![]() However, there are other radioactive isotopes that can be used to date non-organic materials (such as rocks) and older materials (up to billions of years old). Radiocarbon dating works well for some archaeological finds, but it has limitations: it can be used to date only organic materials less than about 60,000 years old. How old were they? The organic remains were too old for carbon-14 dating, so the team turned to another method. The coprolites averaged about 14,300 years old and are some of the oldest human remains in the Americas.Ī team of scientists digging in Ethiopia in 1997 found stone tools, the fossil remains of several animal species, including hippopotamuses, and three hominid skulls. Because they know how much there would have been in the atmosphere and, therefore, how much someone would have absorbed when alive, they can calculate how long it has been since death or deposition. After about 60,000 years, all of the carbon-14 will be gone.Īnything that was once part of a living object-such as charcoal, wood, bone, pollen or the coprolites found in Oregon-can be sent to a lab where scientists measure how much carbon-14 is left. ![]() Over time, the carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 half will do so after about 5,730 years (this is the isotope's half-life). Living plants and animals take up carbon-14 along with the other carbon isotopes, but when they die and their metabolic functions cease, they stop absorbing carbon. Most carbon comes in the stable forms of carbon-12 (six protons, six neutrons) or carbon-13, but a very small amount (about 0.0000000001%) exists as the radioactive carbon-14 (six protons, eight neutrons). They do this at a constant rate called an isotope's "half-life". The latter are called radioactive isotopes, and over time they will decay, giving off particles (neutrons or protons) and energy (radiation) and therefore turn into another isotope or element. These different forms of an element-called isotopes-are inherently stable or unstable. But the number of neutrons in the nucleus can vary. The element carbon has six protons, for example. For that, the scientists looked to the carbon contained within the ancient dung.īy definition, every atom of a given element has a specific number of protons in its nucleus. DNA remaining in the coprolites indicated their human origin but not their age. In a cave in Oregon, archaeologists found bones, plant remains and coprolites-fossilized feces. How do scientists determine their ages? Here are more details on a few of the methods used to date objects discussed in "The Great Human Migration" ( Smithsonian, July 2008):Ĭoprolites, Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, Oregon An essential piece of information in this research is the age of the fossils and artifacts. ![]() Archaeological finds worldwide have helped researchers to fill out the story of human evolution and migration.
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