Vole clock
{{short description|Archaeological dating method}}
The vole clock is a method of dating archaeological strata using vole teeth. Investigations at sites across Europe have allowed construction of a detailed framework of how different vole species evolved over the last million years, and where and when specific taxa became extinct.{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/2000elveden_vole.html|title=2000 series: Elveden, Suffolk|last=Currant|first=Andy (Natural History Museum, London)|year=2000|work=Time Team|publisher=Channel 4|accessdate=31 May 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117231521/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/2000elveden_vole.html|archivedate=2008-01-17}}
Reliability
For many sites it is considered the most accurate method of dating, and also provides information on the climate and local environment e.g. in the Pleistocene. Dr. Francis Wenban-Smith of Southampton University, a Stone Age specialist on assignment for Oxford Archaeology, described the vole clock as "one of the wonders of modern science".{{cite web|url=http://thehumanjourney.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=129|title=Elephant Hunters|publisher=Oxford Archaeology|accessdate=31 May 2014}} However, an article published by Robert A. Martin concludes that "Sampling, chronological, and statistical issues seriously limit the accuracy and thus practical application of vole clocks generated from fossil arvicolid rodent samples"{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=Robert A.|date=2014-06-15|title=A critique of vole clocks|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379114000766|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|language=en|volume=94|pages=1–6|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.03.004|issn=0277-3791|url-access=subscription}} Among his critiques, Martin points out that size change (in teeth and animals) is not uniform over time and does not necessarily move in one direction.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/archive/2000elveden_vole.html Use of Vole Clock on C4's Time Team]
{{Archaeology}}
{{Chronology}}
{{archaeology-stub}}