The small but vital role of 14C dating in archaeometric research is clearly shown in the copper project reported herein. The 14C ages place a time perspective on the “Old Copper Culture Complex,” substantiating early Libby dates that had been questioned. The respective roles of INAA, PGE and Pb isotope work are briefly summarized. A long tradition of heat treatment from Paleoindian stone to Archaic copper is suggested.

Estimates are given of a maximum time of formation of the elements of 5.5 billion years and of the time of formation of the earth's crust at 3.5 billion years. These estimates were based on the isotopic constitution of lead ores dated from isotopic analyses of radiogenic leads from uranium minerals. Methods of calculation are described.Experimental measurements of the isotopic constitution of lead from mass spectrograms of lead tetramethyl are reported with examples.

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