Why archaeologists are reheating history to find the truth
In short: Knowing how old a piece of pottery is doesn't tell you when humans actually made it. This video explains how scientists use heat to bridge that gap.
Radiometric dating can determine the age of the clay itself, but it fails to identify the specific moment a human hand shaped it into a vessel. To solve this, researchers use a process of blasting ancient ceramics with heat again.
By subjecting the pottery to high temperatures, scientists can isolate the date of human intervention from the geological age of the raw material. This technique allows for a more precise understanding of human activity and the timeline of ancient civilizations.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Why Scientists Are Cooking Ancient Pots
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