"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that in situ isotopic ages have been reported for dinosaur eggshells both in China and, very likely, worldwide,"
"This will remove the uncertainties associated with the ages of many fossils,"
A fossilized dinosaur egg from a nesting cluster of 28 in Shiyan, China, was directly dated to about 85.9 million years using in situ laser‑ablation U–Pb isotopic analysis of minerals deposited on the eggshell. The method vaporized fossilization minerals to release uranium and lead isotopes and used uranium’s decay to lead at known rates to calculate age. Conventional indirect dating of surrounding volcanic ash or rock layers can yield inaccurate ages because those materials may not have formed when eggs were laid. Direct eggshell dating reduces those stratigraphic uncertainties, though diagenesis that alters original composition could complicate results.
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