Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bill Rea <bsr15 AT cantsl.it.canterbury.ac.nz>]

James wrote:-

>I come from a highly scientific background (especially chemistry) and
>remain unimpressed by many dating methods which are dependent on
>variables which we cannot claim to have enough knowledge about (e.g.
>carbon dating is directly proportional to the amounts of radiation the
>substance has been exposed to. as we cannot know for sure that past
>exposure was consistent with present exposure we cannot rely completely
>on such methods).

This is off-topic, but I'm responding because some list members
have to evaluate dates from archeological digs when comparing those
data with the Hebrew Bible.

All objections to the validity of radio carbon dating are
answered by dendrochronology. There are a number of unbroken
sequences dating back several thousand years. The bristlecone
pine sequence from the White Mountains extends to 9,000 years
before the present. There are other sequences which extend
similar periods into the past.

There is no need to remain in ignorance or be skeptical as
there are some good web sites on the subject around to read.
For example, see:-

http://web.utk.edu/~grissino/

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