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Preserving Prehistory 4 Questions

1. What exactly is radiocarbon dating and why is it the most accurate method?

Radiocarbon dating provides an age estimate for a carbon-based material that originated from a living organism. It measures how much carbon-14 (radiocarbon, a weak radioactive isotope of carbon) is present in the sample, and measures this against an internationally used reference standard. The Accelerator Mass Spectrometer is used.

 https://www.radiocarbon.com/about-carbon-dating.htm


2.      How do we know that the materials found on the mummy assumed to be for embalming didn't serve another purpose?
The materials found on the mummy were chemicals commonly used in the embalming and preservation process of a mummy. Such chemicals used in the embalming process were known - a mixture of plant extracts, oils, and resins.

3.     Were they able to specify any of the plant/animal oils?
Such resins used include plant oil, sesame oil, and phenolic acids, which were probably from an aromatic plant extract. Other resins include conifer resin, which would have been sourced from what is now Israel and Palestine (trade routes, possibly).

4.     How do scientists account for substances that degraded from the prehistoric mummies over the course of thousands of years?
They use radiocarbon dating – by measuring carbon-14, they can easily estimate the age of a sample containing carbon as it is very accurate, even up to several thousand years old.

https://cen.acs.org/analytical-chemistry/art-artifacts/Egyptian-mummy-gives-embalming-secrets/96/i33

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