The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology | absolute dating
absolute dating [De]. General term applied to a range of techniques that provide estimates of the age of objects, materials, or sites in real calendar years either directly or through a process of calibration with material of known age. Such techniques rely on principles that lie outside the influence of the makers and users of the material being dated, for example RADIOCARBON DATING. Various calendars are used to express absolute dates. Some sciences preferring BP as ‘before present’, the scientific present being conventionally taken as AD 1950. In archaeology the use of bc and ad based on the Gregorian Calendar is commonly used in Europe and America, although other calendars apply to specific cultures in other regions and these are used too where appropriate. Compare RELATIVE DATING.
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