Researchers develop method to tell authentic artifacts from fakes

Advances in computing power helped scientists create a method for dating pottery purported to be ancient. The method takes advantage of the fact that the firing and cooling of clay materials creates a virtual time stamp within their structures based on the orientation of Earth's magnetic field through time.  Now that the method is established, the researchers intend to apply it to artifacts of debated authenticity in museums all over the world. Museums around the world now have a new tool to distinguish real ancient clay artifacts from fakes. The research team at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, led by postdoctoral scholar Yoav Vaknin, found a way to distinguish the magne... [3885 chars]