Donald Collier [1911-1995] An archaeologist, ethnologist and museologist.

He was known primarily for his work in Ecuadorian and Andean archaeology and spent most of his career at the Field Museum of Natural History…

He hosted the popular television show, “What in the World?

”, which was aimed at stumping experts as the analyzed archaeological artifacts.

When plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic material during photosynthesis they incorporate a quantity of 14C that approximately matches the level of this isotope in the atmosphere (a small difference occurs because of isotope fractionation, but this is corrected after laboratory analysis).After plants die or they are consumed by other organisms (for example, by humans or other animals) the 14C fraction of this organic material declines at a fixed exponential rate due to the radioactive decay of 14C.Comparing the remaining 14C fraction of a sample to that expected from atmospheric 14C allows the age of the sample to be estimated.Before you dismiss, please consider making a donation. This argument was popularized by Henry Morris (1974, p.164), who used some calculations done in 1968 by Melvin Cook to get the 10,000-year figure. Whitelaw, using a greater ratio of carbon-14 production to decay, concluded that only 5000 years passed since carbon-14 started forming in the atmosphere!The argument may be compared to filling a barrel which has numerous small holes in its sides.In the first place, Libby (the developer of the method) assumed that the carbon 14 content is consistent in the carbon dioxide which is absorbed by the organism while it is living.In the second place, Libby believed that cosmic rays which produce carbon 14 have remained constant in our atmosphere. David Hurst Thomas of the American Museum of Natural History addressed the problems of these assumptions when he wrote: Radiocarbon dating relies on a number of key assumptions, perhaps the most important being that the radiocarbon level -- that is, the ratio between carbon 12 and carbon 14 -- has remained constant in the earth's atmosphere.