Bomb-curve radiocarbon dating
Definition
A method that exploits the spike in atmospheric carbon-14 caused by nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s-60s. The outermost growth layer of a tusk incorporates the C14 signature of the year of death, which can be read against the calibration curve to give a death-year estimate.
Related terms
- CITES Appendix I
- The strictest listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, prohibiting commercial international trade in specimens of listed species. African...
- ETIS
- Elephant Trade Information System, operated under CITES. A global database of ivory seizure records used to detect trade routes, source countries, and...
- Savanna vs. forest elephant
- African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) are now recognised as separate species. They have distinct mitochondrial lineages,...
- Schreger angle
- The acute angle formed at the intersection of two sets of dentinal tubule lines visible in the cross-section of a tusk. Values...
- Wasser map
- A population-level reference map of elephant DNA variation across the African continent, developed by Samuel Wasser's lab at the University of Washington,...
Explained in
- Elephant Ivory ForensicsA method that exploits the spike in atmospheric carbon-14 caused by nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s-60s. The outermost growth layer of a tusk incorporates t...