|
 Finding
any archeological artifact is exciting. But the discovery
is just the beginning of an archaeologist's work as he tries
to unravel the mystery of what the artifact is, how it was
used in the past and its age. Archaeologists are much like
detectives, gathering clues and reconstructing a scenario,
a place and a time in which these artifacts once existed.
Many techniques for dating exist, all with their own set of
limitations. Many of these methods are used in conjunction
with other dating procedures for a more accurate, complete
reconstruction of an object's history.
In
some cases scientists will determine the age of an object
by dating the object itself. This is called absolute dating.
Often, analysis of the chemical make-up of an object can yield
concrete numbers and allow scientists to make educated estimates
of its age. Sometimes however, objects are too old, in poor
condition or simply made of the wrong material and it just
isn't possible to test them for an absolute date. In this
case archaeologists piece together a history using clues from
the object's surroundings. Relative dating provides a fuzzier,
ball-park kind of date for an object.
Click
on the images below to read some brief descriptions of various
dating systems. Learn a little more about the tools archaeologists
use to reconstruct our human history.
      
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