Elizabeth K. Ralph
Elizabeth K. Ralph (1921–1993) was a pioneer in the development and application of radiocarbon dating techniques to archeology, as well as a long-time member of the U.S. women’s field hockey team. In the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, and later in the Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA) in the Penn Museum, Ralph developed methods for dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, and thermoluminescence for dating ceramics. She also improved instruments for the measurement of magnetic intensity, including cesium magnetometers, which located landscape anomalies that could signal the presence of archaeological sites. In the 1960s, she used these instruments to help locate the Archaic Greek site of Sybaris in southern Italy. She went on to analyze and date materials from dozens of archaeological sites in several countries. She published her research in journals including "Science" and "Nature", and with her colleague H.N. Michael, published a textbook entitled "Dating Techniques for the Archaeologist", which appeared from MIT Press in 1971. From 1962 to 1982 she served as Associate Director of MASCA lab, which she helped to establish with support from the National Science Foundation.
Q2068082
U.S. women’s field hockey team
MEDIA
Q49117
University of Pennsylvania
ORG
Q1285902
Penn Museum
LOC
Q80205
dendrochronology
Concept
Q2727388
thermoluminescence
Concept
Q1108
cesium
Concept
Q220583
Sybaris
LOC
Q73820
MIT Press
ORG
Q304878
National Science Foundation
Concept
Q61637759
Elizabeth K. Ralph
PER
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
DATE
1971-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1971
DATE
1962-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1962
DATE
1982-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1982
DATE
+1921^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1921
NUMBER
+1993^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1993
NUMBER
subsidiary