'Oldest pottery' found in China

By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News

Examples of pottery found in a cave at Yuchanyan in China's Hunan province may be the oldest known to science.

By determining the fraction of a type, or isotope, of carbon in bone fragments and charcoal, the specimens were found to be 17,500 to 18,300 years old.

The authors say that the ages are more precise than previous efforts because a series of more than 40 radiocarbon-dated samples support the estimate.

The work is reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Yuchanyan cave was the site where the oldest kernels of rice were found in 2005, and it is viewed as an important link between cave-dwelling hunter-gatherer peoples and the farmers that arose later in the basin of the nearby Yangtze River.

“ Archaeologists before haven't looked at this closely enough to realise what's going on in caves ”
David Cohen Boston University
The previous oldest-known example of pottery was found in Japan, dated to an age between 16,000 and 17,000 years ago, but debate has raged in the archaeological community as to whether pottery was first made in China or Japan.

The most recent dig at Yuchanyan was in 2005 by a team led by Elisabetta Boaretto of the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. They believe they have found a more precise way to read the history of human activity written in layers of sediment, or stratigraphy.
'Layer cake'
"The way people move around and mess up caves is very difficult to see archaeologically," David Cohen, an archaeologist at Boston University and a co-author on the research, told BBC News.

"Imagine you have a fire and then people come in again have another fire and another, so you have the ashes of all these fires building up but at the same time people are digging and clearing, pushing things to the side; this messes things up.
"If you have an open-air site, you sometimes get a very clean 'layer cake' stratigraphy. Archaeologists before haven't looked at this closely enough to realise what's going on in caves so they interpret this stratigraphy as a layer cake. But in actuality, it's 'lenses' of stuff that's been mixed up and moved around."

It is comparatively easy to find evidence of human occupation in caves through the dating of charcoal from fires or bones from long-ago dinners, Dr Cohen said. However, because of the unclear layering of sediment it is not easy to correlate well-dated layers with the pottery that may be nearby.
Part of the problem lies in the areas over which previous digs have searched: squares of perhaps five metres on a side.
"It's an issue of association, knowing where everything comes from in space across the cave," Dr Cohen explained. "If you're excavating in a huge unit, you can only say it comes from within this 5m area and this 20cm of sediment, and that's not good enough for understanding human activity."

Instead, the team worked in sub-divisions of just a quarter of a metre square, painstakingly collecting bone and charcoal fragments. The samples were then radiocarbon dated, revealing a clean distribution stretching between 14,000 and 21,000 years ago.
'Fantastic cave'
One fragment of pottery was found in a layer between two radiocarbon-dated fragments that both measured about 18,000 years old, taking the record for oldest pottery.
The team hope that their smaller-scale searching and taking into account the effects of human activity on cave stratigraphy will help with future digs at Yuchanyan, and elsewhere.

"It's a fantastic cave, and we hope that the way these excavations were done would set a precedent for how other caves will be looked at," said Dr Cohen.
Dr Tracey Lu, from an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who was not an author on the latest study, noted that the dates reported in this paper were slightly older than dates on pottery found in Japan.

However, she said the accuracy of radiocarbon dates in the limestone area has been under debate for many years.
"I agree that pottery was made by foragers in South China," she told the Associated Press news agency.

"But I also think pottery was produced more or less contemporaneously in several places in East Asia... from Russia, Japan to North and South China by foragers living in different environments."

Carbon capture technology tested

Read the article, also pay attention to compound words in bold.
================

The 30-tonne test unit could pave the way for a much larger plant


New carbon capture technology is being tested for the first time in the UK on a working coal-fired power station.

A 30-tonne test unit will process 1,000 cubic metres of exhaust gas per hour from Longannet power station in Fife.

Carbon dioxide will be removed using chemicals and turned into a liquid, ready for storage underground.

Energy company ScottishPower wants to test technology which could lead to a full scale carbon capture plant becoming operational by 2014.

The UK government recently gave the go-ahead for a new generation of coal-fired power stations provided they were able to limit their CO2 emissions.

The scientists have focussed on the post-combustion method of carbon capture and storage (CCS) which aims to trap greenhouse emissions after fossil fuels have been burnt.

We believe that the UK can lead the world with CCS technology, creating new skills, jobs and opportunities for growth

Ignacio Galan
Chairman, Iberdrola
The plant, developed by Aker Clean Carbon, will enable them to assess the effectiveness of chemicals, known as amines, at removing CO2.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh will join the project, testing three different types of amine solution over the next three months.

ScottishPower chief executive Nick Horler said: "This is the first time that CCS technology has been switched on and working at an operational coal-fired power station in the UK.

"It's a major step forward in delivering the reality of carbon-free fossil fuel electricity generation."

Research centre

ScottishPower's parent company Iberdrola said the UK would be its global centre of excellence for CCS development, bringing together academics, industry experts and engineers.

A professorship of CCS will be based at Edinburgh University, but other academic institutions will also be involved including Imperial College, London.

Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galan said: "We believe that the UK can lead the world with CCS technology, creating new skills, jobs and opportunities for growth.

"There is the potential to create an industry on the same scale as North Sea Oil, and we will invest in Scotland and the UK to help to realise this potential."

The Longannet power station opened in 1969 and is the second largest in the UK.

The station chimney is 183m tall, the second highest free-standing structure in Scotland.

The Power of Word-building

prefixes
prefix
meaning
examples
a-, an-, ab-
without, not, away from
atypical, anhydrous, abnormal, abduct, amoral
ad, ac, ag, at
to
advent, accrue (accummulate), agressive, attract
abs-
away, departing from
abstract
ambi-
both
ambivalent
ante-
before
antedated, anteroom
anti-
against, opposite
antislavery, antifascist, antipathy
auto-
self
automobile
bi-, du, di
two
biannual, binocular, bicentennial, dichotomy, bisect (cut in two), duet
cent-
hundred
centennial
circum-
around
circumnavigate
co-, com-, col
together with, joint
coexist, co-author, compliant, collate
contra
against
contrary
counter-
opposite
counterattack, counterclockwise
de-
to reverse an action, to remove, to deprive of, from, down
demobilize, decentralize, delete, descend
deca
ten
decade
dis-, di-
not, opposite, apart
disconnect, disobey, disperse (scatter), delate (rel. late)
en-
to put into, to make
enlarge, enclose
ex-
previous, former
ex-minister
ex-
out
exit, elicit (obtain)
extra-
outside, beyond
extracurricular
hyper-
overly, excessively
hypertension, hyperactive
in, il, im, ir, un
not, without, lacking
incomplete, irregular, illegal, impossible, intrepid (fearless), illicit (unlawful)
infra-
below, beneath
infrastructure
inter-
between, among
international, interrupt
intra-, intro-, in
within
intramural (native), introduction, inside
macro-
large
macroeconomics
mal-
bad, wrongful, ill
malnutrition, malediction (damnation, condemnation)
micro-
small
microchip
mid-
in the middle of
mid-June
mis-
wrongly, bad, astray
misbehave, mistreat
mono-, uni-
one, single
monorail, monotheist, monosyllable
multi-
many
multipurpose
neo-
new, recent
neoconservative
non-
not
non-essential
non, nov
nine
nonagenarian
oct-
eight
octogon, octopus
omni-
all
omnipotent
per
through
permeate (pervade, penetrate)
peri
around
perimeter (boundary, periphery)
poly, multi
many
polytheist, multilingual
post-
after
postwar, postoperative
pre-
before
prehistoric, precedence (preference, priority), predecessor (precursor, ancestor)
pro-
in favor of, for, forward
prodemocratic, propose, proponents (defender)
quadr, quat
four
quadrangle, quatrain (poem of 4 lines)
quint, penta
five
quintuplet, pentagon
re-
again, back
reelect, reopen, review
retro-
back
retroactive
semi-
partly, half
semicircle, semicolon
sext-, hexa
six
sextet, hexagon
sept-
seven
septennial
sub-
under, less than normal
subway, subnormal, submarine
super-
above, beyond, greater than
supermarket, superman, supervisor
syn-
sym-
together, at the same time
synthesis
trans-
across
transatlantic, transport, transplant
tri-
three
tricycle, trilingual, triplet, triple (three-way, three times, increase threefold)
ultra-
extremely, beyond
ultramodern, ultraviolet
un-
not, opposite, reverse an action
unknown, undisturbed
uni-
one
uniform

suffixes that form nouns
suffix
meaning
original word
new word
-acy, -cy
state, quality
candidate
candidacy, potency
-age
result, process
drain
drainage
-ance, - ence
state, quality
guide, exist
guidance, existence, complacence
- ant, -ent
agent, doer
consult, reside
consultant, resident
-action
action
condemn
condemnation
-ition, -ion
state, result
abolish, fuse
abolition, fusion
-dom
condition, state, domain
wise, king
wisdom, kingdom
-ee
one receiving action
trust
trustee
-eer
doer, worker
engine
engineer
-er, -or
doer, maker. resident
narrate, London
narrator, Londoner
-full
amount
spoon
spoonful
-hood
state, condition
child
childhood
-ism
system
feudal
feudalism
-ity
state, quality
valid
validity
-ive
agent, doer
detect
detective
-ment
action, result
amaze
amazement, contentment
-ness
quality, state
vivid
vividness
-(e)ry
people or things as a whole
rob, dentist
robbery, dentistry
-ship
state, condition
member
membership
-tude
quality, state
serve
servitude
-ure
result, means
depart
departure
-y
result, action
jealous
jealousy

suffixes that form adjectives
suffix
meaning
original word
new adjective
-able, -ible
capable of being
reason, comprehend, eat
reasonable, comprehensible, edible, readable
-al
relating to
season, tradition
seasonal
-ant, -ent
doing, showing
appear observe
apparent, observant
-ary
tending to, relating to
fragment,
fragmentary, aviary (bird sanctuary, bird house)
-ate
full of, having
affection
affectionate
-en
made of, like
gold
golden
-ful
full of, having
wonder
wonderful
-ic
relating to, characteristic of
German, romance
Germanic, romantic, atmospheric
- ive
given to
attract
attractive
-less
lacking, without
life
lifeless, penniless
-like
similar, like
ape, bell
apelike, bell-like
-ly
like, characteristic of
mother
motherly
-ous
full of, marked by
fury
furious
-some
apt to
trouble
troublesome
-ward
in the direction of
west
westward
-y
like, showing
shade
shady
-an, - ian
belonging
America
American
-ese
sth or sb of a place or a style
Japan
Japanese
-ine
sth or sb characteristic of
Florence
Florentine
-ish
sth characteristic of
Spain
Spanish
-ist
doer, believer, related to
Buddha
Buddhist

suffixes that form verbs
suffix
meaning
original word
new verb
-ate
become, form, treat
hyphen
hyphenate
-en
make, cause, to be
wide
widen
-fy, -ify
cause, make to be
solid
solidify
-ize
make, cause to be
central
centralize

latin roots
root
meaning
examples
-am-
love, friend
amiable, amorous
-aqu-
water
aquarium, aqueduct (artificial waterway)
-audi-
hear
audience, audible
-bell-
war
bellicose (hostile), belligerent (warlike)
-ben-
good, well
benevolent (generous), beneficiary
-brev-
short
brief, abbreviate
-cap-, -capit-
head
capital, captain
-cent-
hundred
century, centennial
-cogn-
know
cognizant (aware), recognize
-cred-
believe
incredulous (suspicious), credible
-domin-, -domit-
lord, master
dominate, predominant
-duc-
lead
educate, abduct (kidnap)
-equ-
equal
equal, equate
-fac-, -fec-
do, make
effect, manufacture
-fin-
end
final, confine (enclose, restrict)
-frag-, frac-
break
fragment, fracture
-fus-
pour
infuse (inspire), effusive (talkative)
-gen-
kind, sort, origin
generation, general
-junct-
join
conjunction, juncture
-leg-, -lect-
read
legible (readable), intellect
-loc-
place
dislocate, location
-loqu-
speak
eloquent (well-spoken)
-man-
hand
manipulate, manual
-milli-, -mille-
thousand
milligram, millennium
-mit-, -miss-
send
transmit, mission
-more-
die
immortal
-ped-
foot
pedal, biped
-port-
carry
transport, export
-reg-, -rect-
rule, right
correct, regular
-sci-
know
science, conscious
-scrib-, scrip-
write
describe, inscription
-spect-
sight
spectator, inspect
-temp-
time, season
temporary, tempo
-tract-
draw, pull
extract, traction
-uni-
one
union, unify
-ven-, -vent-
come
prevent, venture
-vid-, -vis-
see
evident, vision
-vit-
life
vitamin, vital
illegible, audiovisual, amity, transfusion, retrospect, precognition, manuscript, decapitate (cut of one’s head), aquatic, ascribe, immortal, indomitable (unconquerable), contemporary

greek roots
root
meaning
examples
-aero-
air
aerocraft, aeronaut
-astro-, aster-
star
asteroid (celestial body), astrology
-anthrop-
man, human
anthropology, misanthropic (antisocial)
-bibli-
book
bible, bibliography
-bio-
life
biology, biography
-chrom-
colour
chromosome, chromatic (multicolour)
-chron-
time
chronology, chronic
-cosm-
world
cosmic (vast), cosmos
-crat-
rule, power
democrat, aristocrat
-cript-
secret, hidden
cryptography, cryptic (ambiguous)
-dem-
people
democrat, demographics
-gen-
rule, kind
genesis, genealogy (derivation)
-geo-
earth
geology, geography
-graph-, -gram-
write, writing
telegram, biography
-hom-
same
homonym, homogenize
-hydr-
water
hydroelectric, hydraulic jack (tool for lifting)
-log-
word, study
logic, biology
-metr-, -meter-
measure, instrument
metric, thermometer
-morph-
form, shape
morpheme, metamorphosis (changes)
-naut-, -naus-
ship, sail, sailor
nautical, nausea
-nym-
name
synonym, antonym
-path-
suffering, feeling
pathetic, sympathy
-phil-
like, love
philanthropy (charity),
philosophy
-phob-
fear
phobia, hydrophobia
-phon-
sound
telephone, phonetics
-phot-
light
photograph, photoelectric
-polis-, -polit-
city
metropolis (chief city), politics
-psych-
soul, mind
psychology, psyche
-scop-
examine, instrument
microscope, telescope
-soph-
wise, wisdom
philosopher, sophistry (fallacious reasoning)
-tele-
far, distant
telegram, television
-theo-, -thei-
god
theologian, atheist
-therm-
heat
thermostat, thermal
-zo-
animal, life
zoology, protozoan (living organism)
cosmopolitan, telepathy, phonology, microcosm, symbiotic, theology, chronometer, dehydrate, monochromatic, apathy