A process used by Archaeologists to determine the chronological sequence of artifacts (pottery, pieces of stone or bone), without abiding by a fixed time scale. Some popular forms of relative dating include stratigraphy and typological sequencing, where artifacts are sequenced according to their placement in strata or simply by similarity. Relative dating techniques were used predominantly in the first half of this century for lack of more exact, absolute dating techniques. Estimates of the relative ages of bones and stones in long sequences are made available by relative dating techniques, and give Archaeologists a useful chronological framework; however, they do not yield the sometimes necessary precise calendar dates.
For further information:
Relative dating techniques are discussed in depth by Renfrew and Bahn, with illustrations
of stratification in the Indus Valley by Mortimer Wheeler, in Archaeology-
theories, methods, and practice (1991; pg 112).
Composed by Patrick Findlay, Sara Jones, Sally McIver, Joseph Billeaud, and Ted Weiman.
Last updated 25 February 1997