The Vinland Map 15th Century Artifact or 20th Century...

The Vinland Map: 15th Century Artifact or 20th Century Forgery? Throughout history, the discovery of an ancient artifact has always brought with it much excitement. The idea that we are able to look at something that existed so long ago intrigues us. However, along with the excitement of new discoveries, there is often much controversy. One such discovery, the Vinland Map, has been the cause of much debate since 1957. The Vinland Map, first presented to the public in 1965 in a book written by Skelton, was discovered in 1957 (Skelton 1965, p.3). In the 1960’s the map was bought and donated to Yale University where it remains today. The Vinland Map was originally thought to be a 15 th century depiction of medieval Africa, Asia, and†¦show more content†¦The first of these three methods is microscopy, used most notably by Walter C. McCrone. As defined by McCrone, microscopy is â€Å"the use of any tool or technique that allows us to identify microscopic objects.† This includes the use of the light microscope as well as more advanced types of microscopes such as the electron microscope and x-ray diffraction (McCrone 1976, p. 676 A). McCrones methods using microscopy were desirable because they allow observations to be made on small samples so that no visible damage is done to the item being tested. When testing the Vinland Map, McCrone used a small needle with rubber cement on th e tip to pick up ink particles. Particles were then observed, first using an optical stereo microscope, and then observed more closely with a series of more advanced microscopic techniques such as the electron microscope and x-ray diffraction (McCrone 1976). The second method, used by Donahue, Olin, and Harbottle in their testing of the Vinland Map is radiocarbon dating (Donahue, Olin, Harbottle, 2000). Radiocarbon dating is based on the decay of a specific carbon isotope known as 14C. All organisms contain 14C and once an organism dies, scientists are able to measure how much 14C has decayed in an organism. By measuring this rate of decay, scientists are able to date the age of an organism (Higham). Since the Vinland Map is drawn on