Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Dating Techniques

• Relative dating
• Absolute dating
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Dating techniques are procedures used by scientists to determine the age of an object or a series of events. The two main types of dating methods are relative and absolute. Relative dating methods are used to determine only if one sample is older or younger than another. Absolute dating methods are used to determine an actual date in years for the age of an object.

Relative dating

Before the advent of absolute dating methods in the twentieth century, nearly all dating was relative. The main relative dating method is stratigraphy (pronounced stra-TI-gra-fee), which is the study of layers of rocks or the objects embedded within those layers. This method is based on the assumption (which nearly always holds true) that deeper...