ANTHR206 Lecture 7: Absolute Dating Methods
6 Oct 2016
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Calendars (some civilizations have calendars that are written down; e. g. mayan calendar. When they exist they can be translated into calendric dates. ) Artifacts with dates (in roman world, may find artifact with date on it, so you know exactly when its from) Very few ancient societies wrote down calendars, so limited methods. 2 major types (1) varves: created by water and often found as these small layers of sediment that accumulate over the course of the year. They are layers of sediment found in lakes and caves. It can be associated with the archaeological material (artifacts to confirm where these are laid down). The very thin layers are accumulated because of change over the course of the year (environmental factors) (2) tree ring dating: aka dendrochronology. Growth of tree rings every year (trees give a ring every year). Depends on climate (varies width of ring for that year; heat/water give larger rings, and drought gives thinner rings. )
