Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2010

Archaeology Magazine has compiled the top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2010. As you might expect, most of them are fascinating archaeological sites from around the world. However, two discoveries are more technical: the technique of non-destructive carbon-dating, developed by Marvin Rowe and colleagues at Texas A&M. Additionally, scientists in Germany were commended for decoding the Neanderthal genome. Congratulations to both groups, and looking forward to more fantastic analytical methodologies in 2011 and beyond!

12th International Conference on AMS Spectrometry

The Twelfth International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry will be held in Wellington, New Zealand at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, (Te Papa) on 20–25 March 2011.

Scientists from all over the world will come together to discuss recent technological progress, applications and future trends of accelerator based isotope techniques for studies in archaeology, nuclear physics and astrophysics, cosmogeochemistry, biomedical sciences, environment, geology, hydrology, ocean sciences, and nuclear safeguards.

AMS-12 is hosted by the GNS Science National Isotope Centre.

The call for abstracts and registration will open on 1 August 2010.

The conference website will be the official site for all updated conference information, sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, conference hotel information and bookings, and conference registration. Note the address and check it regularly for further updates.

Get a feel for Wellington, the range of accommodation, the harbour, transportation and entertainment available here.

For further information including sponsorship and exhibition opportunities contact:
ams12@gns.cri.nz
www.gns.cri.nz/ams12

Albert Zondervan
AMS-12 Convener
National Isotope Centre
T: +64-4-570 4617
a.zondervan@gns.cri.nz

Shroud of Turin (further) debunked

From the Associated Press:

ROME — Scientists have reproduced the Shroud of Turin — revered as the cloth that covered Jesus in the tomb — and say the experiment proves the relic was man-made, a group of Italian debunkers claimed Monday.

The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping out of nailed hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen fibers at the time of his resurrection.

Scientists have reproduced the shroud using materials and methods that were available in the 14th century, the Italian Committee for Checking Claims on the Paranormal said.

The group said in a statement this is further evidence the shroud is a medieval forgery. In 1988, scientists used radiocarbon dating to determine it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

But the dispute continued because experts couldn't explain how the faint brown discoloration was produced, imprinting on the cloth a negative image centuries before the invention of photography.

Many still believe that the shroud "has unexplainable characteristics that cannot be reproduced by human means," lead scientist Luigi Garlaschelli said in the statement. "The result obtained clearly indicates that this could be done with the use of inexpensive materials and with a quite simple procedure."

The research was funded by the debunking group and by an Italian organization of atheists and agnostics, he said.

Garlaschelli, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pavia, said in an interview with La Repubblica daily that his team used a linen woven with the same technique as the shroud and artificially aged by heating it in an oven and washing it with water.

The cloth was then placed on a student, who wore a mask to reproduce the face, and rubbed with red ochre, a well known pigment at the time. The entire process took a week, Repubblica said.

One of my graduate student mentors, Paul Damon, was involved in the radiocarbon dating.

In any case, the Shroud will be on public display next April-May, according to the official web site. It usually is shown only a couple of times each century. I'll be on sabbatical in Europe - I might just go!

Image from the official web site.

20th International Radiocarbon Conference

When I entered graduate school far too long ago, I had a research assistantship with Paul Damon at the University of Arizona on geomagnetic modulation of atmospheric radiocarbon concentration. This is what first got me interested in changes in the magnetic field strength over the past few millennia, which led to my master's thesis on archaeomagnetism. The rest, is history.

My first professional presentation was at the 9th International Radiocarbon Conference in Los Angeles and La Jolla, 1976. Nobel Prize winner Willard Libby was there. Now the 20th Conference is coming to Hawaii, and the abstract deadline is March 15.
From http://www.radiocarbon2009.org/ :

Hosted by the Arizona AMS Laboratory, the 2009 Radiocarbon conference will be held on the Big Island, Hawaii, from May 31–June 5, 2009.

Abstract submission and Registration are now available online. The deadline for abstract submissions is March 15, 2009. Information on the Pre-Conference field trip to the lava flows is here.

Bigger than the other Hawaiian islands combined, Hawaii's "Big Island" provides a fascinating backdrop for the Radiocarbon 2009 meeting. For some quick facts on the island and the many activities available, visit Hawaii's official tourism site.

As with previous Radiocarbon Conference proceedings, the journal Radiocarbon (which now keeps back issues online) will publish the 2009 proceedings.