Carbon-dating questions??

by DATA-DOG 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  DATA-DOG

  I recently heard a story from a JW about stupid scientists. There was an Awake article about archeaologist who found an ancient piece of art. It was sent to a University for dating. In the end, it was a rock that a local artist had used to paint traditional cave-style pictures.

  The lesson of the story was how inaccurate carbon dating was, and how scientists are biased. ( Remember that I am in a room full of dubs.)

  Have you heard of this story? Also, can you recommend some videos on various dating methods? Is there a series of videos for dummies?

  I know the WTBTS is biased and has no issue with selective quoting, or misquotes, or twisting the context, or even lying. I would like to be better educated on the subject.

  DD
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  Oubliette

  Here is a blurb from the Georgia State University Department of Physics and Astronomy:
  

  Carbon dating is a variety of radioactive dating which is applicable only to matter which was once living and presumed to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere, taking in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis.

  So unless an "ancient piece of art" was once alive, no archaeologist would try to date it with this method.

  This sounds like another JW legend right up there with talking Smurfs.

  Remember: What passes for "science" in JW-land is pretty much not. Whaddya expect from a bunch of uneducated yahoos talking about things they don't understand?

  Click here for an overview of radioactive dating methods.
  
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  blondie

  *** g91 9/22 p. 29 Watching the World ***

  Embarrassing Dating Error

  Eleven years ago, an artistic South African grandmother, Joan Ahrens, produced some fine paintings using rocks as her canvases, imitating traditional Bushman art. Later, one of her painted rocks was picked up in the veld near her former home in the city of Pietermaritzburg. Eventually it got into the hands of the curator of the city’s museum. Unaware of the origin of this rock art, the curator had it dated in England by the Oxford University radio carbon accelerator unit. Experts estimated that the painting was 1,200 years old! Why such an embarrassing error? “It has since been established,” according to a report in South Africa’s Sunday Times, “that the oil paint used by Mrs Ahrens contained natural oils which contained carbon—the only substance dated by Oxford.”
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  FreeGirl2006

  Blondie,
  You have mad skills when it comes to research!
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  DATA-DOG

  Thanks, Blondie! You are awesome!

  So I believe the WTBTS "reasoning" is this: An ancient cave painting may not be ancient, or at least not hundreds of thousands of years old. The materials, the canvass (rock), paint ( made from oils ) may be ancient, but not the artist.

  For instance, what if I found a 100 year old barn, and made a bed from the wood. Is my bed 100 years old? What if the trees that made the barn were 400 years old?

  How would a scientist 200 years from now determine the age of my bed?

  DD
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  Half banana

  DD, by dendrochronology to determine the age of the timber and stylistically for the period in which the timber was used for making the bed.
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  DATA-DOG

  So if the "style" is unknown, all we can do is date the material.

  DD
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  Kanon

  From what I have read dating rock paintings is a lot more difficult, there are methods but I don't know how accurate they are.
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  Crazyguy

  Dating techniques are frustrating because they seem to never be in agreement, which makes the validity of the science open for attack. I wish they could come up with a way to be consistently accurate so we can put to bed some of these wacky beliefs.
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  Finkelstein

  It should be accepted that since most JWs are not well educated on certain matters, particular on in-depth science, they learn from what they read off the pages of the Watchtower rather than do an honest open investigation to certain topics.

  There are many technics that archaeologists use to date in age when evaluating objects.

  For example .....

  • Radiocarbon dating - for dating organic materials
  • Dendrochronology - for dating trees, and objects made from wood, but also very important for calibrating radiocarbon dates
  • Thermoluminescence dating - for dating inorganic material including ceramics
  • Optically stimulated luminescence or optical dating for archaeological applications
  • Potassium–argon dating - for dating fossilized hominid remains
  • Archaeomagnetic dating - Clay lined fire hearths take on a magnetic moment pointing to the North Pole each time they are fired and then cool. The position of the North Pole for the last time the fire hearth was used can be determined and compared to charts of known locations and dates
  • Lead Corrosion Dating.
  • Amino acid dating
  • Obsidian hydration dating - a geochemical method of determining age in either absolute or relative terms of an artifact made of obsidian
  • Rehydroxylation dating - for dating ceramic materials