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February 1, 2025 Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology - Part 1 - Carbon 14 Testing
February 1, 2025
Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology.
Part 1. Carbon 14 Testing.
Now
what
this
all
has
to
do
with
Metal
detecting,
I
don’t
rightly
know,
but
it’s
all
part
of
that
grand
adventure
on
the
road
to
new
discoveries.
Here
was
an
opportunity
that
presented
itself
that
I
could
not
pass
up.
I
mean
how
often
do
you
get
an
excuse
or
a
reason
to
send
something
out
for
Carbon
14
Testing?
Here’s
how
it all unfolded…
The story actually started about 4 year ago.
Farmers
today
are
and
always
have
been
multidisciplinarians.
It’s
a
matter
of
survival
and
of
saving
time
and
money
too.
One
of
the
many skills that a modern farmer has is using laser guided ditching
equipment
and
even
more
recently,
GPS
guided
technology
that
allows
for
the
precision
removal
of
soil
and
earth
from
various
depths
to
allow
for
quick,
level
and
efficient
farm
field
drainage.
In
short,
digging
drainage
ditches.
And
Yes,
this
is
done
by
day
and
by night. One works when the weather provides the opportunity.
So
back
to
our
story.
My
brother
is
on
a
farm
field;
ditching.
This
is
when
he
notices
what
looks
like
the
bottom
portions
of
multiple
large
trees
in
a
fresh
cut
of
earth.
Confusion
is
further
added
by
the
fact
that
this
is
at
a
depth
of
about
2
½
to
3
feet
below
grade
in
an
area
that
has
traditionally
always
been
wet
or
that
floods
at
every
rainfall.
Hence
the
drainage
idea.
He
stops
the
tractor
and
steps
out
to
get
a
better
look
and
decides
to
collect
a
few
samples
of these deep buried tree parts for possible later analysis.
The
tree
parts
are
put
away
and
sort
of
forgotten
for
a
while
until
a
conversation
about
my
metal
detecting
in
that
same
field
comes
up.
See:
October
29,
2022
-
The
Recipe
.
On
that
hunt,
I
didn’t
see
nor
unearth
any
wood
but
I
did
promise
to
explore
the
possibilities
of
researching
what
seemed
to
be
an
unusual
wood
find
at
such
an
odd
depth.
There
is
potential
here
for
some
very
old
and
interesting history.
In
early
2024,
I
made
contact
with
the
University
of
Ottawa.
It
is
the
only
place
in
Canada
that
conducts
Radio
Carbon
14
testing.
And,
as
of
April
2024,
they
no
longer
provide
this
service
to
the
general
public.
Now,
testing
is
only
done
for
commercial
and
accredited
scientific
organizations.
My
timing
could
not
have
been
better
because
after
April,
samples
in
private
hands
have
to
go
to
either
the
USA
or
to
Europe
for
testing.
Yes,
I
got
our
sample
of
wood
in,
just
under
the
wire.
For
Carbon
14
testing
purposes,
only
a .10 gram sample is required. Now we had to wait for the results.
The
piece
of
wood
that
I
had
to
work
with
was
once
part
of
a
tree
knot
and
branch.
It
was
a
very
hard
wood,
medium
brown
in
color
and
I
could
read
50
to
60
rings
on
the
knot.
At
first
I
thought
“Oak”
due
to
the
tight
rings
and
the
hardness
of
the
sample
but
oak
trees
don’t
do
well
in
wet
or
marshy
environments.
This
is
where
a
tree
specialist
came
in
handy,
more
specifically,
the
science
of
Dendrochronology.
February 1, 2025
Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology.
Part 2. Carbon 14 Test Results
It
took
until
June
2024,
but
the
Carbon
14
Test
results
and
coinciding dates eventually came in.
Keep
in
mind
that
there
is
always
a
wide
margin
in
the
dates
as
a
tree
has
a
long
life.
The
dates
came
in
at
1810
–
1919
with
70.5
%
certainty.
The
bump
between
1692
and
1727
-
25%,
as
seen
on
the
graph,
is
the
Suess
Effect
at
play.
See
the
reference
links
below
for
more
on
the
Suess
Effect.
And
NO…
it
has
nothing
to
do
with Dr. Suess or The Lorax.
I
had
thought
that
this
wood
would
have
been
much
older,
due
to
the
depth
at
which
it
was
found.
It
is
incredible
to
think
of
how
much
soil
has
drifted
in
and
moved
around
in
the
span
of
100
or
so
years.
Albeit
it’s
a
low
spot
on
a
farm
field,
but
2
½
to
3
feet
of
soil
is
a
lot
of
overburden
in
what
seems
like
a
short
time
frame.
Now
armed
with
a
solid
time
period,
I
hope
to
narrow
the
tree’s
growth
dates even more.
February 1, 2025 Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology - Part 2 - Carbon 14 Test Results
February 1, 2025
Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology.
Part 3. Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
is
the
study
of
tree
rings
to
determine
when
they
were
formed
(tree
ring
dating)
and
to
learn
about
past
climates
and
environments.
In
late
July
of
2024,
I
made
contact
with
Jacques
Tardif
at
the
University of Winnipeg.
Jacques
is
Professor
of
Biology
and
Environmental
Studies
and
Sciences
with
special
interest
in
Dendroecology,
Forest
Ecology
and
Disturbance.
I
was
most
warmly
welcomed
by
Jacques
and
his
assistant
and
I
got
to
spend
a
number
of
hours
in
their
lab
at
the
University.
They
took
the
time
to
look
at,
photograph
under
electron
microscope,
and
analyze
my
sample.
Under
ideal
conditions,
a
complete
slice
or
slab
of
a
tree
is
required
to
nail
a
date
down
with
any
certainty.
Environmental
conditions
such
as
a
major
fire
or
drought
or
excessive
wetness
or
insect
infestation
will
affect
the
growth
of
the
rings
in
a
tree.
Compare
these
variables
with
other
known
samples
and
you
can
go
back
and
date
thousands
of
years.
No luck with that today.
My knot and branch piece was much too small to date accurately.
However… Two major revelations.
1)
We
did
determine
with
90%
accuracy
that
the
wood
was
Tamarack.
The
only
other
potential
contender,
however
unlikely,
would
be
White
Pine.
Tamarack
loves
to
grow
in
wet
environments,
mostly
in
swamps,
bogs
or
muskegs.
This
is
the
exact
type
of
soil
my
brother
was
grading.
Remember,
this
was
2
½
to
3
feet
below
grade
in a historically wet area.
2)
Another
critical
observation
as
noted
by
Jacques,
was
not
what
my
brother
described
finding
in
the
field,
but
rather
what
was
not
there.
What
is
missing
at
times
is
a
more
important
clue
than
what
is
found.
There
were
no
tree
trunks.
Present
were
stumps
and
root
systems
and
pieces
of
branches.
These
facts
point
directly
to
human
activity:
the
removal
of
the
tree
trunks
for
use
elsewhere.
The
lack
of
the
trunks
also
points
directly
to
the
colonial
era.
The
early
settlers
used
Tamarack
as
posts
in
buildings
and
as
fence
posts.
In
fact,
some
portions
of
the
Dawson
Trail
were
corduroy
bridges
made
with
cut
Tamarack.
Posts
and
beams
in
some
of
the
old
barns
at
the
Mennonite
Heritage
Village
in
Steinbach
are
Tamarack.
Some
of
these
artifacts
have
been
used
for
dating
and
for
environmental
studies like climate change. Dendrochronology at its best.
February 1, 2025 Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology - Part 3 - Dendrochronology
February 1, 2025 Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology - Part 4 - Conclusion
February 1, 2025
Carbon 14 Testing and Dendrochronology.
Part 4. Conclusion
The
wood
was
Tamarack.
The
tree
was
growing
between
1810
and
1919.
The
tree
trunks
were
harvested
by
the
early
settlers
during
this
period.
Most
of
the
settlers
arrived
in
this
part
of
the
Red
River
valley
in
the
period
between
1870
and
the
1890’s.
This
specific
section
of
land,
where
the
wood
was
found,
was
settled
in
that
same time frame. Section 35-2-1E has a low wet area.
Now
that
was
quite
the
adventure.
Yes,
metal
detecting
is
mainly
about
finding
metal
and
this
is
after
all
a
Metal
Detecting
website
but…
What
fun!
Metal
Detecting
can
always
be
a
stepping
stone
to
further
research.
One
should
never
stop
learning
and
one
should
always
be
open
to
new
ideas
and
to
trying
new
things.
And
learn
we
did.
I
must
thank
my
brother
Geatan
and
Fontaine
Farms
for
much
of
the
financing.
Carbon
14
Testing
is
not
prohibitive
in
cost
but
it’s
not
cheap
either.
I
again
wish
to
thank
Jacques
Tardif
and
his
assistant
at
the
University
of
Winnipeg
for
the
generosity
of
their
time
and
knowledge
and
the
use
of
their
lab
equipment.
Their
knowledge
of
historical
weather
patterns
and
of
western
prairie
droughts
and
fires
and
of
major
floods
is
amazing.
So
much
history
as
seen
through
the growth rings of trees.
I’ve
also
come
to
truly
admire
and
respect
the
hardships,
and
bravery,
and
hard
work
of
our
pioneers
who
faced
so
many
unknowns
on
their
quest
to
better
their
lives
and
by
default
all
of
our
lives
today.
We
owe
them
a
great
debt
of
gratitude.
The
same
goes
to farmers today.
Roger
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_laricina
https://www.ontario.ca/page/tamarack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrochronology
h
t
t
p
s
:
/
/
d
a
w
s
o
n
t
r
a
i
l
t
r
e
a
s
u
r
e
s
.
c
a
/
i
n
d
e
x
.
p
h
p
?
p
a
g
e
=
r
o
u
t
e
-
o
f
-
t
h
e
-
dawson-trail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suess_effect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lorax
