Neahkahnie/carbon dating

[tgoat]

First, I love your site. Great stories, interesting analyses, high weirdness- gotta love it.

Having just read your story about treasure on Neahkahnie Mountain, though, I thought I'd chime in on the carbon-dating point, because it doesn't seem so anomalous to me. Carbon dating, however accurate it may or may not be, tells us only when the organism died (and thus stopped producing carbon). So, it may well be that the tree in question died in 1090, but did not get thrown in the fire until much (MUCH) later. Large trees in arid and semi-arid areas can take centuries to decompose, so even if the tree in question wasn't the main fuel, a small part of it -enough for kindling- might have remained til the 1500s.

Granted, I have not seen the environment there, so I don't know if it's arid/semi-arid, so my little theory might not hold water after all. But that's carbon-dating, as I understand it.

Thanks again for your great stuff! Looking forward to your next story

[chrismaier]

Coastal Oregon actually has a very wet climate during the winter months each year, so it definitely would not qualify as an arid enviornment.

Another problem with this theory is that is was apparently common for the local Clatsop Indians to burn or otherwise clear the land on the mountain to allow for the grazing of deer and elk. NOW Neahkahnie mountain is heavily forested, but in the past this was not the case. With the burning and clearing combined with the wet climate, it seems unlikely that firewood even in the form of kindling would be able to survive for hundreds of years.

However you bring up good points that should be considered when looking at carbon dating numbers especially around the Southwest where many of my reports originate from.

-Chris Maier
http://www.UnexplainedEarth.com

[JeanGauthier]

Hello everyone,

The most simple explanation for the carbon dating results could be nothing more misterious then a fire sweeping thru the site back in 1095! Then the very stable carbon only has to wait to be covered by stones around the mid 1500, and redicovered latter!
What do you think?

Jean

[Welfarebum]

If you are interested in the Neahkahnie Mountain mystery, I suggest that you read "The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake" by Samuel Bawlf for one interesting opinion.

Francis Drake entered the Pacific Ocean in 1577 via the Straights of Magellan and looted several Spanish ships. But, according to the author, his true mission was to attempt to find the entrance to fabled Northwest Passage that would connect the North Pacific to the Atlantic. He apparently sailed as far north as Alaska and eventually made his way down to Oregon.

But he had a problem... In the 1500s there was no accurate method to determine longitude. So when Drake ancounted Neahkahnie, he found that the mountain had be burned by the natives to increase the number of game that would come to graze. This provided Drake with a golden opportunity.

Drake and his men came ashore and, using stones, created a large triangle formation on the treeless mountain to try to estimate his longitude using the lunar distance method. The bigger the triangle, the more accurate. That's why stones have be found at specific distances and angles, along with compass bearings and calculations.

I just finished reading the book this evening and it is full of unsolved mysteries. For example, was a plaque from Drake actually discovered in Alaska and ignored?...

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062401/Loc_drake.html

Also, was Vancouver Island intended to be the "New England"? If so, where is the silver plaque that Drake apparently posted?

I wish I could fly back in time to observe the truth!! I want to know!!

[chrismaier]

I reserved "The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake" from my local library. Looks very interesting! I'm glad the Neahkahnie article has generated so much interest and discussion.

-Chris Maier
http://www.UnexplainedEarth.com