Types of chronometric dating

13-Jun-2020 20:50

On the other hand, absolute dating includes all methods that provide figures about the real estimated age of archaeological objects or occupations.

These methods usually analyze physicochemical transformation phenomena whose rate are known or can be estimated relatively well.

Indeed, some items whose exact or approximate age is known are called "diagnostic artifacts." Examples of such objects include very specific stone tools, different pottery styles, objects that belong to a specific period (eg, the historic period or the French regime), coins with a production date, or other items bearing a trademark and whose history can be traced in historical records.

Their presence on archaeological sites is used to date the soil layers and the objects and events they are associated with and thus contributes to refine the chronology of sites.

The results of radiocarbon dating are expressed in years and include a time range (eg, 630± 60 BP).

Typology Typology is a method that compares reference objects in order to classify them according to their similarity or dissimilarity and link them to a specific context or period.

This technique is frequently used when it is impossible to make use of absolute dating methods; it generally allows archaeologists to identify the period to which a cultural site or object belongs, without specifying the date of occupation.

This approach helps to order events chronologically but it does not provide the absolute age of an object expressed in years.

Relative dating includes different techniques, but the most commonly used are soil stratigraphy analysis and typology.Subsequently, the calibration of that date provides a time interval where the event or object being dated can be situated (eg, 1275-1425 AD).