Smithsonian conservators develop new technique to determine age of silk artifacts

Conservation scientists have developed a new technique to authenticate and determine the age of silk artefacts held in museums and collections, the Smithsonian Institution announced Monday.

Carbon dating is too destructive for most silk items, scientists said. The new method uses the natural deterioration of silk’s amino acids to determine its age by calculating that change over time — a process known as racemisation. Archaeologists and forensic anthropologists have used this process for years to date bones, shells and teeth — via redwolf.newsvine.com