A few days ago, I wrote a post about the basins of the Moon -- a result of a trip down a rabbit hole of book research. In the science of geology, there are two main ways we use to describe how old a thing is or how long ago an event took place. There are absolute ages and there are relative ages. People love absolute ages. An absolute age is a number. When you say that I am 38 years old or that the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, or that the solar system formed 4.
How archaeologists determine the date of ancient sites and artifacts
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How to determine the age of a rock? Absolute and Relative age of a rock
The age of a rock is determined by stratigraphy , a branch in geology which studies the chronology of events and changes, along with the development of organisms, which have determined the development of the Earth from when it became an independent spatial body until today. The age, or the chronology of geological creations and events is determined using relative and absolute age. In determining the relative age of a rock, the data from sedimentary rocks are generally used. Relative age of magmatic and metamorphic rocks is determined according to their relation with sedimentary rocks. The determination of the relative age of a rock is based on the principle of original horizontality of the sediments, principle of superposition, principle of original lateral continuity, principle of cross-cutting relationships, principle of inclusions, principle of biological succession and the lithology of a rock. Photo 1.
Difference Between Relative and Absolute Dating
Chronological dating , or simply dating , is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology. This usually requires what is commonly known as a "dating method". Several dating methods exist, depending on different criteria and techniques, and some very well known examples of disciplines using such techniques are, for example, history , archaeology , geology , paleontology , astronomy and even forensic science , since in the latter it is sometimes necessary to investigate the moment in the past during which the death of a cadaver occurred. Dating methods are most commonly classified following two criteria: relative dating and absolute dating.
Absolute dating is the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology. Some scientists prefer the terms chronometric or calendar dating , as use of the word "absolute" implies an unwarranted certainty of accuracy. In archaeology, absolute dating is usually based on the physical, chemical, and life properties of the materials of artifacts, buildings, or other items that have been modified by humans and by historical associations with materials with known dates coins and written history.
