Page 138 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol Two

dating methods 487

Darwin, C. (1999). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, can be divided into two general categories: relative meth-
or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. New York: ods and absolute (sometimes called chronometric) pro-
Bantam. (Original work published 1859)
Darwin, C. (1868). The variation of animals and plants under domesti- cedures. Relative dating involves placing objects, sites, or
cation. London: John Murray. events in a chronological sequence, without reference to
Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex.
London: John Murray. an actual date, year, or even to a broad range of years.
Desmond, A., & Moore, J. R. (1992). Darwin. London: Penguin. Absolute dating techniques produce actual dates or age
Wallace, A. R. (1889). Darwinism. London: Macmillan.
ranges.

Relative Dating Methods
Among the relative dating procedures employed by ar-
Dating Methods chaeologists, the most commonly used involves sequenc-
ing objects, occupations, and sites on the basis of the soil
rchaeologists can be likened to journalists who focus levels in which cultural remains have been found.
Anot on the events of recent days but on activities that As long ago as the late eighteenth century, the British
transpired in human antiquity. Like newspaper reporters geologist William Smith recognized that Earth’s history
who are instructed to find out the who, what, where, is written as a metaphorical book whose pages are rep-
how, why, and, of course, the when of their story, archae- resented as a series of soil layers, one laid down upon an-
ologists must ask and attempt to answer these same ques- other in a sequence across a vast expanse of time. Smith’s
tions in their effort to paint a comprehensible picture of analysis of these layers—the stratigraphy of buried geo-
the human past. logical deposits—provided scientists with a sequential
In attempting find out when events happened, archae- natural history in which each layer contained fossil evi-
ologists employ a broad array of techniques collectively dence of the types of life forms that dominated during the
called dating methods. These methods are applied period in which the layer was deposited.
directly to objects in order to determine their actual age Archaeologists soon realized that stratigraphic analy-
or to situate them accurately in a chronological sequence. sis could similarly be applied to human history. Human-
The dates so derived on individual items may then be made objects and the remains of other materials whose
associated with and applied to the archaeological sites context in the soil was the result of human activity were,
from which they were recovered. By a further extrapola- like fossils of plants and animals, deposited in soil layers
tion, the dates of these sites are then used to answer gen- being laid down during the period in which those objects
eral questions concerning the timing and tempo of were lost, discarded, or deposited for safekeeping.Archae-
significant events or developments in the history of ologists recognized that cultural materials, like fossils,
humanity: the evolution of upright walking, the earliest could themselves be sequenced on the basis of their rel-
toolmaking, the controlled use of fire, humanity’s geo- ative position in a succession of strata.
graphic expansion beyond its African evolutionary nurs- Further, because human activity itself can produce
ery to the rest of the world, the origins of agriculture, the layers of deposit, cultural stratigraphy can be read to
development of metallurgy, the invention of writing, the determine a relative chronological sequence of occupa-
appearance of urban civilizations. Our understanding of tions of the same spot. For example, so-called tells in the
the origins of these and myriad other important steps in Middle East are artificial hills produced by the frequent
the evolution of human societies often is based, ulti- reoccupation by human beings of the same locations.
mately, on our ability to accurately and precisely date Each occupation results in the deposition of materials lost
objects associated with these developments. and discarded and, in so doing, contributes to the for-
Dating methods employed in archaeological analysis mation of the mound, with the materials left behind by