Question 1

Plants that are of similar ages and that grew in the same soil could produce different radiocarbon ages due to:
A) use of different photosynthetic pathways.
B) the reservoir effect.
C) De Vries effect.
D) problems with calibrating the radiocarbon curve.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Plants that are of similar ages and...

Question 2

Dating techniques tell us about cultural activities.
A) everything we need to know
B) nothing directly
C) nothing at all
D) how to speculate

Accepted Answer

Dating techniques, such as radiocarbon dating or dendrochronology, can provide a timeframe for when certain events or activities happened, but they do not directly inform us about the specific cultural activities themselves. Cultural interpretation requires additional archaeological or historical evidence.

Question 3

Radiocarbon dating cannot reliably date anything older than about:
A) 25,000 years.
B) 45,000 years.
C) 125,000 years.
D) 245,000 years.

Accepted Answer

Radiocarbon dating is limited because the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, making it reliable only up to about 50,000 years. Beyond this, the remaining carbon-14 is too minimal to measure accurately, making 45,000 years a practical limit for reliable dating.

Question 4

After excavating a hearth feature you submit organic material from the hearth for a conventional radiocarbon date. The result comes back as follows: Beta-33003, 3500+/- 100 radiocarbon years BP. You know that:
A) beta represents the Laboratory.
B) 3500 represents the years before present.
C) +/- 100 represents the standard error.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

Each part of the radiocarbon date result has a specific meaning: "Beta" indicates the laboratory that processed the sample, "3500" years before present (BP) is the estimated age of the sample, and "+/- 100" represents the standard error of the estimate, indicating the range within which the actual date is likely to fall.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a trapped charge dating method?
A) Accelerator mass spectrometry
B) Thermoluminescence
C) Optically stimulated luminescence
D) Electron spin resonance

Accepted Answer

Accelerator mass spectrometry is not a trapped charge dating method; it is a form of radiocarbon dating that measures the ratio of different isotopes directly, rather than by their decay products.

Question 6

A difference between optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) is:
A) OSL dates the last time sediment was exposed to light, while TL dates the last time artifacts were heated.
B) OSL dates the last time artifacts were heated, while TL dates the last time sediment was exposed to light.
C) OSL relies on radiocarbon dating while TL is a trapped charge dating method.
D) OSL is a trapped charge dating method while TL relies on radiocarbon dating.

Accepted Answer

OSL and TL are both trapped charge dating methods, but they differ in the kind of event they date: OSL dates the last time sediment was exposed to light, effectively "resetting" the luminescence signal, while TL dates the last time an object was heated, which also resets the luminescence signal in materials like ceramics or lava.

Question 7

Electron spin resonance is a trapped charge dating method primarily used to date:
A) bone organic matter.
B) tooth enamel.
C) volcanic ash.
D) the last time sediments were exposed to light.

Accepted Answer

Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating is primarily used to date tooth enamel, as well as other materials like bones and carbonate crystals, but it is most effective and commonly applied to tooth enamel. This method measures the trapped charge within defects in the crystal lattice of materials, which accumulates over time due to natural radiation. Tooth enamel is particularly suitable for this method due to its high density and the stability of the trapped charges it contains.

Question 8

Argon-argon dates volcanic rock, especially ash, in layers that are years old.
A) thousands of
B) tens of thousands of
C) hundreds of thousands of
D) millions of

Accepted Answer

Argon-argon dating is a radiometric dating method used to date volcanic rock and ash, and it is particularly effective for samples that are millions of years old.

Question 9

If the date of a historic site is undocumented, archaeologists might use which of the following techniques to provide a date?
A) Pipe stem dating
B) Terminus post quem dating
C) Radiocarbon dating
D) Pipe stem dating and Terminus post quem dating

Accepted Answer

Pipe stem dating and Terminus post quem dating are both techniques that can be used to date historic sites when the date is undocumented. Pipe stem dating uses the bore diameter of tobacco pipe stems, which changed over time, to estimate the age of a site. Terminus post quem (Latin for "limit after which") dating uses artifacts whose earliest possible date is known to indicate that a site must be at least as old as those artifacts. Radiocarbon dating is also a common method for dating organic materials, but it was not listed as a combined option with the others.

Question 10

Organisms that obtain carbon from a source that is depleted or enriched in 14C relative to the atmosphere may return ages that are considerably older or younger than they actually are. This is due to:
A) De Vries effect.
B) the reservoir effect.
C) the effect of different photosynthetic pathways.
D) problems with calibrating the radiocarbon curve.

Accepted Answer

The reservoir effect occurs when organisms obtain carbon from sources that have different 14C levels than the atmosphere, leading to inaccuracies in radiocarbon dating. This can make them appear older or younger than they actually are.

Question 11

Absolute dates are absolute in that they
A) can only say how much older or younger one site or artifact is than another.
B) places sites in relative order.
C) provides specific ages or age ranges.
D) cannot be disputed.

Accepted Answer

Absolute dating methods provide specific ages or age ranges for objects or sites, unlike relative dating which places sites or artifacts in order based on their age relative to each other.

Question 12

Ichtucknee Blue on White ceramics were manufactured from AD 1600 to 1650. Excavating a historic site in Georgia, you find bits of broken Ichtucknee Blue on White plates. Therefore, you know that the terminus post quem date on this site is:
A) AD 1650.
B) AD 1625.
C) AD 1600.
D) sometime after AD 1650.

Accepted Answer

The terminus post quem (TPQ) date is the earliest possible date for something. Since Ichtucknee Blue on White ceramics started being manufactured in AD 1600, finding them at a site means the site was occupied no earlier than that year.

Question 13

Factors that can affect the utility of radiocarbon dating include:
A) contamination (e.g., by coal).
B) atmospheric fluctuations of 14C.
C) the length of time wood is useful after it dies ("old wood" problem).
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

All the listed factors can affect the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. Contamination by materials like coal can introduce carbon of a different age into a sample. Atmospheric fluctuations of 14C over time can alter the baseline levels of 14C assumed in calculations. The "old wood" problem refers to the potential for wood to have been used long after it died, leading to inaccuracies if the wood's death rather than its use is dated.

Question 14

We can expect that continual advances in dating methods will
A) permit a greater understanding of the chronology of the past.
B) confuse scholars and lead to disputes among the academic community.
C) help create new paradigms and new ways of understanding the past.
D) permit a greater understanding of the chronology of the past, and create new paradigms and new ways of understanding the past.

Accepted Answer

Advances in dating methods can improve the accuracy of historical timelines (A) and also lead to new interpretations and paradigms (C), thus both aspects are correct.

Question 15

Radiocarbon dating was able to determine that the Shroud of Turin:
A) was a modern forgery, created sometime in the 20th century.
B) dates to the time of Christ.
C) dates to medieval times, between AD 1260 and 1390.
D) was created long before the time of Christ, although the exact date is uncertain because it lies at the practical limit of radiocarbon dating.

Accepted Answer

Radiocarbon dating tests conducted in 1988 on the Shroud of Turin concluded that the cloth was made between AD 1260 and 1390, suggesting it originated in medieval times, not during the era of Christ.

Question 16

evidence usually provides dates for historical sites.
A) Geomorphological
B) Faunal
C) Documentary
D) Floral

Accepted Answer

Documentary evidence is often used to provide dates for historical sites, as it includes written records, inscriptions, and documents that can directly reference specific dates or periods.

Question 17

When documentary evidence is not available, known ages of artifact types are generated to create age-range or median ages for historical features or sites using
A) TPQ.
B) mean ceramic age dates.
C) radiocarbon dates.
D) TPQ and mean ceramic age dates.

Accepted Answer

The correct answers are TPQ (Terminus Post Quem) and mean ceramic age dates. Both methods are used to estimate the age of historical features or sites when documentary evidence is not available. TPQ refers to the date after which a layer, feature, or artifact must have been deposited or created, often determined by the latest dated object found within that context. Mean ceramic age dating is a technique that calculates the average age of ceramic assemblages, providing a median age for the site or feature based on the known ages of the ceramic types present.

Question 18

In trapped charge dating methods, the amount of gamma radiation emitted by sediments is measured by:
A) optically stimulated luminescence.
B) thermoluminescence.
C) a dosimeter.
D) beta decay.

Accepted Answer

A dosimeter is used to measure the amount of gamma radiation emitted by sediments in trapped charge dating methods.

Question 19

An advantage of the accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) method of radiocarbon dating is:
A) although not as precise as standard dating methods that count beta decays, AMS dating is less subject to problems caused by atmospheric fluctuations in 14C.
B) AMS dating is much cheaper than standard dating methods that count beta decays.
C) AMS dating requires much smaller carbon samples than standard dating methods.
D) AMS dates are easier to calibrate than standard radiocarbon dates.

Accepted Answer

AMS dating requires much smaller carbon samples than standard dating methods, allowing for the analysis of precious or limited samples.

Question 20

The radiocarbon date 2850 +/- 40 BP suggests that there is a 66% chance that the true age:
A) lies between 2810 and 2890 BP.
B) is 2830 BP.
C) lies between 2810 and 2850 BP.
D) lies between 2850 and 2890 BP.

Accepted Answer

The radiocarbon date 2850 +/- 40 BP means the date is 2850 years before present with a standard deviation of 40 years. A 66% chance (roughly one standard deviation) suggests the true age likely falls within the range of 2850 minus 40 years to 2850 plus 40 years, which is between 2810 and 2890 BP.

Quiz 6: Chronology Building How To Get A Date

Plants that are of similar ages and that grew in the same soil could produce different radiocarbon ages due to:

Dating techniques tell us about cultural activities.

Radiocarbon dating cannot reliably date anything older than about:

After excavating a hearth feature you submit organic material from the hearth for a conventional radiocarbon date. The result comes back as follows: Beta-33003, 3500+/- 100 radiocarbon years BP. You know that:

Which of the following is not a trapped charge dating method?

A difference between optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) is:

Electron spin resonance is a trapped charge dating method primarily used to date:

Argon-argon dates volcanic rock, especially ash, in layers that are years old.

If the date of a historic site is undocumented, archaeologists might use which of the following techniques to provide a date?

Organisms that obtain carbon from a source that is depleted or enriched in 14C relative to the atmosphere may return ages that are considerably older or younger than they actually are. This is due to:

Absolute dates are absolute in that they

Ichtucknee Blue on White ceramics were manufactured from AD 1600 to 1650. Excavating a historic site in Georgia, you find bits of broken Ichtucknee Blue on White plates. Therefore, you know that the terminus post quem date on this site is:

Factors that can affect the utility of radiocarbon dating include:

We can expect that continual advances in dating methods will

Radiocarbon dating was able to determine that the Shroud of Turin:

evidence usually provides dates for historical sites.

When documentary evidence is not available, known ages of artifact types are generated to create age-range or median ages for historical features or sites using

In trapped charge dating methods, the amount of gamma radiation emitted by sediments is measured by:

An advantage of the accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) method of radiocarbon dating is:

The radiocarbon date 2850 +/- 40 BP suggests that there is a 66% chance that the true age: