Paper No.

: 03 Archaeological Anthropology
Module : 05 Absolute dating methods

Development Team

Principal Investigator Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor

Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi

Dr. M. K. Singh
Paper Coordinator
Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi

Dr. K. Polley
Content Writer Department of Anthropology, Haldia Government College

Prof. Falguni Chakraborty

Content Reviewer
Department of Anthropology, Midnapur University

Archaeological Anthropology
Anthropology
Absolute dating methods
 Description of Module

Subject Name Anthropology

Paper Name 03 Archaeological Anthropology

Module Name/Title Absolute dating methods

Module Id 05

Archaeological Anthropology
Anthropology
Absolute dating methods
 1. Introduction

Absolute dating determines the age of an object in calendrical years. There are many such dating
methods such as C14 or Carbon 14 method of dating, U238 method of dating, K-Ar or Potassium-Argon
method of dating etc. Any of these methods is not applicable for all archaeological findings. Because
the age range of each method is applicable for a particular time span and any archaeological object is
not applicable for all methods of dating. Thus each method has its own time limit and object or
material specialty e.g. C14 method is applicable only on organic materials, while K-Ar method is
applicable on volcanic deposits.

When a number of geological samples are tested in any absolute dating method, such type of absolute
dating is known as ‘chronometric dating method’. The dates that result from such multiple testing, are
combined and expressed statistically. On the basis of basic principles or methods, used in a particular
dating the absolute dating methods can be divided into four basic categories: a) radio-isotopic methods,
which are based on the rate of atomic disintegration in a sample or its surrounding environment; (b)
paleomagnetic (correlation) methods, which rely on past reversals of the Earth's magnetic field and
their effects on a sample; (c) organic and inorganic chemical methods, which are based on time-
dependent chemical changes in the sample, or chemical characteristics of a sample; and (d) biological
methods, which are based on the growth of an organism to date the substrate on which it is found
(Bradley, 1999:47-48).

Table 1: Division of Absolute Dating Method (After Bradley, 1999:48).

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 While there are many advantages to absolute-dating methods, all were developed outside the discipline
of archaeology and thus require rigorous bridging arguments that link the dated event obtained to the
archaeological event of interest. Furthermore, the technical sophistication of many absolute-dating
methods is costly in terms of specialized expertise and equipment. Even so, these methods offer
archaeologists the possibility to assess the age of archaeological events with greater precision and
accuracy than ever before (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

2. Absolute Dating Methods: A Short Survey

2.1 C14 Dating:

The best-known absolute dating method is ‘radiocarbon dating’ or C14, a method that relies on
measuring the degree of 14C decay in a sample and comparing this to the known decay rate of the
isotope. The C14 isotope is unstable and eventually decays to N14, and the decay rate is measured using
a convention known as the half-life (the amount of time a sample loses one half of its radioactivity).
The half-life of C14 is relatively short at 5730 years. Through feeding and photosynthesis, a living
organism constantly exchanges C14 with the atmosphere, but this process ceases upon death. The
amount of C14 remaining in an organic sample, then, is dependent on the time of death of the
organism’s cells and constitutes the event that is dated (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

Fig 1: Schematic Diagram showing Carbon cycle and cycle of C14 in nature (After, Bradley, 1999:52).

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 There are several ways to measure the amount of C14 in a sample. The most common technique is to
measure the emission of beta-rays when the C14 isotope decays into N14. However, since the decay
transition is a rare occurrence during the actual analysis of the sample, relatively large samples are
needed to obtain sufficient counting statistics, and limits analysis to samples less than 30, 000 years
old. Another technique uses atomic mass spectrometry (AMS) to separate out C 14 atoms by weight and
counts their occurrence. This more recent technique has reduced the sample size of charcoal to 5 mg,
and extended the age limit of radiocarbon dating back to about 55, 000 years. A major refinement in
the precision of radiocarbon dating has been the development of calibration curves that take into
account the fact that production of radiocarbon in the atmosphere has not been constant over time. For
the last several thousand years, calibration curves are obtained by C 14 dating samples from the annular
rings of trees, the true age of which is known through dendrochronology. The radiocarbon age
estimates in different years are then calibrated to fit the dendrochronological age, and the resulting
calibration curves can then be used to improve the precision of radiocarbon age estimates for samples
of unknown age. Beyond the limits of dendrochronology, radiocarbon calibration curves have been
produced through U/Th and TL dating (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

2.2 K-Ar Method of Dating:

Potassium-argon dating is based on the decay of the radioisotope K40 to a daughter isotope Ar40.
Potassium is a common component of minerals and occurs in the form of three isotopes, K39 and K41 ,
both stable, and K40 , which is unstable. The K40 occurs in small amounts (0.012% of all potassium
atoms) and decays to either Ca40 or Ar40, with a half-Hfe of 1.31 X 109 yr. Although the decay to Ca40
is more common, the relative abundance of Ca40 in rocks precludes the use of this isotope for dating
purposes. Instead, the abundance of argon is measured and sample age is a function of the K 40 /Ar40
ratio. Argon is a gas that can be driven out of a sample by heating. Thus, the method is used for dating
volcanic rocks that contain no argon after the molten lava has cooled, thereby setting the isotopic
"clock" to zero. With the passage of time, Ar 40 is produced and retained within the mineral crystals,
until driven off by heating in the laboratory during the dating process. Unlike conventional C 14 dating,
K-Ar dating relies on measurements of the decay product Ar 40; the parent isotope content K40 is
measured in the sample (Bradley, 1999).

As the abundance ratios of the isotopes of potassium are known, the K40 content can be derived from a
measurement of total potassium content, or by measurement of another isotope K 39. Because of the
relatively long half-life of K40, the production of argon is extremely slow. Hence, it is very difficult to
apply the technique to samples younger than -100,000 years and its primary use has been in dating
volcanic rocks formed over the last 30 million years (though, theoretically, rocks as old as 10 9 years
could be dated by this method) (Bradley, 1999).

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 2.3 Uranium Series Dating:
Uranium Series dating is based on the fact that when calcite (or other forms of calcium carbonate) are
formed they normally uranium but not thorium, because of the different chemical properties of these
two elements. However, as time passes the uranium undergoes radioactive decay producing thorium so
old calcite does contain thorium (Parkes, 1986).

Table 2: Decay series of Uranium238 and Uranium235 (After Bradley, 1999:76).

Thus, if one knows the concentration of uranium in the newly formed calcite, one can work out how
old the calcite is by measuring the amount of thorium present today. The technique is thus, in some
ways, the reverse of C14 dating, since in it one measures the amount of the daughter nuclide that has
been produced rather than the amount of the parent that remains (Parkes, 1986). Uranium series dating
is the only method that can provide absolute dates in the period 30,000 to 100,000 years B.P when
neither conventional C14 nor K-Ar dating are possible.

2.4 Dosemetric Dating Methods (Thermoluminescence Dating or TL, Optically Stimulated

Luminescence Dating or OSL, Infrared Stimulated Luminescence Dating or IRSL, Electron Spin
Resonance Dating or ESR):
‘Dosemetric methods’ analyze materials that contain information on the amount of radiation to which
they have been exposed. The total amount of radiation received by a sample can be used to estimate its
age if the sensitivity of the sample to radiation is understood and is combined with an estimate of the

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 annual dose rate. ‘Thermoluminescence dating’ (TL), ‘optically stimulated luminescence’ (OSL),
‘infrared stimulated luminescence’ (IRSL), and ‘electron spin resonance’ (ESR) are all examples of
dosimetric, or ‘trapped charge dating’ methods. All electrons in a mineral are in a ground state when it
is originally formed or reset due to subsequent light or heat energy. In dosimetrically sensitive minerals
(e.g., feldspars, quartz, and calcite), exposure to naturally occurring radiation will reposition some
electrons away from atoms in the ground state to a higher energy state known as a conduction band.
Over time, most electrons will return to their ground states, but some will become trapped at defect
sites in the lattice structures of the mineral. Electrons have the potential to accumulate in these lattice
defects with the passage of time until all defects are filled and saturation is reached. In the laboratory,
energy in the form of light (OSL, IRSL) or heat (TL) can be imparted on the sample to activate the
trapped electrons, which then either return to the ground state or recombine with luminescence centers
and emit light or luminescence. Luminescence is then measured fairly precisely using a photomultiplier
resulting in accurate estimates of total dose. ESR measures the number of trapped electrons differently
by bombarding the sample with microwaves in a magnetic field. An ESR spectrometer then records the
amount of microwave absorption which is proportional to the number of trapped electrons and holes,
which in turn produces the age estimate. The precision of ESR is far less than luminescence methods,
but an advantage lies in its nondestructive measurement process that allows multiple measurements to
be taken on the same sample (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

Estimating the annual dose in using luminescence methods is complex and can be prone to substantial
error factors. Annual dose is received both from concentrations of radioactive elements in the sample
itself, as well as external environmental sources. Only the ionizing effects of gamma and cosmic rays
need to be considered in calculating the external dose rate since short range beta and alpha ray
contributions can be eliminated with the removal of the outer 2mm of the sample. Internal dose rate,
however, is primarily due to alpha and beta rays emitted from radioactive elements in the sample and
need to be measured. Dose rate is dependent on radioactivity originating from the U, Th, and K40 decay
chains with minor sediment contributions from Rb 87. One factor that can negatively affect the precision
of trapped charge dating is dis-equilibriumin the U-series decay chains, which complicates dose rate
calculations and may increase the uncertainty of age estimates. Other attenuating factors on radiation
such as moisture content and latitude also need to be accounted for. The overall precision of trapped
charge dating methods, however, can be as low as 6–7%, a rate that compares favorably with other
radiometric dating methods (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

A central advantage of trapped charge dating methods is one of accuracy. The events dated are the
growth of a crystalline structure such as bone or tooth enamel (ESR), exposure to temperatures in
excess of 5000 C during manufacture or subsequent firing events, typically ceramics or heated lithics
(TL), or the last exposure of archaeologically relevant sediments to sunlight (OSL, IRSL). These
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 events are often of direct interest to archaeologists, and thus trapped charge dating methods possess the
potential to yield ‘archaeological chronologies’ of overall higher precision than other dating methods
with intrinsically high methodological precision such as radiocarbon dating (Truncer, 2008, cited in
Pearsall, 2008).

2.5 Fission Track Dating:

‘Fission-track dating’ is a dosimetric method that works differently than trapped charge dating
methods. During normal radioactive decay the nuclei of uranium 238 occasionally undergo a much
more violent process: spontaneous fission. In this process the nuclei splits into two roughly equal
halves, both with mass numbers in the range 70 to 160. These two halves fly apart with tremendous
force and so do great damage to the nearly crystal lattice of the rocks and minerals containing uranium
238. This damage is not visible in the naked eye, but if the glass or crystal is placed in a suitable
etching agent (hydrofluoric acid for glass) the damaged areas are attacked more readily than the rest of
the surface, so that the fission tracks are enlarged sufficiently to be visible under an optical microscope.
In many glasses and minerals, the tracks can survive at room temperature for millions of years and are
only destroyed by heating to temperatures above 5000C. Thus the melting associated with the
production of glass and the firing of pottery destroys any tracks which were present before these
events. After the heating the number of tracks then starts to increase steadily with time, and so, by
counting the number of tracks per unit area, it is possible to determine the age of the sample (Parkes,
1986). The main use of this dating method has been for dating volcanic glasses like obsidian, but can
also be used on some manmade glasses and minerals extracted from pottery. Dating range of this
method goes from 20 years to 1 billion years.

Fig 2: Microscopic view of fission tracks on natural glass surface (from http://www.ion-tracks.de/nuc/4/3/2.html last
accessed on 03.07.2015 at 08.15 pm.).
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 2.6 Archaeomagnetic or Paleomagnetic Dating:
Archaeomagnetism, or ‘archaeomagnetic dating’, is a method that pursues correlating an event of
archaeological interest with the position of Earth’s magnetic north (which is continually changing).
These magnetic positions can provide absolute dates during the time interval of the last few thousand
years once they are correlated with dates derived from other methods, such as radiocarbon. Magnetic
materials such as iron will tend to align themselves according to the direction of the Earth’s magnetic
field at any particular time and place. If these magnetic materials are in fired contexts, such as in
archaeological hearth or kiln features, the direction of magnetic north can be preserved to a degree that
dating the firing event is possible. Archaeomagnetic dating requires constructing reference curves, or a
master sequence of direction change in magnetic north, using the orientation of samples of known age
based on historical records or, more commonly, radiocarbon dating. These master sequences need to be
constructed for each region of study because secular variation in magnetic north is regionally specific.
Archaeomagnetic dating is often used in concert with other available dating methods, although it is
extensively used in some areas, such as the American Southwest. Another form of magnetic dating
documents reversal events of the Earth’s north and south magnetic poles by analyzing the magnetic
properties of minerals in preserved sediments. This dating method is sometimes known as
‘Paleomagnetism or Paleomagnetic Dating Method’. Documenting reversed polarity events has proved
to be a robust relative-dating method, but can only provide general age estimates and is restricted to
relatively old archaeological contexts (Truncer, 2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

Now a day a paleomagnetic time scale is established on the basis of the paleomagnetic dating of
volcanic rocks and sediments. In this scale dating has concentrated on three main boundaries, the
Brunhes/Matuyama (0.7 mya.), the Matuyama/Gauss (2.47 mya.) and the Gauss/Gilbert (3.4 mya.). In
each case the age of the boundary has been established on the basis of average of a number of K-Ar
dates (Walker and Lowe, 1984:264; Walker, 2005:216-217).

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 Fig 3: The Paleomagnetic timescale of last 3.5 million years. Black areas in the scale indicate the periods of normal
polarity; white areas show episodes of reversed polarity. K-Ar ages are shown on the left hand side; astronomically turned
ages from deep sea cores are on the right (after, Walker and Lowe, 1984; Walker, 2005:217)

2.7 Dendrochronology:
Dendrochronology or ‘Tree Ring Method of Dating’ uses the unique patterns of varying tree ring
widths in some tree species that are sensitive to climate and precipitation fluctuation. By linking
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 multiple tree samples of different ages, master sequences of this patterning have been built that extend
back thousands of years. Samples of unknown age can then be fitted against this master sequence to
derive an age estimate. One of the principal advantages of dendrochronology is its high precision, with
the potential to identify the exact year in which an event took place. The development of
dendrochronology was remarkable achievements that occurred well before the advent of radiometric
dating techniques such as radiocarbon dating, and both methods continue to be used today (Truncer,
2008, cited in Pearsall, 2008).

2.8 Varve Chronology:

A characteristic feature of many lake sediment sequences is the presence of regularly laminated
sediments consisting of thin, horizontally bedded layers of different structure and texture. Often, these
laminae are arranged in couplets with relatively coarse-grained layers alternating with finer-grained
bands. In other situations, the couplets may consist of alternations between organic and inorganic
laminae, or between sedimentary units rich in diatoms or iron oxides and thin sedimentary bands that
are relatively deficient in these components. Such regular, or rhythmical, variations in sediment
accumulation reflect seasonal variations in sediment supply to, or in chemical or biogenic processes
within, the lake ecosystem. In many cases, the couplets will reflect the annual cycle of deposit ion, in
which case they are termed varves. Because they are deposited annually, varves form a basis for
dating, for by counting varve sequences, time intervals can be established and a ‘floating’ chronology
developed. If varve series can be dated by radiometric or other means (by radiocarbon dating of
included organic materials, for example), then the floating varve chronology can be linked to the
calendar timescale.

Fig 4: Glaciolacustrine varves exposed in southern Finland, These varved sediments were deposited in the Baltic Ice Lake
which formed during the northward retreat of last Fenoscandian Ice Sheet (after, Walker, 2005).

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 The potential of varves as a basis for dating was initially recognized by the Swedish geologist Gerard
de Geer who, in 1884, made the first attempt to count and correlate varve sequences in the Stockholm
area of Sweden. His aim was to use the varved sequences that had accumulated in front of the decaying
Fennoscandian ice sheet to establish a timescale for deglaciation. After this work varve chronology has
subsequently been applied in a range of other lacustrine contexts of Europe (Walker, 2005:132-133).

2.9 Lichenometry:
Lichens are composite plants consisting of algae and fungi. Lichens could be used as basis for dating
was first suggested by the Austrian scientist Roland Beschel in a paper published in 1950. Lichens are
rapid colonizers of bare surfaces and, once established, there is a progressive increase in size of the
thallus by slow marginal growth. Hence, the larger the thallus (in terms of its diameter), the older the
lichen, and the greater the time that has elapsed since colonization. Where a surface has been exposed
to lichen colonization (following glacier retreat, for example), provided that (a) the growth rates of the
lichens are known, and (b) no significant time interval has elapsed between surface exposure (in this
case deglaciation) and lichen colonization, an estimate can be made for the timing of substrate
exposure by measuring the size of the lichen thalli on that surface. It was on the basis of these two key
principles that Beschel developed the technique of lichenometry (Walker, 2005).

By measuring lichen thallus diameters (usually the largest lichen) on surfaces of known age, lichen
growth rates can be established and used to construct a growth curve showing the relationship between
lichen size and age. Surfaces of known age (referred to as fixed points) might include humanly
constructed features such as building walls or gravestones, or natural features such as rock surfaces
whose ages might be inferred from old photographs or historical records. Once the growth curve has
been developed, surfaces of unknown age can be dated by relating lichen diameters on those surfaces
to the growth-rate curve, thereby deriving a calendar age (Walker, 2005).

Fig 5: Rhizocarpon geographicum, a lichen that grows radially, efiables substrates to be dated if the growth rate of the
lichen is known.This specimen, growing on pyroxene-granulite gneiss in the glacier foreland of Hogvaglbreen
(jotunheimen, southern Norway) is growing at > I.I mm a -1 (based on measurements from 1981-1996).The calipers are
open at 10 cm (after, Bradley, 1999).

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 3. Major Absolute Dating Methods and Their Important Features

Method of Dating Objects upon which it can be Time Range

applied
Uranium Series Dating Old Rock samples
C14 Dating Organic Material Remains
K-Ar Dating Igneous Rocks
Fission Track Dating Volcanic Glass
TL method of Dating Backed Pottery Remains
Dendrochronology Trunks of ancient trees
Varve Analysis Glacial Lake Sediments
Lichenometry Lichens
Archaeomagnetic dating Pottery remains
sedimentary rocks
Up to the origin of Earth
Up to 100,000 YBP.
From 400,000 YBP to 4.5 billion
YBP.
100,000 YBP to 1 million YBP.
Back to the first use of Pottery.
Present day to approximately 2000
YBP.
Up to the beginning of Pleistocene
Up to the beginning of Pleistocene
and Up to 8 million YBP.

4. Summery

 Absolute dating determines the age of an object in calendrical years.

 On the basis of methodological differences absolute dating can be divided into four categories,
such as- radio-isotopic methods, paleomagnetic (correlation) methods, organic and inorganic
chemical methods and biological methods.
 In C14 dating method determination of age of an object can be measured on the basis of the
measurement of radioactive carbon particle present in that object.
 Unlike C14 dating, K-Ar dating relies on measurements of the decay product Ar 40 in the sample.
 In Uranium series method of dating age of an object can be measured on the basis of the
proportion of Uranium and Thorium in that object.
 ‘Dosemetric methods’ analyze materials that contain information on the amount of radiation to
which they have been exposed. The total amount of radiation received by a sample can be used to
estimate its age if the sensitivity of the sample to radiation is understood and is combined with an
estimate of the annual dose rate.
 Fission track method estimates age of an object by counting number of U238 fission tracks in the
quantified crystalline area of that object.
 Archaeomagnetism, or ‘archaeomagnetic dating’, is a method that pursues correlating an event of
archaeological interest with the position of Earth’s magnetic north (which is continually changing).

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  Dendrochronology or ‘Tree Ring Method of Dating’ uses a master sequence of the unique patterns
of varying tree ring widths in some tree species to date ancient tree trunks used by prehistoric
people to make different objects.
 In Varve chronology annually deposited horizontal bedded layers of lake sediments are used to
establish chronology of human activity and past climatic fluctuations in a region.
 Lichenometry measures age of an object on the basis of the growth pattern of lichen on a particular
object.

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