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Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened

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In this series of evocative essays, Turney explains how our continually changing concept and use of time affects how we view the world and ourselves. Using a sprightly prose style, he opens with a description of various calendar systems developed by the ancients. It was difficult for them to reconcile the irregularities of lunar month, solar year and constantly changing heavens. Egypt, Babylon and Rome all struggled to maintain some control over the calendar. Many forms of adjustment were implemented but precision was difficult, if not impossible. The device of the "Leap Year" to adjust for the lack of precision was the best humans could do until the invention of the atomic clock.

The atom, with many versions and intricacies, has proven an effective tool in time-keeping. From measuring split seconds to granting us some insight on circumstances billions of years ago, "atomic clocks" in their various forms have provided many solutions to long unresolved problems. Turney's chapter on the Shroud of Turin is but one example of a practical application. Its status as a forgery went undetected for centuries until radiometric measurements revealed its true age.

A grander sweep of time, yet one with significant implications for today's world are the chapters on the eruption of Santorini in the Mediterranean and what led to the Ice Ages. Thera has been described as the cause of the elimination of the Minoan Empire. Based on Crete four thousand years ago, the Minoans operated an intricate network of trade routes in the region and were a highly sophisticated and successful people. Yet, they disappeared almost instantly around thirty-five hundred years ago. The author examines the evidence that Santorini might have been responsible. Further back in time, he reviews another threat to society in the form of invasive glaciers. Atoms play a role even in ice as accumulations of oxygen isotopes tell the story of climate change events. Even though some of those shifts rely on Earth's orbit and tilt relative to the sun, their signature rests with those oxygen atoms.

Human societies have their own fluctuations, as Turney notes in other chapters. The dating of hominid fossils has contributed a great deal in deriving both the time and place of our origins. Rocks surrounding bones tell us when the fossils lived, and tiny grains of pollen indicate the type of environment they lived in. One of the enigmas of science is why there is but one species of upright-walking ape remaining - us. There have been competitors for living space, most notably the Neanderthals. But at least one other species co-habited the planet with us. The "Hobbit" fossil found on an Indonesian island resided there only 18 thousand years ago, as Turney's own dating research revealed. The possibility that there may be remnant populations yet to be found raises compelling questions.

Turney's book may seem light-hearted at first glance, but it rests on serious work by dedicated workers. Dating the rocks was a difficult science in the 18th and 19th Centuries, but technology has provided astonishing new insights on our world. There's much to be learned and the author's effective presentation makes this book a stimulating introduction to this field. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

After the first two chapters, this book get really interesting. The first two chapters are about how the different calendars used throughout history are synchronized and whether King Arthur actually existed. Not much science there.

But once we get into science (as opposed to history) things get interesting. For example, the chapter on the Shroud of Turin was great and the way tree rings can be used to date things is fascinating.

Unfortunately, there is very little science here. Instead, this book talks about the stories surrounding various scientific controversies.

I was much more interested in learning about the technical details of things like potassium argon dating, thermoluminesence, and electron spin resonance. But I wasn't gonna get that. Here's the disclaimer from the author when he starts talking about isotopes: "Unfortunately, to understand the [age of the Earth], it's going to be necessary to cross to the other side. I'll try and keep [references to isotopes] to the absolute minimum."

Unfortunately? "The Other Side"? Jimminy Cricket! I learned about isotopes in seventh grade, for crying out loud. I wish someone would write about science as if I actually made it through high school. I want to know about why these methods work, their limitations and when they should be used.


And I think I have the right to be disappointed. The book is subtitled: The Science of When Things Happened." Overall, though, it is quite interesting.

"Bones, Rocks and Stars" is an engaging and wide-ranging romp through "the science of when things happened." Each chapter covers a single topic, such as how the calendar evolved, when King Arthur would have lived (if he existed), when the Santorini volcano erupted in the Mediterranean, when the Shroud of Turin was forged (pulling no punches there), when (and why) the earth experiences ice ages, and when (exactly) the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact. Turney's style is approachable, so even carbon 14 dating, the precession of the equinoxes, Milankovitch cycles and other challenging topics are clearly explained.

If you enjoy enlightening and surprising books like Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" and "Blink," Cordelia Fines' "A Mind of Its Own" and Michael Leavitt's "Freakonomics," you may find this little book to be an eye opening and entertaining look at how scientists have figured out when things happened.

How does dating affect authenticity in identifying relics and linking historical facts? Eleven chapters each focus on a famous dating controversy, examining the procedures of dating, common methods used to date everything from tree rings to astronomical bodies, and common problems which involve dating. Discrepancies in evidence, forgeries, and misinterpretations are all covered in BONES, ROCKS AND STARS: THE SCIENCE OF WHEN THINGS HAPPENED, an essential pick for college-level collections strong in scientific inquiry.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Turney, a geologist, uses case studies to explore how events are dated. Topics such as whether or not the explosion of the volcano on the island of Thera destroyed Minoan Crete, when the Earth originated, whether or not the Shroud of Turin is a forgery, when King Arthur might have lived, and the extinction of the dinosaurs are discussed. The means of dating covered include dendrochronology (tree rings), carbon dating, other radioactive decay sequences such as potssium to argon and argon-argon, and uranium to lead decay. Turney takes the view that a "young earth" (6000 years) creationist viewpoint would require a lot of science to be overturned; in particular it would require the speed of light (in a vacum) to have been changing. The author keeps to prose rather than mathematical formulas, so those without a science background are unlikely to have difficulty in understanding the text.

Some of the chapters are disappointly speculative. Some of the dating methods are not clearly explained in enough detail. Not very interesting.

A brilliantly clear and interesting introduction to dating our world. Revolving the information around famous items / theories makes the book all the more engaging. I couldn't put it down.

This was a pleasant little book. For the most part I've read much more deeply into the topics of each essay than presented in this book. For someone almost totally naive of the concepts and facts presented it would be a good primer.

What I did enjoy were the odd facts, mostly historical. For example, I knew nothing of Tintagel Castle or the compass orientation of the great pyramids to name just a couple.

Compared to significant creative work in the field by authors such as Dawkins this book adds little if anything new though the author is engaging and affable.

The greatest disappointment in this book for me was what seemed to be a hasty and poorly conceived summation. The series of essays has a plan....to draw even the most biased and ignorant ( a necessary condition ) creationist aka "young Earther" into the realm of science. This is done by beginning with historical timescales and facts that even the most ignorant and prejudiced might allow to enter their minds.

This is a good approach to a very difficult task-getting people who are proud of their ignorance and who wish to maintain it to LEARN. That is, teaching someone with a proudly closed mind.

Sadly, the summation of the book, the closing essay, is pitifully weak. The author throws some fairly standard barbs at creationism and creationists in general while dutifully paying homage to the fantasy of the "big bang".

I sense the author may suffer from the same affliction as I, that of being a generalist in a world that demands specialists. While he has used his generalist's knowledge to present an entertaining book of essays he has failed to show the depth of knowledge of his objective....to help to counter the know nothing brainlessness of creationism. So, I like his style, I like his wide ranging imagery, I like his choice of varied facts from varied disciplines to teach about time. But I have to say the author failed, in my estimation, to pull it all together into a forceful manner in his summation.

This book covers the details of determining the age of everything from manucripts and archeological findings to the Earth and stars. The teminology is simple enough for the lay[erson to understand but through enough so as not to "dumb down" the concepts. Elegant and entertainingly written.

In eleven thrilling chapters, the author discusses various methods by which items and events from the (extremely distant to not-so-distant) past can be dated. The limitations and uncertainties associated with each method are also touched upon. Each chapter presents a different topic, all real-life cases and some of which the author has actively participated in. The author has been very successful in conveying to the reader the methods by which science works and the excitement involved in scientific discovery. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative and very accessible. In fact, as a physicist, I probably would have explained the physics of a few things a bit differently and given more details; but then, this may have been at a cost - a loss in momentum and excitement for the general reader. So, clearly, this is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone, especially those interested in the scientific method.