Elizabeth K. Ralph dating history

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Elizabeth K. Ralph (1921–1993) was a pioneer in the development and application of radiocarbon dating techniques to archaeology. She was also a long-time member of the United States Women's National Field Hockey Team. At the University of Pennsylvania, in the Radiocarbon Laboratory and later in the Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA) at the Penn Museum, Ralph developed methods for dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, and thermoluminescence for ceramics. She also improved instruments for the measurement of magnetic intensity, including cesium magnetometers, which could detect subsurface anomalies indicating potential archaeological sites. In the 1960s, she used these instruments to help locate the Archaic Greek site of Sybaris in southern Italy. She analyzed and dated materials from dozens of archaeological sites in several countries. Her research was published in journals such as Science and Nature. With her colleague H.N. Michael, she co-authored the textbook Dating Techniques for the Archaeologist, published by MIT Press in 1971. From 1962 to 1982, she served as associate director of the MASCA lab, which she helped establish with support from the National Science Foundation.