Evidence-Based Dating Methods In Archaeology Study

Archaeology uses all kinds of methodology in order to make sense of the past. Dating methods in particular help our understanding of archaeology by allowing us to put things in chronological order, therefore develop how we interpret things. This paper will be covering scientific based dating methods and discussing how these methods contribute to our understanding, but it will also show the flaws in scientific dating. Archaeologists are still developing and refining their dating methods in order to get accurate date, as due to many variability’s current methods are not always accurate.

One scientific method used in archaeology which contributes to our understanding is dendrochronology; this is the study of tree rings. This method has helped

Some tree rings grow slower or than others or miss out a year, this can lead to misinterpretation of the date of the tree making it younger or older than it is. The location of the tree can also cause a variation in growth rings as Speer (2010;7) says ‘some locations such as many tropical areas, do not have the seasonality to allow the formation of annual rings.’ This suggests that the dating of these trees using dendrochronology would give misleading result and other methods would have to be used in order to get an accurate date. Showing that in some cases scientific dating methods aren’t always going to help our understanding of archaeology as certain variables produce inaccurate

Radiocarbon dating is used to date organic materials, as all living organisms take in carbon14 through plant material, however once an organism has died that carbon 14 is not replaced and therefore decays into a more stable isotope known as nitrogen 14. The decaying process is measured in half lives. Michels (1973;150) gives an example of how this can be used to date ancient materials, ‘modern carbon – 14 emits about 15 counts per minute per gram, whereas carbon – 14 which is 5700 years old, should emit about 7.5 counts per minute per gram.’ Radiocarbon dating has contributed to archaeological sites based in Africa and has helped to discover some important information. ‘One of the most significant dates for African historians was obtained by Libby for the age of a wooden beam (1361 ± 120 B.P) from the base of a wall in the elliptical building at the Zimbabwe ruins in Rhodesia.’ Clark (1959;9) The radiocarbon dating of this site suggested that the African Iron age did not start in A.D1500 as many had originally thought, but instead ‘the first farming population were already established in southern Africa by the early years of the present era.’ Clark (1959;9) This information helped to develop the archaeologist to better understand the age and length of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. This shows how scientific based methodology has improved our understanding of