Dating for Archaeologists, An Introduction

If excavation is the key principle of archaeological practice, then dating is the essence of archaeological theory. Through dating we give the data we uncover a context and so allow the construction of explanations beyond the position of the individual site and time-period. The framework upon which we hang pour theories is almost always date-based, in one of two forms.

Relative dating is a matter of placing data, such as artefacts or sites, in their relative chronological order (Renfrew & Bahn 1996: 112-122). The classic example is Thomsen’s “Three Age System”. The idea is that technology developed through three stages. First, a period where Stone was the highest technology. Next came a later period where bronze was developed, but there was still no iron, and finally an “Iron Age” with all the major metals present. Use of typologies allows change and continuity to be traced with an area, but leads to difficulties comparing different cultures. It also leaves little idea of the time scale of change. For this we need absolute dating.

Absolute dating is the metre-stick against which we measure time. By using absolute dating we can say that event X occurred at twice as distant a time as event Y. It also allows the more ideologically friendly use of date, such as years. However the beauty of absolute dating is that it does not rely upon one cultural concept of time, but can be re-shaped according to the needs of a modem society. “Years” are not necessary. If “Star Trek” is right and we adopt “stardates”, we will comfortably be able to calendrically convert the date framework to the new system.

Invoking “Star Trek” may seem fanciful, but the above paragraph illustrates the easiest method of absolute dating. Dating is easier if the people who constructed the material evidence were kind enough to give us a date. Unfortunately, prior to the medieval period, the Gregorian calendar was not in use. The problem is therefore to convert the local calendar to the Gregorian system. This in turn relies upon an understanding of the historical record.

For other methods of dating see the contents page of the series Dating for Archaeologists.