 Anybody can count the rings of a felled tree to tell how old it is, but who can date a piece of limestone from a Mayan temple precisely to the month? In this 2009 Falling Walls video lecture, chemist Detlef Günther discusses laser techniques that detect fluid inclusions in minerals and trace the workings of our environment and climate as far back as the preclassic period. Be it gold objects from Peru or crystals from Mexico, Günther’s research of these materials brings the understanding of our planet up to the macro level. Why a civilization as highly developed as that of the Mayans ceased to exist is only one of the many questions he pursues. (13 minutes)
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