Dating Methods: Archaeology

DATING METHODS | MATERIALS | AGE LIMIT | NOTES | RADIOCARBON DATING (Is also known as C-14 Dating) | Radiocarbon dating can date organic materials.For example, pollen, bone, hair, parchment, wood, charcoal etc. | 400-50000 years old. | Principal that all living things interact constantly with the atmosphere and we absorb Carbon 14, however at the point of death, living creatures stop absorbing carbon 14, and the carbon 14 is frozen. This carbon decays at a known, constant rate. | AMS DATING (Acceleration, Mass, spectrometry) | Organic Materials | From 400-70000 years old. | Quicker results, much more expensive. Also more accurate, less samples needed and less possibility of contamination. | TREE-RING DATING (DENDROCHRONOLOGY) | Trees or any timber object made from trees. | | Counted by looking at a cross section of the tree, looking at how many rings, the ring on the inner most centre is the first growth, and the outside ring is the last. | THERMOLUMINESCENCE | Pottery | Over 50000+ | When deducing if an artefact is fake, they can turn to Thermo luminescence to deduce weather it is real. Other time, in the form of energy, electrons will be stored within it, and if you heat the object to 500 degrees Celsius or more, and then there is a flash of light which can be measured to see the age. | POTASSIUM ARGON DATING | Volcanic Rock | Up to millions of years. | One of the most useful for dating human evolution. Used to date fossils. | DNA TESTING | | Has no age limit, can be used as long as DNA is available. | Shows the blueprint of an organism, is within all living or dead creatures. Useful in all matter to do with any remains, can tell us significant information. | URANIUM SERIES DATING | Roick including Calcium | 50000 – 500000 years old | Also useful for dating human evolution.