Evening star., 1951-09-24
Man Lived in America
10000 Years Ago
Precise Method Shows Age
Of Ancient Bison Bone
By Thomas R. Henry


New evidence of the presence Of
human beings in North America nearly
10000 years ago is provided in a second
list of radiocarbon dates determined by
the University of Chicago's Institute
of Nuclear Studies.
These dates are derived from the
most precise method of determining pre-
historic time yet available. All living
things, plant or animal, contain minute
amounts of a radioactive form of car
bon which is created in the lombard
ment OF nitrogen by nuclear particles
in the upper atmosphere. The "explod-
ing atoms" OF this carbon, which is dis
tributed about equally in the structure
OF living things. break down at a con-
slant rate, so that in approximately
5,568 years, plus or minus 30, half of all
originally present will have disinte-
grated. In the next $3.50 years half of
those left will explode. This process
continues until there are only indis-
tinguishable traces left.
DR.. w. F. Libby of the University of
Chicago, the most prominent worker
in this field. has just reported to the
American Association for the Advance
ment of Science approximately so new
dates for ancient biological material
submitted from all over the world. He
had previously made nearly 100 de-
Examinations.
Fragments From Texas.
Most significant for American pre-
history in the new list is a period of
1888, plus or minus $50, years for
burned bison bone from a site near
Lubbock, Tex. in an archaeological shori-
zon in which have been found the
curious spearheads of Folsom man, per-
haps the earliest human inhabitant of
this continent. He was in the Southwest
some time toward the end of the last
ice age-a nomad hunter who presuma-
bly, followed the bison herds northward
behind the retreating ice
The implication is that the burned
bison bones on which this date deter
mination was made were burned over
man-made fires. The date of Folsom
man has been estimated in the past at
anywhere from 5000 to 10000 years.
This work pins it down, with a 300-year
margin of error, to approximately TO-
600 years.
Measurements of sheep dung from
Danger Cave. near Wendover, Utah, on
an old lake beach gave an age of 11,453
years, with a possible error Of 600 years
either way In the same deposits were
samples of charcoal which prove that
the cave had human inhabitants at
about the same time.
The radiocarbon experts determined
several dates at the request of old world
rcheologists-among them the age Of
the linen wrappings from around
papyrus manuscript of the Book Of
Isaiah discovered in cave on the shore
of the Dead Sea. It is being preserved
by the government Of Jordan. Although
it had the appearance of great antiquity,
it was found that the linen was only
about 1900 years old. There was
possible error of 200 years either way.
Old Stone Age Materials.
Materials submitted from late Old
Stone Age human hearthS in France
gave dates ranging from II 900 to nearly
10000 years. These correspond fairly
well with previous estimates of the peri
cd of the cave dwellers.
Brentwood from remains of an ancient
Danish house, submitted for analysis by
the Danish National Museum, gave the
somewhat remarkable date of 9,425
years, with possible error of about
470 years.
Charcoal from Stonehenge, the re-
markable stone circle ruins in Wilt
shire, England, was determined to be
3,798 years old. with possible error OF
275 years. 1t was taken from a hole
which is believed to have been used for
some sort of ceremonial ritual and be-
lonped IN the latter nhaSe of the New
Stone Age culture in Britain.
Charcoal from the earliest Polynesian
culture in Hawaii was found to be less
than 1000 years old.
The large margin of error is unavoid-
able. Despite it. the time measurements
are by far the most accurate obtainabls
by any means known today.