Determining age on a specific time scale, such as a years B.C. or A.D. Radiocarbon dating provides an absolute date.
( AB·so·lute DAT·ing). An absolute date is a chronometric date. The burning of the Second Temple in Jerusalem on 9 Ab (August 5, 70) by the Romans is an absolute date. That is, the date is known with such certainty that to reject it would be scientifically, if not logically, absurd. See chronometric dating.
Determination of age of archaeological materials that results in dates tied to the modern calendar.
A method of assigning a precise historical date to ancient periods and objects previously dated only by relative dating. Based on known and recorded events in the region as well as technically extracted physical evidence (such as carbon-14 disintegration). See also radiometric dating.
Absolute dating is based upon a specific date range in years that the site or artefact can be dated to. (see Relative dating)
Dating methods that determine time without ambiguity to a known level of accuracy. Most radioactive decay-based methods are considered absolute.
Dates expressed as specific units of scientific measurement, such as days, years, centuries, or millenia; absolute determinations attempt to pinpoint a discrete, known time interval.
(also known as chronometric dating). A dating method that attempts to determine an object's exact age (as opposed to its relative age) in calendar years (AD or BC/BCE) or in years before present (BP). This includes scientific methodologies such as dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating and potassium-argon dating. The dates provided by these methods are not 100% accurate, and each date has a margin of uncertainty.
dating a fossil by radiometric decay methods see relative dating
assigning a specific date to an object.
Absolute dating is the process of determining a specific date for an archaeological site or artifact. Some archaeologists prefer the terms chronometric or calendar dating, as use of the word "absolute" implies a certainty and precision that is rarely possible in archaeology. Absolute dating is usually based on the physical or chemical properties of the materials of artifacts, buildings, or other items that have been modified by humans.
