
The Deep Time of Walden Pond - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/60/searches/the-deep-time-of-walden-pond
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bootsz
> Moments later, 33 inches (84 centimeters) of lake history break the surface.

> The results of previous coring studies suggest that this sample represents
> about 1,500 years, which carbon-14 dating of the mud will later confirm. A
> band of sediment that was deposited during Thoreau’s lifetime lies 8 to 9
> inches (20 to 24 centimeters) below the surface layer of the core. I can
> link the two strata with the span of two hands, a distance that will
> eventually shorten down there on the lake bed as new, watery mud gradually
> compresses under the weight of future layers. Thoreau’s writings easily draw
> your imagination back to the 19th century, but a sediment core such as this
> pulls you even deeper into the past by encouraging you to ask “what happened
> before that?” Seeing so many relics of Walden’s yesteryears stacked one atop
> the other in this manner exposes self-centered views of history for what
> they are, reflections of our own minds that obscure our momentary positions
> in an open-ended river of time.

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40four
Walden is still one of my favorite books. Had a profound influence on me when
I first read it in college. Thanks for this interesting article!

