quote:
Originally posted by wwjd:
Why not try this on for size.
"...Carbon dating is likely to produce wildly inaccurate results..."
Harvey Rowe (Smithsonian Institute)
Curator, Antiquities
This having been said when the head of a chewed up barbie doll was found buy some guy who likes to dig in his back yard and decided to send his findings to the Smithsonian Institute to have it carbon dated.
Well, you can't carbon date plastic-- such as a barbie doll head.
The head was chewed up, presumably by an animal of some kind. This would introduce organic matter which could be dated (maybe) but wouldn't match the age of the head.
A barbie doll head would have been manufactured within the last hundred years or so. Human activity-- nuclear tests-- has skewed atmospheric C14 levels.
I doubt that the guy digging in his yard followed any of the proper procedures to prevent contamination. (of the plastic head that can't be dated anyway)
I also doubt that the guy digging in his backyard properly prepped the sample.
So, how about the complete quotation and a source for it, so we can check it out.
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http://www.hells-handmaiden.com
It isn't applicable to all materials, nor to all time frames, and it is subject to contamination. Big suprise. We live in an imperfect world.
™ Version 4.2
