#radiocarbon-dating

#radiocarbon-dating

At first glance, it looked like Wooller and his colleagues might have found evidence that mammoths lived in central Alaska just 2,000 years ago. But ancient DNA revealed that two "mammoth" bones actually belonged to a North Pacific right whale and a minke whale-which raised a whole new set of questions. The team's hunt for Alaska's last mammoth had turned into an epic case of mistaken identity, starring two whale species and a mid-century fossil hunter.

The Volto Santo of Lucca, the 9th century crucifix that is one of the oldest known surviving wooden sculptures in Europe, has been restored to its original polychromy. Overpainted in the 17th century with a black on the robes and brown on the flesh tones then coated with a pigmented wax layer, the figure of Christ and the circular nimbus behind him were dull and dark, obscuring pigments of the highest quality like lapis lazuli blue and gold.

Bennett and his colleagues radiocarbon-dated seeds from sediment layers to establish that ancient footprints in New Mexico were made after 23,000 years ago.