.Obsidian hydration counts begin after a fresh break; the obtained dates may be incorrect if the artifact was broken after the occupation.Even chronological marker s may be deceptive. Collecting is a human trait; and finding a Roman coin a ranch style house which burned to the ground in Peoria, Illinois probably doesnt indicate the house was built during the rule of Caesar Augustus. Resolving the Conflict with Context So how do archaeologists resolve these issues? There are four ways: Context, context, context, and cross-dating. Since Michael Schiffers work in the early 1970s, archaeologists have come to realize the critical significance of understanding site context. The study of site formation processes, understanding the processes that created the site as you see it today, has taught us some amazing things. As you can tell from the above chart, it is an extremely crucial aspect to our studies. But thats another feature. Secondly, never rely on one dating methodology. If at all possible, the archaeologist will have several dates taken, and cross check them by using another form of dating. This may be simply comparing a suite of radiocarbon dates to the dates derived from collected artifacts, or using TL dates to confirm Potassium Argon readings. Webelieve it is safe to say that the advent of absolute dating methods completely changed our profession, directing it away from the romantic contemplation of the classical past, and toward the scientific study of human behaviors.

Essay about Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - 784 Words

Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein has been deemed a classic gothic novel. Her monster has frightened many generations throughout the ages, and lingers as a warning of science gone too far. But why did her monster survive the ages? I believe that Mary Shelleys monster managed to hold our attention and chill us to the bone, because she weaved a tale that incorporated the genres of gothic, and romantic literature into a narrative of complete terror, and psychological torment that managed to surpass any other gothic literature of her time. Gothic Literature was a genre of writing created in the 1780s in order to give form to the impulses and fears of all mankind. It relied heavily upon the ideas of good and evil, and every emotion was†¦show more content†¦The romantic author regarded nature as the primary setting, and drew attention to it as a background for the characters psyche, and sensation. This Period highly influenced and transformed all gothic literature to come by shifting evil from the external, into the internal. Mary Shelly creates her two main characters as mirror images of good and evil. The monster is viewed as externally evil, because he is grotesque and frightening to set eyes upon, while Victor is viewed as internally evil. Though Victor looks like everyone else, he is loathsome and miserable inside. The brilliance of Mary Shelly is illustrated by the fact that her characters are an amalgamation of both the romantic and gothic style of writing. Victors character is an individual that is nurtured by a very romantic family life. He has loving parents, the appreciation for art and creation, and is very close to nature. He has all the makings for a great man. But as the story progresses, his disposition begins to deteriorate and he becomes a fearful, immoral, decrepit man. All of these changes happen internally. The main event that causes Victors turnaround is the death of his mother. His mothers death jump-started the transformation of the man he should have become, into the monster he eventually became. At the time of death Victors despair was so internal he was unable to share his emotions with his family, or aidShow MoreRelatedMary Shelleys Frankenstein1689 Words   |  7 PagesGreat Expectations Fathers and Son, Frankenstein. The novel I have chosen to discuss is Frankenstein. Written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is classified as a gothic novel, however, Shelly uses both realist and non-realist techniques. I will be looking at her reasons for writing the novel and what influenced her, as well as the realist and non-realist techniques used. I will be looking at some of the contemporary social issues that affected Shelley’s life at the time she wrote her novelRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein1179 Words   |  5 Pagesbecome determined to perfect at what they do. They eventually become tragically doomed through creating their own individual moral codes by struggling with their internal battles within their minds. Mary Shelley presents us the first persona of a romantic hero through Victor Frankenstein in her book Frankenstein. Shelley fabricates Victor as the main narrator throughout the book, along with Captain Walton and the creature, which Victor creates. Another hero during the Romant ic era is the Ancient MarinerRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein Feminism1429 Words   |  6 PagesRobert Youshock Prof. Matthew Gerber HIST 1012 10/19/18 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Feminism before it was mainstream? Writing a paper on the topic of Frankenstein days before Halloween might give you the wrong idea- lets clear something up straight away Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster and the monster doesn’t have a name (which we later learn is mildly important to the story). You see, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is arguably a story of creation, murder, love, and learning amongst manyRead More Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay929 Words   |  4 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein The characterization of Victor’s creature, the monster, in the movie although somewhat dramatically different from Mary Shelley’s portrayal in the novel Frankenstein also had its similarities. Shelley’s views of the monster were to make him seem like a human being, while the movie made the monster out to be a hideous creation. The creature’s appearance and personality are two aspects that differ between the novel and movie while his intellectual and tender sidesRead More Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay1312 Words   |  6 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein In order to illustrate the main theme of her novel â€Å"Frankenstein†, Mary Shelly draws strongly on the myth of Prometheus, as the subtitle The Modern Prometheus indicates. Maurice Hindle, in his critical study of the novel, suggests, â€Å"the primary theme of Frankenstein is what happens to human sympathies and relationships when men seek obsessively to satisfy their Promethean longings to â€Å"conquer the unknown† - supposedly in the service of their fellow-humans†. ThisRead More Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay1622 Words   |  7 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley didn’t know when she began it that her â€Å"ghost story† would become an enduring part of classic literature. Frankenstein is an admirable work simply for its captivating plot. To the careful reader, however, Shelley’s tale offers complex insights into human experience. The reader identifies with all of the major characters and is left to heed or ignore the cautions that their situations provide. Shelley uses the second person narrativeRead MoreEvil in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1462 Words   |  6 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein is very much a commentary on the Enlightenment and its failure to tame the human condition through reason. The human condition can be defined as the unique features which mold a human being. The creature is undoubtedly a victim of this predicament. He grapples with the meaning of life, the search for gratification, the sense of curiosity, the inevitability of isolation, and the awareness of the inesca pability of death. These qualities and his ceaseless stalking of hisRead MoreEssay on Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1643 Words   |  7 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein In 1818 a novel was written that tingled people’s minds and thrilled literary critics alike. Frankenstein was an instant success and sold more copies than any book had before. The immediate success of the book can be attributed to the spine-tingling horror of the plot, and the strong embedded ethical message. Although her name did not come originally attached to the text, Mary Shelley had written a masterpiece that would live on for centuries. Read MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay1086 Words   |  5 Pages Mary Shelley wrote the book Frankenstein sometime in the 1810s. She was born in London in 1797 (Biography). Her mother was an author of prime literary stock who was trying to encourage women to pursue their ideas and strive to earn the status as equals. The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions that were taking place around Mary Shelley certainly influenced her while she was writing the book. The creation of machines and experiments at the time made people wonder what the limit of human technologyRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay846 Words   |  4 Pages Shelley’s Frankenstein does an excellent job at demonstrating the ideas and accomplishments of the enlightenment period. Shelly expresses these ideas and thoughts through the character of Victor Frankenstein who is an aspiring scientist seeking an intellectual challenge. Victor Frankenstein live s his hometown of Geneva and leaves in quest of a valued education in Ingolstadt. When Victor arrives at college he is lonely and finds himself in a new world in which he lives by himself. He than meets

Speech for Speaker Proposing the Motion That, “Cell Phones Use Has Destroyed the Moral of Young People.” free essay sample

Good Morning, I am proposing the motion that, â€Å"Cell phones use has destroyed the moral of young people. † To start with, Mobile phones prevent young people from socialising a lot as they would be on their phones chatting with their friends rather than knowing new people. I would like to quote this article I got from the internet and I quote, â€Å"Mobile phones are a distraction from the real world, preventing children from interacting with those around them. Constant talking, texting, and games playing take the place of proper socialising. Young people grow up without good manners, unable to relate to those around them in a normal way. They also become fat and lazy, as phone use crowds out healthy activity such as sport or playground games. † The second reason is that Mobile phones cause young people to cheat during the examination. There could be many ways a student can cheat using a mobile phone for example by downloading mark schemes of a question paper if it’s a past paper or by even sending each other text message which is like copying in an exam. We will write a custom essay sample on Speech for Speaker Proposing the Motion That, â€Å"Cell Phones Use Has Destroyed the Moral of Young People.† or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I would like to quote another article from the internet and I quote, â€Å"With so many features, teens are devising creative ways to cheat in class. Phones are being used to text answers, find answers via data access, and store preloaded information for reference. Gone are the days in which cheating on an exam involved looking at your neighbors test, whispering answers, or passing notes. These practices have become obsolete thanks to technology. In their stead are methods so obscure and so varied that they are becoming difficult to catch. According to a survey by the wireless association CTIA, 47% of U. S. teens can text with their eyes closed. Without having to look at the screen, teens can easily text answers unnoticed. † The third reason I would like to give is that, cell phones cause students to waste a lot of their time and is very addictive.. This is also one major cause in low academic grades. It can also cause people who are eligible to drive cars lose their concentration and have an accident. Cell phones are considered to be the third most addictive thing in this world according to n article by MSN Money I would like to quote an article from the internet, Addiction †¢Excessive cell phone usage can lead to addiction, especially in teens, as well as time wasted on compulsive communication with peers via text messages and phone calls. Auto Accidents †¢Talking or sending SMS text messages on a cell phone while driving is proven to be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. The last reason I would like to mention is that Mobile phones cause young people to be distracted in class causing them to lose concentration. For example, a student’s phone ring in class can cause all the students to lose their concentration. I would like to quote an article got from the internet and I quote, Because cell phones are so ubiquitous today, it is not uncommon for people to use them in public. Indeed, the occasional cell phone ringing in the grocery store or park is a natural occurrence and happens so often that it escapes notice. When it is noticed, however, these ringings are usually accompanied by a collective moan of annoyance. Just as common is the cell phone ringing in the classroom, and this, too, vexes anyone in hearing distance. There is, however, a distinction between a cell phone ringing in public areas and ringing in class. Outside, conversations and noise usually mask the sound. In the classroom, the collective concentration vital to the learning process is disrupted. Attention is so crucial in classes that this seemingly minor disruption can actually lead to further distractions, especially in lower grades.

Top 10 Microsoft Word Tips for Writers - The Writers For Hire

TOP 10 MICROSOFT WORD TIPS FOR WRITERS When you use something every day for years, you start to think you’re getting pretty good at it.But if you’re like most writers, you’ve probably been using Microsoft Word to write a few pages, save them, and maybe print them out. If you’re working with an editor, clients, or other writers, then you likely use Track Changes or Comments all the time, too. You could do those things for years without even scratching the surface of Word’s features. But who cares, right? You use Word for exactly what you need to do. Until one day, a weird dotted line appears across your page. Try as you might, you cannot remove it.Or you insert a photo and your text formatting goes haywire.Or you know you misspelled someone’s name in your document, but you don’t realize it until you’re 25 pages in.Or, *gasp*, your client forgets to use Track Changes. (See #7 and thank me later.) Luckily, there are ways to fix all these problems – and we wrote blog posts with instructions. We even threw in a couple neat tricks to save you time. Check out our Top 10 here, in random order: #1.Format Painter If you’ve ever copied content from one document and pasted it into another, you’ve probably had to go back to fix the formatting so that it matches. Format Painter makes that tedious task a little faster. Read more #2. Using Tables to Format Images Have you ever tried inserting a bunch of images into a document by just clicking on Pictures in the Insert tab? The answer to the chaos that inevitably ensued is none other than Tables.  Read more #3. Removing Mysterious Formatting Recently, we had a long document that had several dotted lines running across the page. We had no idea how they got there. Several writers tried to remove them, but it wasn’t until months later that one of them succeeded. Here’s how she did it: Read more #4. Spell Check in Other Languages Word’s spell check feature is multilingual! And you can unleash its genius with just a few clicks. Read more #5. Readability Statistics Writing something for the general public? Then you’ll want to aim for about a 5th grade reading level. Turning on the Readability Statistics feature in Word will let you know if you’re in the right ballpark for your audience.  Read more #6. Read Aloud For the best proofreading job, you’ll need to read the document aloud. So, you can read until you’re hoarse – or you can get Word to do it for you. Read more #7. Compare Documents Need to compare two versions of a document for all those secret, un-tracked revisions?Thank goodness it’s easier than you think! Read more #8. Customize the Ribbon Save time and clicks by organizing all your favorite features in one area of the toolbar. Read more #9. The Control Button You’re on deadline and don’t have time to take those fingers off the keyboard, so commit a few ctrl functions to memory. Read more #10. Alphabetize Here’s a bonus tip so quick that it doesn’t need its own blog post. Use the AZ button in the Home tab to quickly alphabetize any list. Just highlight the list and click this button: Do you have other Word tricks up your sleeve? Let us know in the comments.