Relative Dating

• written or artistic evidence which can provide dates
• TPQ- time before which
• TAQ- time after which

for sites less than 500 years old.

• putting finds in chronological order
• sites must have undisturbed stratigraphy
• you can cross date the artefacts
• this information from a variety of dating sites is brought together
• the frequency of artifacts are plotted onto a timeline also known as a battleship curve
• limitations
• oen artefact doesn't always follow another in sequence
• e.g. pointed arrowhead thought to be earlier than oval ones, but both found together at box grove.

• visible to the naked eye
• seeds
• leaves
• twigs

water log sites

• the wet conditions stop the growth of bacteria so there is no deposition

carbonised

• where charing has converted material to inorganic carbon
• less susceptible to decay e.g. grains in pit at dane bury

mineralised

• where organic content of a specimen is replaced by minerals such as iron and maganese from groundwater in the soil.

frozen

• conditions of perma frost -ground is always frozen
• e.g. coriander seeds in ice maidens grave

mud-brick

• impressions in mud-brick and pottery
• e.g. corn cobs at ceren

Pollen (palynology)

• study of polon
• studied through characteristics of shape
• survive well in wet acidic conditions due to the though outer case
• can represent local/regional sample
• shows environment change

Diatoms

• microscopic single celled plants
• open water/ wet condition (bogs)
• sensitive to changes in local water

phytholiths

• silica from cells of platns
• survive well in alkaline soils
• identify a particular group of plants

VOLCANIC GLASS- worked into a razor - sharp cutting edges

• found in middle east and mesamerica
• performed a similar function to flint
• when its broken it begins to absorb water from the earths atmosphere at a known rate
• measuring how far it was penetrated into the obsidian the relative date can be estimated

limitations

• requires additional data as speed of hydration varies with local temperatures and chemical makeup of obsidian

• found in most ground water in world
• skerital remains are subject to chemical change
• percolating water comes into contact with remains
• inundats the bones with a solution of minerals drawn from the local soils
• can change mineral composition of the bone
• pitdown man
• jaw bone- missing link for human evolution