Dating in Archaeology

Assigning temporal frameworks in archaeology can be performed using a number of Quaternary dating methods. The chronometers are largely borrowed from the earth sciences and can be grouped into four main categories. These comprise radiometric, incremental, age-equivalent, and relative dating methods. Applicable radiometric methods include radiocarbon, argon isotope, uranium series, luminescence, electron spin resonance, and fission-track dating techniques. Dendrochronology and varve chronology make up the category of incremental dating methods, while archaeomagnetism, tephrochronology and molecular clocks constitute age-equivalent methods. Relative dating methods can entail ordering stratigraphic units using the law of superposition, but other methods include obsidian hydration, amino acid, and fossil bone analysis techniques. The dating method that is chosen for application in a given setting depends on the time range under consideration as well as the types of material that are available for analysis.