This exercise is designed to introduce you to basic techniques used in determining the age of archaeological materials and sites. There are two general categories of methods for dating in archaeology. One is Relative Dating, and the other is Absolute Dating. In general, archaeologists use both methods in conjunction. Absolute dating to determine the actual age of an object or stratigraphic layer, and relative dating to tie associated artifacts and layers into the sequence provided by the absolute dates.

	1. Contents 2. Introduction 3. Superposition 4. Stratigraphy 5. Cross Dating 6. Artifacts 7. Dendrochronology 8. Radiocarbon Dating 9. Potassium Argon Dating 10. Obsidian Hydration Dating 11. Paleomagnetic/Archaeomagnetic Dating 12. Thermoluminescence Dating 13. Other Isotopic Dating Techniques 14. Conclusion Courseware Page
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