Food and Radiocarbon testing.......

This is a response on Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, to see more context and to better understand what I am talking about visit this website. This website is Mr. Ross's and he is awesome!! Well anyways, enough of my random rants read on.....

Explain how radiocarbon dating works and some problems inherent with this kind of testing.

Radio carbon testing is when archaeologists measure the amount of 14 carbon still remaining in an object and take that and compare it to the ration of 14 carbon to 12 carbon . You would use this process to see how old a food residue is . Unfortunately this at times can be inaccurate due to the fact that carbon amounts in the atmosphere change slightly over time and animals move and alter the evidence of the food residue.

Where would you have wanted to live 1,000 years ago for the food that was native to the region?

If I were to live back in the day I think I would live in Mesoamerica because the food that that region hosted were well most familiar to me. I have nothing against new foods but if I were going to base a lifetime on where I was going to live because of the food I would like reassurance that the food is ok at least. Squash, beans, and corn are all pretty ok foods. If the squash is cooked right it is good, and beans well you can't have a burrito with out beans. Just kidding, but beans are pretty ok as well. and as for corn well..... corn is just GOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to live in a place where the food is familiar and where I know I can be nutritionally balanced.

Corn rocks your socks!!!!

Janea <3