This Mud Could Revolutionize How Scientists Study The Past
Lake Suigetsu The pristine lake was never covered by glaciers, and is not interrupted by the turbulent inflow of a major river, giving it easily visible (and measurable) annual sediment layers. Courtesy of Christopher Bronk RamseyNew radiocarbon measurements from the silty bottom of a Japanese lake could help scientists pinpoint when Neanderthals died out. New radiocarbon measurements from the silty bottom of a Japanese lake could be one of the most helpful tools for natural historians in decades. With this new record, archaeologists could nail down the precise timing of the demise of the Neanderthal. Or anthropologists could determine exactly when humans spread into Europe. Or climate scientists could better understand the last ice age, and what climatological conditions led to the glaciers' retreat. Core samples from largely unperturbed Lake Suigetsu, which scientists have been trying to obtain and study for almost 20 years, refine one of our best tools for understanding...