Age


 * Age **

The age of the Mungo Skeletons were extremely hard to determine. There were many disputes on the method of dating and many arguments on which research team (Bowler and Thorne who deduced an age of about 28 000 to 30 000 years, or Oyston who estimated from 36 000 to 50 000 years) was correct. The age of the Mungo Skeletons then led to dispute on the origins of modern humans, whether the Out of Africa theory was right, or the Multi Regional Theory was right, as well as when humans arrived in the continent of Australia.

The following dating methods were implemented to determine the age of the Mungo Man (there was not enough physically, of Mungo woman, or her DNA to determine much).
 * 1) Radiocarbon Dating on the bones (however, after Oyston's estimation of 36 000 to 50 000 years, it was realised that the bones might be beyond the practical limits of radiocarbon dating of about 40 000 years)
 * 2) Mass Spectrometry testing for uranium on 4 bone shavings of LM3 as well as samples from the original calcitic matrix (calcium carbonate environment at Lake Mungo, where LM3 was buried)
 * 3) Gamma spectrometry of 2 different types of uranium on skull cap
 * 4) Electron spin resonance (ESR) on tooth enamel
 * 5) Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on sediment recovered directly in the Mungo region

For more detailed information on the testing :

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