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Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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ant

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Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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geo

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Re: Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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So, basically dating methods have improved a lot. Where's the "big problem" ?
-Geo
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LanDroid

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Re: Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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Ant was turned on by the image of scientists licking bones. :wink:
Disclaimer: the above is intended as a joke, casting no aspersions on Ant's proclivities.
CindyAuthor
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Re: Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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it wile always be a problem, in my opinion, it is just one of those things that cant be accepted so easily.
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Re: Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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I'm with geo on this one.
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geo

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Re: Science still has big problems with fossil ages

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CindyAuthor wrote:it wile always be a problem, in my opinion, it is just one of those things that cant be accepted so easily.
Having uncertainty is not considered a "problem" in the field of science. It only means we have to keep working to have a better understanding.

Paleontology is still a fairly recent scientific discipline. When some of the early fossils were discovered, scientists could only guess the timelines of when such species lived. Only after discovering many more fossils of the same species, and seeing where those fossils were found in the strata of sedimentary rock, could we start to have a better idea of the timeline of this or that species. And, yet, we will still find specimens that force us to reevaluate some timelines. If you read up on the discovery of various proto human fossils (erectus, habilus, neanderthalenthis, etc.), you'll get a very good idea of how very complicated the fossil record is. And every new discovery has the potential of forcing us to revise the timeline. It's all very interesting, but definitely not a problem.
-Geo
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