Relative Dating

Relative dating refers to dating methods that focuses on determining whether a fossil, artefact, or site is older or younger compared to another. This means archaeologists can create a sequence of events, even if they don’t know the exact calendar dates yet.

Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1956), a renowned archaeologist, described relative chronology as “the arrangement of the products of non-historic societies into a time relationship, which may not have any dates, but which has a sequence.”

Why Relative Dating Matters

Despite not providing absolute dates, relative dating methods are incredibly valuable. They allow archaeologists to:

• Establish a Timeline: Piece together the sequence of events at a site, understanding when different layers of habitation formed or which artefacts were introduced first.
• Track Cultural Shifts: Observe how styles of pottery, tools, or architecture evolved over time.
• Reconstruct Environmental Changes: Study changes in animal or plant remains to understand the past climate and ecological conditions of a region.

By comparing these findings, archaeologists can create a detailed relative chronology, forming the backbone for further investigations. Often, relative dating methods pave the way for absolute dating techniques to provide pinpointed ages.

Various Methods of Relative Dating Includes

Stratigraphy : Reading the Layers of Time

Discovery: Niels Stensen, a Danish scientist, laid the foundation for stratigraphy in the 17th century.

Basic Principle:

• Law of Superposition: In undisturbed sediments, deeper layers (strata) are older than those above them. It’s like the pages of a book – the bottom pages were placed there first.

Method:

• Archaeologists carefully excavate a site in layers, meticulously recording the position of artifacts, fossils, and features within each stratum.
• They analyze how these finds relate to the layers above and below them, building a chronological sequence of the site.

Limitations

• Disturbances: Natural events like earthquakes or animal burrowing and human activity can disrupt soil layers, complicating the sequence.
• Geological vs. Archaeological Processes: Geological processes that form soil layers operate differently from cultural processes that deposit artifacts. Archaeologists must interpret these carefully.
• River Terraces: River erosion and changing water levels can create a reversed sequence in terrace deposits, where upper layers are actually older.

Comments:

• A Cornerstone Method: Stratigraphy is one of the most fundamental and reliable relative dating techniques in archaeology.
• Critical Attention: Archaeologists must be meticulous in identifying and interpreting soil layers to ensure accurate dating.

Seriation (Sequence Dating): Tracking Trends in Artifacts

Discovery: Pioneered by Egyptologist Sir William Flinders Petrie in 1899.

Basic Principle

• Assumes that artifact styles (shapes, decorations, etc.) change gradually over time. They appear, gain popularity, peak, and then fade away.
• This pattern looks like a curve when graphed, known as a ‘battleship curve.’

Method

• Archaeologists analyze a collection of similar artifacts (pottery, tools, etc.) from a single area.
• They track changes in style or the frequency of specific features over time.
• Artefacts are arranged in a relative chronological order based on these stylistic shifts.

Limitations

• No Absolute Dates: Seriation reveals a sequence but not the age of the artifacts in calendar years.
• Stratigraphic Context Matters: It’s most reliable when combined with other dating methods (like stratigraphy) to pinpoint which end of the sequence is actually older.
• Cultural Complexity: Style changes don’t always indicate advancing complexity. Cultures can revert to simpler forms or experience cycles of change.

Comments

• Useful for Short Timeframes: Seriation works well with sites lacking long sequences of layering, where styles might change rapidly.
• Famous Example: James Deetz studied shifts in gravestone designs in New England, revealing changing cultural beliefs over time.
• Modern Techniques : Quantitative methods like correspondence analysis are increasingly used in archaeological research to achieve similar results.

Paleontology (Faunal Dating): Animal Clues to the Past

Basic Principle

• Climate change impacts the distribution of animal species. Some become extinct, and others emerge or shift their ranges.
• The presence or absence of particular animal remains can help archaeologists suggest an approximate date range for a site.

Method

• Archaeologists identify animal bones and remains found within a site.
• They compare these to known records of animal species associated with different climates and time periods.

Examples

• Mammoths: Finding woolly mammoth remains suggests a cold, ice age environment.
• Forest vs. Steppe Elephants: The presence of specific elephant species can indicate either temperate forests (Elephas antiquus) or grassland/tundra environments (E. Primigenius).

Limitations

• Approximate Ages: This method doesn’t pinpoint exact dates but suggests a general timeframe.
• Extinction & Migration: Species don’t always disappear at the same time everywhere. Some might survive in isolated pockets or adapt to new climates.

Comments

• Small Matters: Remains of smaller animals like rodents, birds, and snails can be even more sensitive indicators of past climate change.
• Best with Other Methods: Faunal dating is most valuable when combined with other techniques like stratigraphy or absolute dating for a more precise timeline.

Palynology (Pollen Analysis): Unlocking Past Environments

Discovery: Swedish scientist Lennart von Post pioneered palynology in 1916.

Basic Principle:

• Pollen grains are incredibly durable and differ between plant species.
• By analyzing pollen preserved in sediments, scientists can reconstruct past vegetation and climate conditions.

Method:

• Scientists collect core samples from sites, carefully separating sediment layers.
• Under a microscope, pollen grains from each layer are identified and counted.
• Shifts in pollen types over time reveal changes in vegetation, indicating changes in climate or environmental conditions.

Best Preservation Environments

• Ideal: Peat bogs (common in Northern Europe) provide acidic, oxygen-poor conditions that are excellent for pollen preservation.
• Also Possible: Pollen can also survive in dry soils, sandy environments, and those with low acidity.

Limitations:

• Inorganic Sources: Pollen from streams or those carried on animal fur are harder to date as they aren’t directly associated with a sediment layer.
• Not All Regions Favor Preservation: Pollen analysis can be less reliable in areas where dry conditions are more common.

Comments:

• Climate Clues: Pollen analysis is a powerful tool for reconstructing past climates and understanding how environments changed over time.
• Absolute Dating Connection: Combining pollen analysis with Carbon-14 dating of organic material within a sediment layer can provide highly accurate dates.

Collagen Analysis : Dating Bones from the Inside

Basic Principle:

• Collagen, a protein found in bones, decays at a relatively predictable rate over time.
• By measuring remaining collagen content, scientists can estimate the relative age of a bone. Older bones have less collagen.

Method

• Collagen is extracted from a bone sample in a laboratory.
• The amount of remaining collagen is analyzed and compared to known rates of decay.

Limitations

• Environmental Factors: The rate of collagen decay can be affected by temperature, soil acidity, and other local conditions.
• Not Absolute Dating: Provides a relative age comparison between bones within the same site, but not a specific date in years.

Famous Example: Exposing the Piltdown Hoax

• Collagen analysis on the Piltdown Man remains revealed inconsistencies in the supposed ages of the skull and jawbone.
• This was crucial evidence that proved Piltdown Man was a deliberate forgery.

Comments

• Advancements: Scientists like Sinex & Faris refined techniques for extracting collagen from archaeological bone.
• Combined Techniques: Collagen analysis is often used in conjunction with other dating methods like Carbon-14 for increased accuracy.

Fluorine Analysis : Dating Bones with Chemistry

Basic Principle

• Bones buried in soil gradually absorb fluorine from groundwater. Over time, fluorine replaces other minerals in the bone, and older bones accumulate more fluorine.
• This method is part of the “FUN” trio, along with Uranium and Nitrogen analysis, which utilize similar principles.

The Process

• Scientists analyze the fluorine content of fossil bones found in the same location.
• Bones with higher fluorine content are generally considered older.
• Uranium can also be absorbed by bone, replacing calcium, and provides an additional dating tool.
• Nitrogen, found in the collagen of living bone, decreases over time due to decay.

Limitations

• Local Matters: The rate of fluorine absorption varies between regions based on groundwater composition and soil factors.
• Same Site Comparisons: It’s most reliable when comparing bones found within the same site.
• Environmental Factors: Temperature and other soil conditions affect the rate of change.

Famous Case: The Piltdown Hoax

• Fluorine tests revealed that the skull and jawbone of “Piltdown Man” had vastly different fluorine levels.
• This key evidence exposed the fossil as a forgery.

Comments

• Tool in the Toolkit: This method often helps date bones when other techniques like stratigraphy aren’t conclusive.
• Combined Techniques: Fluorine analysis is strongest when used alongside other dating methods.

Patination : Reading the Surface of Stone

Basic Principle

• Patina is a film that forms on the surface of stone tools due to chemical weathering over time. The amount of patina can give a general idea of relative age.
• A.J.H Goodwin extensively studied the factors contributing to patina formation.

Method

• Archaeologists compare the degree of patination on stone artifacts found within the same area.
• Generally, heavier patination indicates greater age.

Limitations

• Environmental Factors: Patina formation rate is highly influenced by climate, soil composition, and the type of stone.
• Rough Approximation: Provides a sense of relative age (older vs. younger), but not accurate dates.

Comments

• Useful for Comparisons: Helps distinguish between different periods of tool production within a specific region.
• Best with Other Methods: Patination analysis is most reliable when combined with other relative or absolute dating techniques.

Rate of Accumulation : Estimating Age Through Layers

Basic Principle

• One of the earliest dating methods, it assumes that the thicker a layer of cultural or natural deposits, the older it is. It aims to estimate how long it took for sediment layers to build up.

Method

• Archaeologists measure the thickness of habitation layers at a site.
• They attempt to estimate a rate of growth, taking into account factors that might have influenced the speed at which deposits accumulated.

Limitations

• Inconsistent Rates: Deposition rates can change drastically over time due to population fluctuations, changes in land use, natural events, and other factors.
• Rough Estimates: This method offers only a very approximate idea of age.

Historical Example: Wheeler at Harappa

• Sir Mortimer Wheeler applied this technique to the Harappan site in the Indus Valley.
• He acknowledged the limitations of this method, deeming it of mainly academic interest due to its lack of precision.

Comments

• Best in Combination: While unreliable on its own, this technique can offer supporting insights when combined with other dating methods.

Cross-dating : Connecting Sites Through Artefacts

Basic Principle

• Cross-dating establishes relative timelines by comparing artifacts and cultural remains found in different locations.
• It relies on the idea that similar styles and technologies spread or were traded between connected regions.

Method

• Archaeologists examine the style, material, and techniques of objects found at a site with unknown dates.
• They compare these to similar artifacts from sites with established chronologies.
• Shared similarities suggest potential connections and help place the undated site within a relative timeframe.

Limitations

• Assumptions: Assumes that similar styles indicate a close timeframe, which might not always be true. Styles can spread through trade or imitation, even across larger distances.
• Strongest with Other Methods: Cross-dating is most reliable as a supplementary tool combined with other relative or absolute dating methods.

Analogy

• Cross-dating in archaeology is like biostratigraphy in geology, where the presence of similar fossils in different rock layers helps connect their ages.

Quick Revision : Relative Dating Techniques

Method	Introduction – discovery	Basis/Principle +Method	Limitations	Comments
Stratigraphy	Basic RDT; pioneered by Niels Stensen in the 17th C. The aim of stratigraphy is to reconstruct the history of deposition of site’s remain.	• Based on Law of  superposition of Strata proposed by Stensen.•  It states that , in any succession of rock layers, the lowest most have been there the longest & the upper layers have been in place for progressively shorter periods.”• Thus in an Ar site the evidences are usually deposited in chronological order – lower stratum – oldest ; upper most contain – most recent	• Most Robustrelative dating methods & among RDT most reliabletechnique • The paleo anthropologist / archeologist must ensure that there has been no disturbance of layers	• Geological stratigraphy & archeological stratigraphy are created by different process & must be interpreted separately. • the succession gets reversed if the depositional agency has the power of constantly getting lower in level thr time (e.g river banks – i.e river terraces or terrace stratigraphy don’t follow this principle b/c of the erosional activity of fluctuating water level.
Seriation ( Sequence Dating)  aka Artifact Sequencing	• Prehistoric not strongly attached to sites → long cultural stratigraphic seq -rarity. Short seq rule. Which must be related by different methods Seriation. • It’s is RDT , used to date archeological objects / involves reconstructing the pattern of cultural dev.  • invented by Egyptologist Sir William Flinders Petrie in 1899.	• Based on assumption that any particular artifact, attribute or style will appear gradually, increase in popularity until it reaches a peak, & then progressively decreases.  ↠ • archeologist are able to place categories of artefacts in a relative chronological order / series based on +ne/-ne or frequencies of shared attributes.	• there’s no way to know which end of a serrated sequence of artifacts is the oldest unless it is determined by stratigraphic or chronometric methods. • I.e by itself is incomplete as reveals pattern of cultural change – but not direction of cultural change • Even, culture doesn’t alway change from simple to complex ; may be reverse or cycle too	• is used by James Deetz in studying & dating gravestones in New England. → indicate gradual emergence & replacement of several motives on grave stones which indicates the changes in local beliefs & trade pattern. • Gradually being replaced in archeological research by a quantitative method c/l correspondence analysis, which achieves the same end
Palaeontology/ Dating by using Animal Remain		• On, changed climate will bring about the occurrence of different animals & plant species.• with change in climate, some species become extinct• ex – high frequency of domesticated over wild ↠ +nce of animal husbandry  • if found with particular animals , wooly mammoth 🦣 →	• this method provides approximate age of objects, if not accurate, b/c the compete species may not disappear at the same time. Some might live in isolated areas. • some live in wide range of climates • inference about climate tolerance of s, not changed over millennia – not safe.	E.g Evidence of Elephas antiquus (a forest elephant) indicates temperate climate & that of E. Primigenius (a steppe elephant) indicates a steppe / tundra env. • small species like rodents & birds, some molluscs & snails are very sensitive to climate change. Their +nce/-nce indicate climate change
Polynology or Pollen Analysis	• Palynology is the study of Pollen grains, – can be used ot reconstruct prehistoric climate & date of deposits. • Lenhar Von Post (of Sweden), developed this method in 1916. • a site or localitycan therefor be dated by determining what kind of pollen was found associated with it.	• have excellent preservative ability & are different for diff species ; • Thus level-wise microscopic studyof the ancient pollen samples obtained from a vertical section of prehistoric site helps to trace the past vegetation history. If combined with C-14 dating gives accurate date of time also	• majority – held that dry env don’t for preservation of pollen. • even when pollen a sample are found from the banks & streams as they are inorganic, can’t be dated unlike bogs (which are organic) • pollen f. May be distributed by remains of domesticated plant or by pollen brought by animals on their fur.	Types of soils in which pollen can be preserved• Peat bog deposits are ideal (e.g N Europe) • dry sites, sands & clay • acidic soils with ph less than 5.5 (G.w Dimbley’s study• inspite of these limitations, pollen analysis is useful as relative & absolute dating.
Collagen Analysis of Bones	Collage is substance that contains facts & proteins present in the bones. The older the bone is, the lesser the collagen content, & vice versa → help in identifying relative age	• Buried bones undergo fossilisation & start losing collagen at particular rate. • disintegration of collagen ∝ to Rate of fossilisation	Same as below Its application gave a date off 500 ± 100 yrs for the mandible, whereas for the skull a date of 620 ± 100 yrs was obtained. Led to the exposure of hoax	• Sinex & Faris in 1959 revised the laboratory methods to extract collagen from ancient bone• radio Carbon dating also possible on collage. KP Oakley applied it on Piltdown bones. ←
Florine analysis / Dating FUN TRIO – Flourine, Uranium & Nitrogen	This measure the relative age of bones from a given site based on measuring the fluorine content in fossil specimen ( in case of FUN TRIO – all three) Unlike other – N content ↓ with prolonged burial , due to disappearance of collagen in the bones (living bone contain 4% nitrogen)	• F & U are  found natural in water in may regions & get gradually accumulate in bones & teeth by hydroxy apatite → fluorine apatite Oldest bone contain largest content ; also U remove Calcium from it • the amt of F content can be determined by chemical analysis or thr X-ray crystallographic method	• tech is included by local env factor. • applicable only to bones found in the same location • as rate of fluorine formation is not content but various from region to region • variables like temp & chemicals present in surrounding soil affect the rate at which N dissipates.	• comparing – bone of close proximity → reveal contemporary or not • useful in dating bone that can’t be ascribed with certainty to any particular stratum & can’t be dated according to stratigraphic method. • it played  key  role in exposing piltdown hoax / forgery  in early 1950s
Patination	The amount of patina on the stone is an index of its age. A.J.H Goodwin studied different factors leading to patination (1960)	It indicates the chemical alternation of rock surface exposed to atmospheric conditions.		Different types of tools from river gravels, terraces of rivers or lack can be differentiated based on the relative amt of patina.
Rate of Accumulation of Cultural or Natural deposits.	It was one of the earliest methods of dating. Wheeler used it in Harappa	it involves rough estimation of time on the basis of thickness of the habitation deposits.	• rate of growth of any site is not constant & found to be subjected to factors such as ↑ /↓ in population, the use of serveral debris dumps , the lateral expansion of site etc	• wheeler applied this method in dating Harappan citadel excavations & stated that – thr this method is not absolutely useless, it is only of academic interest.
Cross dating	implies the tracing of relationships b/w different area with the help of culture sequences etc.	Shared similarities of Material remain found in an undated context with remains from a context of known age	Weak when used by itself ; best applied in conjunction with other dating methods	widely applied in archeological research, the logic of cross – dating is similar to that of Biostratigraphy