- I don't think that Van Gogh's paintings were worth such hard work.
- So he was Van Gogh.
- All this is true, but it is known that in his entire life he sold only one painting. And your father, to perpetuate his tragic genius … has already sold two.
How to Steal a Million, 1966
On the pages of VO, discussions periodically erupt on issues of historical chronology. So it is obvious that this topic will be very interesting for many. So, what does this historical chronology or dating represent? And this is the determination of the age of archaeological finds. There is a distinction between relative and absolute dating.
Part of the crater with the image of a chariot and warriors. Find in Tomb # 67, Enkomi, Cyprus. Dating from 1400 to 1350. BC. Inaccuracy in just 50 years! (British museum)
There are a lot of absolute dating methods today. So if you are not satisfied with one particular method, you can test it with two or three. The most common is radiocarbon analysis. Many have heard of it, but how long has it been used, and what is its essence? It was opened back in the 40s of the twentieth century. And it was proposed for the first time by the professor of the University of Chicago Willard Frick Libby. In 1960, he received the Nobel Prize for this.
Well, its essence is based on … the work of a school electroscope! As you know, this is a metal rod to which light leaves are attached. If you touch it with something electrified, then they will receive the same charge and repel each other. But when a radioactive element is brought to it, the electroscope will be discharged. At an altitude of five kilometers, it will discharge even faster than at sea level, which proves that invisible cosmic radiation is poured from space to Earth. On Earth, when it enters the atmosphere, it causes changes in atoms. So, irradiation of carbon forms carbon-14. It differs from the usual one in that there are two more neutrons in its nucleus. It is estimated that 7 kg of C-14 radiocarbon is produced annually in the Earth's atmosphere and the same amount is decayed. It forms at an altitude of 15 km, is oxidized by atmospheric oxygen and dispersed in the atmosphere. It then enters the plants. Plants are eaten by animals, and thus it gets into them. Man eats both animals and plants, therefore, he also accumulates it. But as soon as an object of living nature dies, carbon stops accumulating in it and begins to decay. The decay rate is known for sure: 5730 years is its half-life. More time will pass - there will be less carbon, and vice versa. In general, you just need to measure how much carbon C-14 remained in this or that item, which was found by archaeologists and … "it's in the bag." That is, we will know how many years have passed since the death of this or that living organism to the present time. There are special counters to measure the residual carbon. They are now available in many cities of our country.
Cylinder seal from Crete. It is also possible to find out the age by the stone itself, but it is easier to do this by its clay print, if only it is nearby. (Louvre)
The age of volcanic lava can be measured in the same way. During an eruption, lava containing radioactive particles spills over long distances from the volcano. And they are also carried by ashes! Then the ash from the water hardens, the lava hardens and here we have a ready-made "clock of centuries". After all, in the ash and lava, the decay of radioactive elements immediately began. Its speed is also known. Therefore, it is enough to place a piece of ancient lava or ash in a special device, and it will become known how long ago this eruption was. Well, if our ancestor left footprints on the fallen volcanic dust, then we can say exactly when it happened. After all, in air containing water vapor, the ash solidifies very quickly.
Next comes the geomagnetic method. Its essence is that the Earth's magnetic poles periodically disappear and change signs from plus to minus. And so over the past four million years, it turns out, there have been four major epochs of polarity reversal. Brunhes (straight), which began 700 thousand years ago and continues now. Matuyama (reverse) - from 0.7 to 2.43 million years ago. Gauss (direct) - from 2.43 to 3.33 million years ago and Gilbert (reverse) - 3.33 to 4.45 million years ago. Each epoch has periods when the polarity changes for a shorter period - the so-called episodes. The earliest finds of ancient people fall at the end of the Gaussian era, when in a short period of time - from 3.6 to 2.8 million ago, at least four times the polarity of the Earth's geomagnetic poles changed!
A very "curious thing" is the archeomagnetic method. Its essence is that clay can be magnetized, but as soon as it is burned, its magnetism seems to be imprinted into it, and by its intensity one can determine the time of firing of bricks or ceramics. That is why, by the way, archaeologists often rejoice at the finds of ceramics, and often completely nondescript, more than a gold bracelet or a bronze sword. These pieces make it possible to date this or that excavated layer.
The thermoluminescence method helps to clarify the dating according to C-14 and the method of dendrochronology. Its essence is that if ancient ceramics or soil is heated to a temperature of 400 - 500 degrees Celsius, then they will glow. Moreover, the more ancient this object is, the stronger. And modern ceramics and soil do not glow when heated! That is, if, as some conspiracy theorists say, many artifacts were made recently and recently buried in the ground in order to mislead historians (why is it not clear!), Ceramics, say, will show this instantly. Well, if there are no ceramics among the finds, it will be suspicious. Since all finds during excavations are typologized, that is, they are divided into classes, classes into types, and types into types. The finds are summarized and compared with other similar sets of things. And there are “standard” sets, which are the most difficult to fabricate, and non-standard ones, which will immediately receive increased attention. But theories are based on typical sets of artifacts, so it makes no sense to forge unique, but devoid of ceramics. Stories about this only affect the ignorant people!
The Chronicle of Froissard. The British fight the Scots under the leadership of King David the Bruce (1341). (National Library of France). Well, who dares to fake it, or create a copy that contradicts its content?
By the way, it is very difficult to counterfeit ancient ink today. After all, in the past they were made from ink nuts. Today such ink can be made, but … it will contain the entire periodic table in the form of radionuclides after extensive nuclear tests. And it is enough to subject the text to radiological analysis of the composition of the ink to find out when it was done. Spectral analysis also comes to the rescue. Ancient ink on pieces of parchment gives few spectral bands, but any modern fake - a lot!
Here it is worth remembering the funny American comedy of 1966 "How to Steal a Million?" starring the inimitable Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. So there she tells her father, the artist Charles Bonnet, in great detail why fakes in marble fail. It turns out even then, in the 60s of the last century, it was very easy to expose them!
Here it is - there is the most famous "Venus Cellini", because of which its owner Charles Bonnet almost lost his "good name" and … all his income too. A still from the movie "How to Steal a Million".
Relative dating is called relative because it does not name exact dates, but it is also very important for archaeologists. The main methods she uses are stratigraphy, typology, cross-dating, etc. Straghigraphy comes from the word "strata" - layer. If several layers were found during excavations, then it is clear that the deeper the layer, the older it is - that's all the wisdom. In a typological analysis, finds from different places are compared. If they are almost the same, then obviously they were made at about the same time!
Pottery from Knossos - these are huge jugs for oil and grain. Photo by A. Ponomarev
Dating is very interesting based on the change in the intensity of solar radiation (astrophysical method) and even on the clay band at the bottom of water bodies. In summer, the strip is light, because it consists of sand and dust that the wind brings, in winter it is dark, because it contains dead algae and fish. Each pair of strips is one year old. The counting of strips allows determining the age of the site if the cultural layer is covered with a layer of strip clays. Well, the study of ancient pollen of plants and seeds allows you to determine the ancient landscapes and … restore the history of the climate in a particular area.
Mysterious twilight … and there, in the ground … finds! Photo by A. Ponomarev
And now it turned out that, judging by the deposits of this very pollen, wet periods alternate with dry ones, just as day replaces night. Hence the ability to predict the climate for the future, and in the past to explain the reasons for wars and invasions …
Well, now comes the fun part. Being, as you know, determines consciousness. That is, it is material culture that indicates to us the development of man in past eras. Now look and compare. In the 60s of the last century, the entire history of the Great Patriotic War, we fit into six volumes. In the United States, for comparison, the history of World War II was published in 99 volumes, and in Japan even in 110! Now, namely in May 2015, a 12-volume new edition of the history of the Great Patriotic War has been completed. But at the same time in the USSR a 20-volume edition was prepared and published - "Archeology of the USSR". It summarizes the material over 200 years of excavation! From the Lower Paleolithic to the XIV century! Finds in all zones of the country's territory are considered, material on the history of the Slavs and Ancient Rus is given in detail - as they say, take it and use it, everything is described, everything is dated! The only source of this kind, and what is the volume ?! That's what conspiracy theorists should read, right?
The author expresses his gratitude to A. Ponomarev for the provided photographs from the island of Crete.
