Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Acknowledgments vii
4. 1. Introduction 1
5. 2. The Calendars of the Classic Maya 7
6. 3. Precession, Polaris, and the Age of the Pyramids 26
7. 4. The Physics of Carbon 49
8. 5. Calibrating Carbon-14 Dates and the History of the Air 66
9. 6. Carbon-14 and the Peopling of the New World 85
10. 7. Potassium, Argon, DNA, and Walking Upright 96
11. 8. Molecular Dating and the Many Different Types of Mammals 118
12. 9. Meteorites and the Age of the Solar System 142
13. 10. Colors, Brightness, and the Age of Stars 163
14. 11. Distances, Redshifts, and the Age of the Universe 184
15. 12. Parameterizing the Age of the Universe 204
16. Glossary 229
17. Index 241