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Glozel artifacts

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The Glozel artifacts are a collection of over 3,000 artifacts , including forged clay tablets, sculptures and vases, some of which were inscribed, discovered from 1924 to 1930 in the vicinity of French hamlet of Glozel.

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49-536: Promoted by their discoverers as proof of an advanced prehistoric civilization, the finds initiated a series of claims and counterclaims. The objects were all initially dismissed as a hoax by professional archaelogists. Later research confirmed that some of the items date back to the Iron Age, but it was not before a 1995 study ordered by the French Ministry for Culture that the "prehistoric civilization" thesis

98-469: A 13-page summary appeared in 1995. The authors suggest that the site is medieval (roughly A.D. 500–1500), possibly containing some earlier Iron Age objects, but was likely enriched by forgeries. A group of scholars organized by René Germain held an annual colloquium about Glozel in Vichy from 1996 to 2009. French archaeological academia was dismissive of Morlet's 1925 report, published by an amateur and

147-401: A different frequency. The importance of spectroscopy is centered around the fact that every element in the periodic table has a unique light spectrum described by the frequencies of light it emits or absorbs consistently appearing in the same part of the electromagnetic spectrum when that light is diffracted. This opened up an entire field of study with anything that contains atoms. Spectroscopy

196-402: A function of its wavelength or frequency measured by spectrographic equipment, and other techniques, in order to obtain information concerning the structure and properties of matter. Spectral measurement devices are referred to as spectrometers , spectrophotometers , spectrographs or spectral analyzers . Most spectroscopic analysis in the laboratory starts with a sample to be analyzed, then

245-419: A light source is chosen from any desired range of the light spectrum, then the light goes through the sample to a dispersion array (diffraction grating instrument) and captured by a photodiode . For astronomical purposes, the telescope must be equipped with the light dispersion device. There are various versions of this basic setup that may be employed. Spectroscopy began with Isaac Newton splitting light with

294-649: A local teacher, visited the Fradins' farm in March, and afterwards informed the Minister of Education about the site. On July 9, another teacher, Benoit Clément, visited the Fradins representing the Société d'Émulation du Bourbonnais , later returning with a man called Viple. Clément and Viple used pickaxes to break down the chamber's remaining walls, which they took away with them. Later, Viple wrote to Émile Fradin identifying

343-426: A more precise and quantitative scientific technique. Since then, spectroscopy has played and continues to play a significant role in chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Per Fraknoi and Morrison, "Later, in 1815, German physicist Joseph Fraunhofer also examined the solar spectrum, and found about 600 such dark lines (missing colors), are now known as Fraunhofer lines, or Absorption lines." In quantum mechanical systems,

392-520: A peasant boy. Morlet invited a number of archaeologists to visit the site during 1926, including Salomon Reinach , curator of the National Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye , who spent three days excavating. Reinach confirmed the authenticity of the site in a communication to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres . Similarly, famous archaeologist Abbé Breuil excavated with Morlet and

441-440: A prism; a key moment in the development of modern optics . Therefore, it was originally the study of visible light that we call color that later under the studies of James Clerk Maxwell came to include the entire electromagnetic spectrum . Although color is involved in spectroscopy, it is not equated with the color of elements or objects that involve the absorption and reflection of certain electromagnetic waves to give objects

490-592: A public Atomic Spectra Database that is continually updated with precise measurements. The broadening of the field of spectroscopy is due to the fact that any part of the electromagnetic spectrum may be used to analyze a sample from the infrared to the ultraviolet telling scientists different properties about the very same sample. For instance in chemical analysis, the most common types of spectroscopy include atomic spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance . In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR),

539-549: A resonance between two different quantum states. The explanation of these series, and the spectral patterns associated with them, were one of the experimental enigmas that drove the development and acceptance of quantum mechanics. The hydrogen spectral series in particular was first successfully explained by the Rutherford–Bohr quantum model of the hydrogen atom. In some cases spectral lines are well separated and distinguishable, but spectral lines can also overlap and appear to be

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588-411: A sense of color to our eyes. Rather spectroscopy involves the splitting of light by a prism, diffraction grating, or similar instrument, to give off a particular discrete line pattern called a "spectrum" unique to each different type of element. Most elements are first put into a gaseous phase to allow the spectra to be examined although today other methods can be used on different phases. Each element that

637-423: A spectrum of the system response vs. photon frequency will peak at the resonant frequency or energy. Particles such as electrons and neutrons have a comparable relationship, the de Broglie relations , between their kinetic energy and their wavelength and frequency and therefore can also excite resonant interactions. Spectra of atoms and molecules often consist of a series of spectral lines, each one representing

686-429: Is diffracted by a prism-like instrument displays either an absorption spectrum or an emission spectrum depending upon whether the element is being cooled or heated. Until recently all spectroscopy involved the study of line spectra and most spectroscopy still does. Vibrational spectroscopy is the branch of spectroscopy that studies the spectra. However, the latest developments in spectroscopy can sometimes dispense with

735-409: Is the key to understanding the atomic properties of all matter. As such spectroscopy opened up many new sub-fields of science yet undiscovered. The idea that each atomic element has its unique spectral signature enabled spectroscopy to be used in a broad number of fields each with a specific goal achieved by different spectroscopic procedures. The National Institute of Standards and Technology maintains

784-495: The radiant energy interacts with specific types of matter. Atomic spectroscopy was the first application of spectroscopy. Atomic absorption spectroscopy and atomic emission spectroscopy involve visible and ultraviolet light. These absorptions and emissions, often referred to as atomic spectral lines, are due to electronic transitions of outer shell electrons as they rise and fall from one electron orbit to another. Atoms also have distinct x-ray spectra that are attributable to

833-600: The 11th to 13th century, and a fragment of an ivory ring to the 15th century. A human femur was dated to the 5th century. Some 100 ceramic tablets bearing inscriptions are among the artefacts found at Glozel. The inscriptions are, on average, six or seven lines, mostly on a single side, although some specimens are inscribed on both faces. The symbols on the tablets are reminiscent of the Phoenician alphabet , but they have not been conclusively deciphered. There were numerous claims of decipherment, including identification of

882-648: The Committee of Studies, was appointed by scholars who were uncomfortable with the ongoing controversy. Excavating from 12 to 14 April 1928, they found more artifacts, and in their report asserted the authenticity of the site, which they identified as Neolithic. Gaston-Edmond Bayle, chief of the Criminal Records Office in Paris, analyzed the confiscated artifacts. Bayle's report identified the artifacts as recent forgeries, and on 4 June 1929, Émile Fradin

931-471: The analogous resonance is a coupling of two quantum mechanical stationary states of one system, such as an atom , via an oscillatory source of energy such as a photon . The coupling of the two states is strongest when the energy of the source matches the energy difference between the two states. The energy E of a photon is related to its frequency ν by E = hν where h is the Planck constant , and so

980-507: The archaeologists were observed by spectators, who were by now flocking to the site, finding various artifacts, but in their report of December 1927, the commission declared everything at Glozel with the exception of a few pieces of flint axes and stone were fake. René Dussaud , curator at the Louvre and famous epigrapher, also accused Émile Fradin of forgery. On 8 January 1928, Fradin filed suit for defamation against Dussaud. Felix Regnault ,

1029-519: The areas of tissue analysis and medical imaging . Matter waves and acoustic waves can also be considered forms of radiative energy, and recently gravitational waves have been associated with a spectral signature in the context of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Spectroscopy is a branch of science concerned with the spectra of electromagnetic radiation as

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1078-471: The artifacts into three groups: the first between 300 BC and 300 AD ( Celtic and Roman Gaul ), the second medieval, centered on the 13th century, and the third recent. TL datings of 1983 performed in Oxford range from the 4th century to the medieval period. Carbon-14 datings of bone fragments range from the 13th to the 20th century. Three C-14 analyses performed in Oxford in 1984 dated a piece of charcoal to

1127-428: The atomic nuclei and are studied by both infrared and Raman spectroscopy . Electronic excitations are studied using visible and ultraviolet spectroscopy as well as fluorescence spectroscopy . Studies in molecular spectroscopy led to the development of the first maser and contributed to the subsequent development of the laser . The combination of atoms or molecules into crystals or other extended forms leads to

1176-439: The chemical composition and physical properties of astronomical objects (such as their temperature , density of elements in a star, velocity , black holes and more). An important use for spectroscopy is in biochemistry. Molecular samples may be analyzed for species identification and energy content. The underlying premise of spectroscopy is that light is made of different wavelengths and that each wavelength corresponds to

1225-403: The composition, physical structure and electronic structure of matter to be investigated at the atomic, molecular and macro scale, and over astronomical distances . Historically, spectroscopy originated as the study of the wavelength dependence of the absorption by gas phase matter of visible light dispersed by a prism . Current applications of spectroscopy include biomedical spectroscopy in

1274-444: The creation of additional energetic states. These states are numerous and therefore have a high density of states. This high density often makes the spectra weaker and less distinct, i.e., broader. For instance, blackbody radiation is due to the thermal motions of atoms and molecules within a material. Acoustic and mechanical responses are due to collective motions as well. Pure crystals, though, can have distinct spectral transitions, and

1323-527: The creation of unique types of energetic states and therefore unique spectra of the transitions between these states. Molecular spectra can be obtained due to electron spin states ( electron paramagnetic resonance ), molecular rotations , molecular vibration , and electronic states. Rotations are collective motions of the atomic nuclei and typically lead to spectra in the microwave and millimetre-wave spectral regions. Rotational spectroscopy and microwave spectroscopy are synonymous. Vibrations are relative motions of

1372-595: The crystal arrangement also has an effect on the observed molecular spectra. The regular lattice structure of crystals also scatters x-rays, electrons or neutrons allowing for crystallographic studies. Nuclei also have distinct energy states that are widely separated and lead to gamma ray spectra. Distinct nuclear spin states can have their energy separated by a magnetic field, and this allows for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy . Other types of spectroscopy are distinguished by specific applications or implementations: There are several applications of spectroscopy in

1421-554: The development of quantum mechanics , because the first useful atomic models described the spectra of hydrogen, which include the Bohr model , the Schrödinger equation , and Matrix mechanics , all of which can produce the spectral lines of hydrogen , therefore providing the basis for discrete quantum jumps to match the discrete hydrogen spectrum. Also, Max Planck 's explanation of blackbody radiation involved spectroscopy because he

1470-414: The dispersion technique. In biochemical spectroscopy, information can be gathered about biological tissue by absorption and light scattering techniques. Light scattering spectroscopy is a type of reflectance spectroscopy that determines tissue structures by examining elastic scattering. In such a case, it is the tissue that acts as a diffraction or dispersion mechanism. Spectroscopic studies were central to

1519-402: The excitation of inner shell electrons to excited states. Atoms of different elements have distinct spectra and therefore atomic spectroscopy allows for the identification and quantitation of a sample's elemental composition. After inventing the spectroscope, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff discovered new elements by observing their emission spectra. Atomic absorption lines are observed in

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1568-518: The fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Taking advantage of the properties of absorbance and with astronomy emission , spectroscopy can be used to identify certain states of nature. The uses of spectroscopy in so many different fields and for so many different applications has caused specialty scientific subfields. Such examples include: The history of spectroscopy began with Isaac Newton 's optics experiments (1666–1672). According to Andrew Fraknoi and David Morrison , "In 1672, in

1617-493: The first paper that he submitted to the Royal Society , Isaac Newton described an experiment in which he permitted sunlight to pass through a small hole and then through a prism. Newton found that sunlight, which looks white to us, is actually made up of a mixture of all the colors of the rainbow." Newton applied the word "spectrum" to describe the rainbow of colors that combine to form white light and that are revealed when

1666-583: The glass fragments in the medieval period. Alice and Sam Gerard together with Robert Liris in 1995 managed to have two bone tubes found in Tomb II C-14 dated at the AMS C-14 laboratory at the University of Arizona , finding a 13th-century date. Thermoluminescence dating (TL) of Glozel pottery in 1974 confirmed that the pottery was not produced recently. By 1979, 39 TL dates on 27 artifacts separated

1715-473: The language of the inscriptions as Basque , Chaldean , Eteocretan , Hebrew , Iberian , Latin , Berber , Ligurian , Phoenician and Turkic . Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9 d%27%C3%A9mulation Société d'émulation is a name given from the 18th century onwards to some learned societies of men in France , Wallonia and Flanders wishing to study together in the arts, science and letters and often to publish

1764-415: The less ambitious term 'Société d'émulation' to the more scholarly and official title of 'Académie', partly since 'Société d'émulation' indicated their attachment to more limited research within the borders of their society's region. Their ambitions were not as universal as the academies, but their publications and works remain a mine of documentary evidence and very rich accounts of subjects often neglected by

1813-480: The more scholarly academies. Spectrography Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectrum . In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectroscopy, primarily in the electromagnetic spectrum, is a fundamental exploratory tool in the fields of astronomy , chemistry , materials science , and physics , allowing

1862-550: The president of the French Prehistoric Society, visited Glozel on 24 February 1928. After briefly visiting the site's small museum, he filed a complaint of fraud. On 25 February, the police, under the direction of Regnault, searched the museum, destroyed glass display cases and confiscated three cases of artifacts. On 28 February the suit against Dussaud was postponed due to Regnault's pending indictment against Fradin. A new group of neutral archaeologists, called

1911-409: The results of their reflections and their works in a bulletin, review or Acts. They were also social and creative organisations formed of a province's cultural elites. The 19th century was the golden age of Sociétés d'émulation and some of them, with their social aspects and particular costumes, have survived up to the present day. Mainly made up of amateurs and local notables, these societies preferred

1960-583: The site as Neolithic in a report entitled Nouvelle Station Néolithique published in September 1925, with Émile Fradin listed as co-author. Two other tombs were uncovered in 1927. More excavations were performed in April 1928. After 1941, a new law outlawed private excavations, and the site remained untouched until the Ministry of Culture re-opened excavations in 1983. The full report was never published, but

2009-616: The site as Gallo-Roman, dating to between about A.D. 100–400, and possibly of archeological importance. The January issue of the Bulletin de la Société d'Émulation du Bourbonnais mentioned the finds, intriguing Antonin Morlet, a Vichy physician and amateur archaeologist. Morlet visited the farm on 26 April, offering 200 francs to be allowed to complete the excavation. Morlet began his excavations on 24 May 1925, discovering tablets, idols, bone and flint tools and engraved stones. Morlet identified

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2058-811: The solar spectrum and referred to as Fraunhofer lines after their discoverer. A comprehensive explanation of the hydrogen spectrum was an early success of quantum mechanics and explained the Lamb shift observed in the hydrogen spectrum, which further led to the development of quantum electrodynamics . Modern implementations of atomic spectroscopy for studying visible and ultraviolet transitions include flame emission spectroscopy , inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy , glow discharge spectroscopy , microwave induced plasma spectroscopy, and spark or arc emission spectroscopy. Techniques for studying x-ray spectra include X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence . The combination of atoms into molecules leads to

2107-545: The theory behind it is that frequency is analogous to resonance and its corresponding resonant frequency. Resonances by the frequency were first characterized in mechanical systems such as pendulums , which have a frequency of motion noted famously by Galileo . Spectroscopy is a sufficiently broad field that many sub-disciplines exist, each with numerous implementations of specific spectroscopic techniques. The various implementations and techniques can be classified in several ways. The types of spectroscopy are distinguished by

2156-418: The type of radiative energy involved in the interaction. In many applications, the spectrum is determined by measuring changes in the intensity or frequency of this energy. The types of radiative energy studied include: The types of spectroscopy also can be distinguished by the nature of the interaction between the energy and the material. These interactions include: Spectroscopic studies are designed so that

2205-557: The white light is passed through a prism. Fraknoi and Morrison state that "In 1802, William Hyde Wollaston built an improved spectrometer that included a lens to focus the Sun's spectrum on a screen. Upon use, Wollaston realized that the colors were not spread uniformly, but instead had missing patches of colors, which appeared as dark bands in the spectrum." During the early 1800s, Joseph von Fraunhofer made experimental advances with dispersive spectrometers that enabled spectroscopy to become

2254-487: Was comparing the wavelength of light using a photometer to the temperature of a Black Body . Spectroscopy is used in physical and analytical chemistry because atoms and molecules have unique spectra. As a result, these spectra can be used to detect, identify and quantify information about the atoms and molecules. Spectroscopy is also used in astronomy and remote sensing on Earth. Most research telescopes have spectrographs. The measured spectra are used to determine

2303-534: Was impressed with the site, but on 2 October, Breuil wrote that "everything is false except the stoneware pottery". At the meeting of the International Institute of Anthropology in Amsterdam, held in September 1927, Glozel was the subject of heated controversy. A commission was appointed for further investigation, arriving at Glozel on 5 November 1927. During their three-day excavation campaign,

2352-497: Was indicted for fraud on the basis of Bayle's report. The verdict against Fradin was reverted by an appeal court in April 1931. The defamation charge against Dussaud came to trial in March 1932, and Dussaud was found guilty of defamation. Glass found at Glozel was dated spectrographically in the 1920s, and again in the 1990s at the SLOWPOKE reactor at the University of Toronto by neutron activation analysis . Both analyses place

2401-619: Was rebutted and the vast majority of the finds dated to the Middle Ages, with significant presence of alterations and forgeries. The initial discovery was made on 1 March 1924 by 17-year-old Émile Fradin (born August 8, 1906, died February 10, 2010, age 103 ) and his grandfather Claude Fradin. Émile was guiding a cow-drawn plow when the cow's foot became stuck in a cavity. Freeing the cow, the Fradins uncovered an underground chamber, with walls of clay bricks and 16 clay floor tiles, containing human bones and ceramic fragments. Adrienne Picandet,

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