Science
Rats help New Zealand study find date of first humans | Rats help New Zealand study find date of first humans |
|
| by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 14 June 2008 | |
|
Page 1 of 2
Environmental scientist Janet M. Wilmshurst, from Landcare Research, a environmental research organization based in Lincoln, New Zealand, used carbon dating on the rodent remains, and the seeds the animals ate.
Specifically, the Wilmshurst team analyzed bone samples by first removing old carbon contamination from the bones. Some theories hold that humans up to 1,000 years earlier first populated New Zealand.
The seeds the team studied showed that they came from a time period of from 100 to 3,000 years ago. However, the seeds containing rat tooth marks only showed up less than 780 years ago.
Additional information on the Wilmshurst study is found in the June 3, 2008, online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Please turn the page. |
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|






