Solar storms, tree rings, and ancient time markers

Dating artifacts from the early days of human civilization has always been a bit hit or miss. It turns out that intense bursts of solar activity in the distant past laid down spikes of carbon-14 production in the growth rings of trees at the time. New research studying wood, papyrus, baskets, etc. from ancient civilizations shows that these “solar clocks” provide solid anchor points to tie together when they occurred. These findings will allow researchers to pin down events that occurred many thousands of years ago in Egyptian, Mayan, Chinese cultures to an exact year in history.

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