Archaeological Updated
Archaeological Updated
Archaeological Updated
ARCHEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
BY PRADIP SARKAR
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LOWER PALEOLITHIC CULTURE 1–4
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MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE 4–7
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UPPER PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE 7–9
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MESOLITHIC CULTURE 9 – 13
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NEOLITHICAGE OR NEW STONE AGE 13 – 16
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CHALCOLITHIC CULTURE 16 – 19
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HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION (IVC) 19 – 24
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IRON AGE 25 – 26
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ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGY 26 – 27
10
DATING METHODS 28 – 31
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Indian lower Paleolithic ranges between 2,50,000 and 1,00,000 B.C. Climatic
regime of lower Paleolithic period is given below:
1) UNCONTROLLED TECHNIQUES:
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TOOL TYPES:
Characteristic tool types are chopper-chopping, hand axe and cleavers. Tools
are multipurpose tools with emphasis on digging, piercing and skinning. Tools
are as follows:
TOOL MATERIALS: Quartz was primarily used as tool materials which were
very hard and solid.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS:
SOAN TRADITION:
Geographical distribution:
Potwar plateau is located between the river Indus and Jhelum, a stretch of
nearly 100 square kilometer is surrounded by four mountain ranges- the
Himalayan in the north, the Salt ranges in the south, Pirpanjal in the west and
an extension of Siwalik in the east.
The river Soan was flowing through this plateau and it is located in the peri-
glacial region pf the Himalayan glacial zone. Therefor it had been influenced
primarily by the climate of glaciation and inter-glaciation.
Peculiar Features:
De Terra and Patterson explored the region and this lower Paleolithic site can
be divided into four sub-phages with the following findings:
PRE SOAN: Tools are made of split pebbles and flakes showing small platforms
and bulbs of percussion indicating that man had just started to know the art of
tool making. There was no secondary working except kolan site.
EARLY SOAN: It can be divided into a) Early Soan-A: tools are heavily patinated
and much rolled out b) Early Soan-B: though deeply patinated and quietly
unworn, hence quite recent. Early Soan-C: being less patinated and fairly fresh
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hence the most recent. Tools in early Soan were mainly hand axes which are
characteristic pebble tools of this phase.
Thus, the early Soan and late Soan belongs to the lower Paleolithic age while
the evolved Soan to the middle Paleolithic age.
BHIMBETKA:
This site is located in pluvial and inter-pluvial zone and the site comprising a
large number of rock shelters and caves in the bank of the river Narmada in the
Raisen district of MP. It was excavated by V. S Wakankar and V. N. Mishra. So
far 8 layers have been discovered as follows:
The ratio of cleavers and hand axes is 3:1, a peculiarity of this site. Absence of
chopper chopping and Abbevillian type isolates this from almost all the known
lower Paleolithic sites of India. In Hathnora, few km away from this site, a
Skeletal remains of Homo erectus was discovered and named after Narmada
man and this is the only skeletal remains from the lower Paleolithic site in India.
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No representative of upper Paleolithic age has been discovered. They used the
techniques which is very similar to the Vaal technique used in Africa.
People were hunters and gathers. They usually hunted large game such as
elephant which is evident from the deposition of elephant bone in large amount.
They were nomad; having small population might have intra and inter group
cooperation which can be inferred from hunting of large animals. They might
have some sort of language as they hunted in group.
Thus, it can be said that lower Paleolithic culture in India was a late beginning
where as in other parts of the world e.g. Europe it was started in early
Pleistocene. Regional variations are due to differences in environmental
conditions, hence homogeneity.
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TOOLS:
It is much more advanced and more innovative on flakes than the earlier lower
Paleolithic ones. However, it does not mean that earlier techniques of lower
Paleolithic period completely disappeared e.g. Direct percussion, anvil on anvil
techniques etc.
Mousterian technique involves choosing a large flat surface. Small flakes are
removed around the flat surface of the core and continue until no more flakes
could be removed. These small flakes were used as tools.
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REGIONAL VARIATIONS:
NEVASA:
It includes not only the sites along the river Pravara at Nevasa in Maharashtra
but also Godavari in Karnataka Son, Burb along, Krishna and its tributaries. H.
D. Sankalia explored this site and came out with the following findings:
Draw the diagram of transverse section of Pravara river valley from class
note
It was a Levallois based industry. Tool types of Nevasa include scrapers, points
and a few blades like tools. Also, lower Paleolithic tools such as hand axe and
cleavers are found.
LUNI INDUSTRY:
It is located along the river Luni in Rajasthan explored by Mishra. Tool types
include convex and concavo- convex side scrapers, points of various types etc.
Besides, hand axes, cleavers and edged blades are also found. It has shown a
very high quantity of repeatedly reworked flakes.
BHIMBETKA:
This site is located in pluvial and inter-pluvial zone and the site comprising a
large number of rock shelters and caves in the bank of the river Narmada in the
Raisen district of MP. It was excavated by V. S Wakankar and V. N. Mishra. So
far 8 layers have been discovered.
For making hand axes and cleavers, they used quartzite and for other tools
yellowish quartzite used. But only 100 km away from this site, an isolated site
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EASTERN REGIONS:
Mahapatra has recorded middle Paleolithic sites from all most all the river
banks in Orissa. It has yielded middle Paleolithic industry in combination with
pebble choppers and blade core in abundance.
Middle Paleolithic people were also hunters and gatherers like the preceding
phase. Main hunting animals were rein deer indicating a very cold temperature.
They were nomad maintain a small populations and stronger social networks
as they hunted with primitive technologies. They buried their dead bodies with
tools and implements suggest emerging rites and rituals.
From the above discussion, it can be pointed out that there were two types of
middle Paleolithic industries-one which had evolved from the preceding phase
of lower Paleolithic culture e.g., Nevasa, Bhimbetka etc., while others evolved
entirely on new sites e.g., Shivna etc. The latter had also used different raw
materials. From this some scholars suggest that perhaps we are dealing with
two kinds of people.
Upper Paleolithic ranges between 40, 000 and 10, 000 B.C. Climatic pattern of
this phase is given below:
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Note: draw the table of climatic regime of the lower Paleolithic and indicating
the time period i.e. 40, 000 to 10, 000 in the table.
Draw the diagrams of all the tools from the class note
TOOL MATERIALS: Lithic and non-lithic materials both were used. Non-lithic
materials include bone, antlers, ivory, horns etc.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS:
RENINGUNTA:
Murthy explored the Renigunta site in Chittoor district of AP. It is entirely based
on blade manufacturing. The industry contains a tremendous number of blades
which at times attain the size of as much as 10 cm in length, 3 to 4 cm in breadth
and nearly 2 cm in thickness. Besides burins, backed blades awls points,
scrapers and choppers are also found.
A cave site in Kurnool district of AP was excavated by Moorthy. This site has
yielded lithic components along with non-lithic components in the ratio of 1:3.
Lithic components include side scrapers, burins and retouched flakes. Bony
components include scrapers, perforators, chisel, scoops, shoulder points,
barbs and spatula. of these, shouldered points form the highest frequency.
Sankalia feels that many of this bone show the evidence of groove and splinter
technique.
BHIMBETKA:
This site is located in pluvial and inter-pluvial zone and the site comprising a
large number of rock shelters and caves in the bank of the river Narmada in the
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Draw the diagrams of all the layers from the class note
Tool types include broad blade, end scrapers, burins and backed blades.
BELAN VALLEY:
Draw the diagrams of all the layers from the class note
Upper Paleolithic people were also hunters and gatherers like the preceding
phases. They were nomad consisting of a small population and stronger social
networks as they hunted with primitive technologies. There was a decided step
towards organizing human groups in closely tied kinship organizations. The
relatively sudden and widespread appearance of figurines especially female
figurines and other artifacts reflecting art and rituals.
Thus, upper Paleolithic in India is not a well distinguished site at many places.
It is mainly found at the surface layer. Upper Paleolithic cultures in India are
not as diverse as elsewhere in the world.
MESOLITHIC CULTURE
In 9000 B.C. began an intermediate stage in stone age culture and continued at
some places up to almost iron age which is called the Mesolithic age. The
characteristics tools are microliths. The Mesolithic people lived on a hunting,
fishing and food gathering at a later stage they also domesticated animals. The
Mesolithic sites are found throughout India. Homo sapiens associated with this
culture.
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CLIMATIC REGIME:
The Pleistocene, the age of glaciation and inter-glaciation, pluviation and inter-
pluviation came to an end. The ice of glaciated regions started melting and
flowing into the rivers and the seas. At the same time, huge expenses of land so
far covered under ice were now opened up forest cover. Forests were growing
over large tracts.
With the large animals retreating into forests or migrating towards north, man
had to readjust his food habits, fishing increased rapidly to compensate food
gathering and hunting of large animals. Bird hunting also increased because of
the increased availability of birds around water.
TECHNOLOGY:
The Mesolithic people with his large brain soon realized that the heavy tools of
Paleolithic were a technological disadvantage in fishing, bird hunting and other
areas of economic life. Thus, come into being microliths. The technology was
based upon the principle of shedding mass drastically so that it can be
streamlined and fly long way more efficiently. The prominent technology was
blade technology as follows:
Besides arrows, harpoons, hooks, knives, tools meant for specific purposes.
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Draw the diagrams of microliths as composite tools from the class note
REGIONAL VARIATIONS:
LANGHNAJ:
This site is located in the Mehsana district of Gujrat along the western bank of
the river Sabarmati which was excavated by Sankalia & Subbarao.
It is dated around 2040 (+/-) 110 B.C. Mesolithic or microlithic layer has
produced microliths and burials besides animal bones and some crude pot-
sherds in addition to microliths.
Peculiar findings:
a. A tanged iron arrow head, a stone bead and some fragments of stone querns
are the other cultural materials from this phase.
b. Associated with microliths occurs a soft hematite piece with smooth robbed
surfaces, a rhinoceros blade with marks of striations and several hammer
stones.
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BHIMBETKA:
It comprises caves and rocks shelter from Raisen District of M.P excavated by
V. N. Mishra and so for 8 layers were identified as given below:
The shift of raw material to chalcedony occurs first time in the Mesolithic level.
Mesolithic horizon starts with a rich geometric industry but does not contain
any potsherds. Microliths are much larger in size. They built a screen or wall of
stone near the cave mouth acted as a wind broker.
It is located in Mirzapur District of U.P. forms the last Vindhyan limits. Several
rock shelters with paintings presumably attributable to Mesolithic culture.
Sarai Nahar Rai Group comprises several sites among them the most important
one is as follows:
Morhana Pahar:
BIRBHUNPUR:
A site near Durgapur railway station has been excavated by B.B. Lal. Microliths
occur on the top of this layer. Lunates form the main microlithic type and
triangles and trapezes are conspicuous by their absence. Some post-holes were
also claimed to have been discovered but no hearth, bones or human body could
be found. Typologically the Birbhanpur Industry seems more archaic as big
flakes and blade tools dominate it.
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TERI:
Numerous rock paintings studied from this period show the emphasis of
fishing, honey collecting, net trapping and similar small game-based economy.
Inter-group warfare is empirically demonstrated in Sarai Nahar Rai skeleton
but also from rock painting also. In some instance show the factor for human
aggression having evolved during this period.
Wild seed collection, domestication of animals indicate that a stage was almost
being set for man to enter into the settled and productive economy.
CLIMATIC REGIME:
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During post glacial period, climate has become warm and dry, the ice of
glaciated and inter-glaciated region started melting and consequently huge
expenses of land so far covered under ice were now opened up for vegetation
cover. Forests were growing over large tracts.
To clear jungle and bushes over large areas of land, man (H. Sapiens) felt the
need of such tools which should not remain stuck to the wood while striking
woods for felling them down. Hence, his large brain which had enabled him to
evolve the technologies of Peking, grinding and polishing which had surmised
the problems of earlier tools in felling down woods. Now he had cleared larger
areas for cultivation.
Grinding: rubbing this pekked tools against rough surface with water.
Polishing: Now these rubbed tools polished tools with plant and animal fat.
TOOL TYPES:
MATERIALS: Both stone and organic materials such as bone and woods, antlers.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS:
The period-I is further divided into l-a and I-b. I-a represents a semi nomadic
settlement and mud brick structures are found. Big rooms had well planned
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The Period-II: Presence of one perforated pendant of lead and several beads of
Lapis lazuli. The subsequent phases show the introduction of handmade and
wheel made pottery. It is demonstrated that wheat, barley, date and cotton
were domesticated. Animal bones found are predominant in sheep, goat, cattle
and buffaloes domesticated species.
BURZAHOM: located on the bank of Jhelum near Srinagar, dated around 2375
to 1550 BC.
16 dwelling pits have been exposed; they were provided with stair to enable
one to reach the bottom. The ground on the surface shows a number of post
holes supported thatch cover on the pit. The pottery is represented by
handmade, coarsely finished, ill fired potsherds only. The cells recovered show
a wide variety of function and form. The bone tools are found equally rich.
Harvester recovered from here which are known from anywhere in India but
are quite common in Chinese Neolithic. Microliths are conspicuously absent all
through. Domesticated plants have so far not been reported from any of these
Neolithic sites. People buried their dead in a variety of way in crouched position
or in extended form or represent secondary internment. The skeletons were
often covered with red ocher. In some cases, full wild dog or selected bones of
dog are found buried along with human skeleton. In one case the evidence of
trepanning of the skull proves their possible knowledge of some kind of
primitive surgery.
CHIRAND: located in District Chapra Bihar, dated around 1755 B.C. Presence
of overwhelming amount of bone and antler tools, in fact actual Celts were only
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Artificially constructed habitation was absent. Microliths and bone tools were
absent.
CHALCOLITHIC CULTURE
The metal to be used first was copper and several cultures were based on the
use of stone and copper implements such culture is called chalcolithic. They
were primarily rural communities spread over a wide area in those parts of the
country where hilly land and rivers were available. Chalcolithic was pre-
Harappa, contemporary of Harappa and post Harappan too.
CLIMATIC REGIME:
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TYPES: Tiny tools and weapons made of bones particularly blade, Celts
occupied an important position. Stone axes and microliths were also used to
some extent in many places. In certain settlements copper objects are found in
good numbers.
MATERIALS: Implements or tools were made of stone and copper but they also
occasionally used low grade bronze.
POTTERY: Pottery is known as black and red ware made on wheel and
occasionally painted with white linear design.
REGIONAL VARIATION:
KAYATHA:
BANAS:
It is situated on the bank of river Bana in Rajasthan. Black and red were painted
in white on the exterior. Motifs are generally geometric. Jawar (millet) is known
from the pottery matrix. There are also impression and long grained rice.
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Animal’s bones were however in plenty-turtle, fish, goat, sheep, deer, pig and
cattle were eaten.
JORWE CULTURE:
CHIRAND:
It is located in the confluence of the Ganga & Ghaghara in the district Saran of
Bihar. Ceramic industry includes handmade thick grey ware, a wheel thrown
red were & black & red ware. A variety of terracotta objects have also been
found. Serpent figurines are quite common and here may be seen the origin of
Nag puja. Pit dwellings with that thatched roofs were used in the beginning but
later on only over ground huts were made.
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Both the settlement patterns and burial practices suggest beginning of social
inequalities. In Inamgaon, craftsmen were living on western fringes and chief
probably in the center in rectangular houses.
POTTERY: Were well fired, wheel made and generally decorated with floral
and faunal desi
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B) The arrangement of the houses in cities followed the grid system and the
cities were divided into block. Nowhere building was allowed to encroach on a
public highway as in Sumer.
Buildings were built on raised platforms and they fall into two categories viz.
dwelling houses contained two rooms along with a kitchen, courtyard,
bathroom, and possibly an upper storey and public buildings and citadel.
E) Granaries: were divided into blocks with attached platforms for loading and
unloading, provision for airing.
F) Great bath: For religious bathing and supplied with fresh water taken from
nearby well. A hot air bath is also attached with the great bath.
Thus, it can be concluded that there was social stratification explained by the
presence of citadel and workmen house. The town planning carried a
remarkable uniformity which was probably brought by centralization of
production along with efficient administration. Perhaps no other Bronze age
civilization gave so much attention to health and cleanliness as Harappa did.
Some of the most significant objects found in these sites are a large number of
seals, beads, naturalistic statue, chessboards, weights, and measures, terracotta
figurines, metal utensils and weapons stone axes and chert blades.
Weights seem to have 1:6 fragment system and the measuring roads show that
the unit of stone length was 13.2 inches and perhaps the lowest fraction was
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0.367 inch. Terracotta figurines include some toys, wheeled carts and some
grotesque human forms which might be used as some form of folk cult objects.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS:
RELIGIOUS LIFE: Worshiped flora and fauna, a large number of seals depicting
trees like Neem, pupal and humped bull, besides, figure of gods and goddess
were also discovered. Perhaps they worshiped king and mother goddess. Dead
bodies were cremated as well as buried.
SCRIPTS: Indus civilization had used script on seals, pots etc. It was
pictographic in nature. Still date the scripts were not deciphered.
INDUS SITES: So far more than 200 Harappa sites have been recorded but not
more than a dozen can be really identified as urban metropolis. All these sites
were located near the bank of stream or the delta of a river or near the coast.
The Harappa culture cover parts of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, And in
Pakistan, Sindh and Baluchistan. It was extended from Jammu in north to the
Narmada in the south and from the Makran coast in Sindh and Alamgirpur in
U.P. It covered an area of nearly 2 million sq. kilometer which is larger than
Pakistan and certainly bigger than Pakistan and bigger than ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia-along the river valleys and costal sites.
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HARAPPA:
MOHENJO-DARO:
Literally means mound of the dead excavated by R.D. Banerjee on the bank of
the river Indus in Pakistan in Larkana district of Sind. Major findings include:
A college an assembly hall the great bath a granary, a piece of coven cotton.
Bronze dancing girl, seal of Pasupathi Mahadeva, steatite statue of a bearded
man supposed to be a priest.
LOTHAL:
KALIBANGAN:
Excavated by D. Ghosh on the bank of the river Ghaghara, pre- Harappan and
Harappan phase. Findings: Fire alters, furrowed land indicating practice of
agriculture by ploughshare. Camel bones, many houses having their own wells.
(KALIBANGAN means black Bangles.)
There are several theories such as foreign invasion, climate change, and
hydrological changes-shifting of river and frequent flood and physic chemical
explosion in order to explain the decline of the great civilization. However, no
one theory can satisfactorily prove it. Hence, me geomorphologic and
archaeological evidence are required to reach definite conclusion.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: Marshall and Aurel Stein are the greatest advocates of this
theory. They opined that climate during the Harappa period was wetter than
today and it was slowly causing aridity which caused failure in economy and
hence civilization. However, there is no conclusive evidence so far in favor of
this theory.
According to Lambrick and Possehl, the water origin of the sites could not be
conclusively that it was due to tectonic upliftment of the river in the
geomorphology of the Indus river basin.
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Evidence are drawn from the mention of the similar explosion in the region of
Mohenjo-Daro and finding of charred bodies and melting stones, found some
sites in Mohenjo-Daro.
Thus, it can be said that no one theory or factors is responsible for the decline
of the earliest urban civilization of India. However, a combination of factors can
better explain it.
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IRON AGE
Iron Age started around 1000bc and this metal was used to clear forest and led
to the establishment of large cities on the basis of sizeable surplus and mighty
political powers.
CLIMATE REGIME: It had its origin in the post glacial period around 1500 B.C
this period is characterized by warm and dry climate.
Iron is harder than copper & bronze and cheap and available in plenty. Hence
Iron was used to make variety of agriculture tools. Such as ploughshares,
sickles, shovels, spades on large scale. Iron axes facilitated the clearing of forest
on large scale for getting more land under cultivation. However, there was
presence of Microlithic component without much change.
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Since the discovery of iron man never looked back in his endeavor for more
and more technological development.
ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGY
Ethno-archaeology or New-archaeology is the ethnographic study of people for
the archaeology reasons, focusing on the material remains of a society rather
than its culture. Ethno-archaeology aids archaeology in reconstructing ancient
life styles by studying the material tradition of contemporary ethnic groups.
Ethno-archaeologist can them infer the ancient societies used the same
techniques as their modern counterparts give in a similar set of environment
circumstances. Although, it can throw light on the material life of the pre-
historic people yet it has many limitations.
Since Archeology essentially deals with the product of human activity, they
need an instrument of analysis which can decode information regarding the
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nature of activities. For long the antiquities have been looked at as fossilized
culture traits and it is only during the last 4 decades that we are trying to look
at them more closely.
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DATING METHODS
There are two types of dating methods absolute and relative dating methods.
The former includes various methods such as carbon 14 dating, potassium
argon dating and amino acid racemization. Whereas the latter includes
stratigraphy and fluorine dating. Both kinds of dating have their own utilities.
1. TREE RING DATING (annual rings of trees) have existed for the long times.
However, the development of radioactive method based upon nature of
radioactive substance has brought about a complete revision of our ideas about
the age of earth and the fossil it contains. Radiometric dating are as follows.
2. RADIOMETRIC DATING:
All radioactive materials are unstable. There nuclei are constantly losing
particles. This loss of particle called radioactive decay, proceeds at a constant
rate for each radioactive element but varies from element to element. The half-
life is the time in which half the atoms of a radioactive substance have decayed
into new atoms.
Carbon-14 dating: All living organism contains large amounts in the form of
isotopes. The most common form of carbon is the stable atom with an atomic
weight of 12 i.e. carbon 12
However, all living beings contain a small amount of the radioactive isotope
carbon 14 which has half-life of 5730 years.
As long as the organisms are alive the amount of carbon 14 entering the body
equals the amount lost by radioactive decay. When organisms die no new
carbon atoms in corporate into the body and those atoms present at death
continue to decay. By measuring the amount of carbon 12 in the sample, one
can arrive at an absolute date.
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ADVANTAGES: This method can be used to date organic material such as bone,
teeth, shell, charcoal, wood, and pollen.
LIMITATIONS: Radiocarbon 14 dating can be used for the materials from the
past 50000 years. Beyond 50000 years, there is not enough carbon 14 left in
the sample to be detected and measured reliably. It can't be used in case of
dating of inorganic materials.
ADVANTAGES: It can be used to date the age of the earth and has been used
extensively of calibrating the geological time scale. Some researchers believe
that potassium argon dating can be used for dates as recent as 2500b.p
LIMITATIONS: It can't be used for dating organic beings and also for the sort
period of time.
3. AMINOACID RACEMIZATION:
Many organic molecules, such as amino acids occur in two forms, identical in
structure except for being mirror images of each other. The form of amino acid
is found in living form is the L - amino acid. The other form is the D - amino acid.
When an organism dies, the L amino acids slowly turn into the D-amino acids.
This process is known as racemization.
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aspartic acid can be compared to radiocarbon dates of the same fossil, thus
permitting the various ratio to be calibrated with respect to known dates.
ADVANTAGES: It can be used to date material older than that which can be
dated by carbon 14. 15 % much less of the fossil material is needed for
determination of date than that in radiocarbon determinations.
LIMINATIONS: It can't be used in case of inorganic material and for long periods
like million and billion years.
2. FLOURINE DATING: As bones and teeth lie in the ground, they absorb
fluorine and other minerals from ground water on the other hand, the nitrogen
content of bones decrease as the material gets older. The amount of nitrogen
lost can be used to calculate the relative chronology of the materials in the site.
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Both the methods are useful under various circumstances. Absolute methods
specify date in time whereas the relative methods show time in relation with
one another.
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