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40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating in paleoanthropology and archeology
Author(s) -
Deino Alan L.,
Renne Paul R.,
Swisher Carl C.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1998)6:2<63::aid-evan4>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - paleoanthropology , archaeology , hominidae , absolute dating , geology , paleontology , history , biological evolution , radiocarbon dating , biology , genetics
The potassium‐argon (K‐Ar) dating method has been widely used over the past 40 years to provide radioisotopic age control of hominid/hominoid evolutionary time scales. The wide appeal of the technique to paleoanthropology and archeology has been, in part, a result of its broad time range of applicability, from materials as young as a few thousand years old to an essentially unbounded upper age limit. Another reason for its appeal is the many geological circumstances in which datable materials are found. Beginning about two decades ago and accelerating into this decade, however, the conventional K‐Ar technique has given way to 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating as the method of preference. This technique is not only more precise and accurate when dating ideal materials, but also permits excellent ages to be obtained from situations that often stymie the conventional K‐Ar technique, such as dating of contaminated tuffs and altered rocks. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.