Radiocarbon After Four Decades

Radiocarbon After Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective commemorates the 40th anniversary of radiocarbon dating. The volume presents discussions of every aspect of this dating technique, as well as chronicles of its development and views of future advancements and applications. All of the 64 authors played major roles in establishment, development or application of this revolutionary scientific tool. The 35 chapters provide a solid foundation in the essential topics of radiocarbon dating: Historical Perspectives; The Natural Carbon Cycle; Instrumentation and Sample Preparation; Hydrology; Old World Archaeology; New World Archaeology; Earth Sciences; and Biomedical Applications.

Radiocarbon After Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective commemorates the 40th anniversary of radiocarbon dating. The volume presents discussions of every aspect of this dating technique, as well as chronicles of its development and views of future advancements and applications. All of the 64 authors played major roles in establishment, development or application of this revolutionary scientific tool. The 35 chapters provide a solid foundation in the essential topics of radiocarbon dating: Historical Perspectives; The Natural Carbon Cycle; Instrumentation and Sample Preparation; Hydrology; Old World Archaeology; New World Archaeology; Earth Sciences; and Biomedical Applications.

Since World War II, there has been tremendous success in the development of new methods for dating artifacts; the so-called `radiocarbon revolution' was only the first such discovery. The increasing accuracy of the various new techniques has brought about major changes in archaeological research strategies. This important new text compiles the work of some of today's most innovative archaeologists who summarize progress in their respective techniques over the last 30 years - with an emphasis on developments of the last five - and the status of current research.

Environmental Radionuclides presents a state-of-the-art summary of knowledge on the use of radionuclides to study processes and systems in the continental part of the Earth’s environment. It is conceived as a companion to the two volumes of this series, which deal with isotopes as tracers in the marine environment (Livingston, Marine Radioactivity) and with the radioecology of natural and man-made terrestrial systems (Shaw, Radioactivity in Terrestrial Ecosystems). Although the book focuses on natural and anthropogenic radionuclides (radioactive isotopes), it also refers to stable environmental isotopes, which in a variety of applications, especially in hydrology and climatology, have to be consulted to evaluate radionuclide measurements in terms of the ages of groundwater and climate archives, respectively. The basic principles underlying the various applications of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in environmental studies are described in the first part of the book. The book covers the two major groups of applications: the use of radionuclides as tracers for studying transport and mixing processes: and as time markers to address problems of the dynamics of such systems, manifested commonly as the so-called residence time in these systems. The applications range from atmospheric pollution studies, via water resource assessments to contributions to global climate change investigation. The third part of the book addresses new challenges in the development of new methodological approaches, including analytical methods and fields of applications. A state-of-the-art summary of knowledge on the use of radionuclides Conceived as a companion to the two volumes of this series, which deal with isotopes as tracers

This book explores the expressly pictorial type of visual archaeology, the transcribing of three-dimensional materiality into two-dimensional depictions, and its influential history within the discipline. The picturing of ancient sites and artifacts to convey information links visual reporting with the workings of the imagination and indicates that the study of antiquity has always had a hybrid identity: part artistic and part scientific. In examining expressly pictorial forms of visual story-telling about the past, this book looks beyond certain supposed "creative turns" and focuses instead on creative continuities, answering key questions about the power of picturing and its ability to not only inform documentary practices but actively structure those practices. How are prints, drawings, paintings and photographs able to collapse the three-dimensional world of the ancient past onto a flat page but also convey a sense of material reality? In contemporary practice, how do pictorial ways of seeing enable the interpretation of material remains but also shape the recognition of digital traces on a computer screen? Published illustrations, both historical and contemporary, are primary sources of evidence for answering such questions and identifying common patterns of pictorial information. This book provides a framework for scholars researching the visual culture of archaeology as well as the history of archaeology. It is also recommended for professionals in the fields of heritage studies, conservation and community archaeology.

This book appears a century after the discovery of radioactivity. It was in 1896, when Henri Becquerel reported his first results about the penetrating radiation, which could darken the packed photographic plates. The initial fascination of radioactivity, e.g., the discovery of new radioactive elements, the first real description of the structure of atoms and their nuclei, the applications of radiotracers, the high sensitivity of activation analysis, etc., was followed by the use of atomic bomb in 1945. The mushroom cloud became a symbol of destructive nuclear power. And even nuclear energy production (which provides about 20% of the world's electricity) is overshadowed by radioactive waste. However, the latest results suggest that the Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Technology (ADTT) will solve this problem, since this technique can decrease the lifetime of the fission products comparatively to the human lifespan. Practical control of fusion may also be possible in the first decades of the next millennium.

This volume is a major revision and expansion of Taylor’s seminal book Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective. It covers the major advances and accomplishments of the 14C method in archaeology and analyzes factors that affect the accuracy and precision of 14C-based age estimates. In addition to reviewing the basic principles of the method, it examines 14C dating anomalies and means to resolve them, and considers the critical application of 14C data as a dating isotope with special emphasis on issues in Old and New World archaeology and late Quaternary paleoanthropology. This volume, again a benchmark for 14C dating, critically reflects on the method and data that underpins, in so many cases, the validity of the chronologies used to understand the prehistoric archaeological record.