{"id":55316,"date":"2018-10-05T12:30:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T16:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=55316"},"modified":"2021-03-24T16:08:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T20:08:21","slug":"scientific-dating-methods-ancient-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/archaeology-today\/biblical-archaeology-topics\/scientific-dating-methods-ancient-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How Old Is That? Dating in the Ancient World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"alexander-the-great-berlin\"<\/a>

A DATE WITH ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Coins such as the one shown here\u2014dating to c. 336\u2013323 B.C.E.\u2014can be used to precisely date prominent people. When coins are combined with written records and astrological events, the exact date of certain events can be calculated. Photo: M\u00fcnzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preu\u00dfischer Kulturbesitz.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Archaeology seeks to answer many important questions but one of the most important, and arguably the most controversial, is: When?<\/em> When did an event happen? When did a person live? When was a house built and when was it abandoned? When did this jar fall out of use? The question can be asked of almost anything across the world. How do archaeologists find the answers, and do the methods vary based on what is being asked?<\/p>\n

In the September\/October 2018 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>, David A. Warburton provides an introduction to scientific dating methods in his article \u201cDating in the Archaeological World.\u201d<\/a><\/strong> This was an article in the \u00a0BAR<\/strong> series called Biblical Archaeology 101.<\/p>\n

According to Warburton, there are \u201care two types of dating: relative dating, which places objects within a timeline relative to other objects discovered locally, and absolute dating, which seeks to establish a fixed date corresponding to the rest of world history.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some ways, relative dating is easier. The archaeologist is usually familiar with objects found at their site and at sites in the surrounding area and can quickly ascertain the correct context. This is beneficial, because according to Warburton:<\/p>\n

We are typically more confident establishing dates of objects in our own field of study with relative accuracy, as we know the material. However, when scholars assess objects outside their own field, they generally have to rely on the testimony of others. This often results in confusion, because chronological debates and issues of chronological probability are fairly nuanced and often familiar only to those working within their own field of study.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t

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FREE ebook: Cyber-Archaeology in the Holy Land \u2014 The Future of the Past<\/strong>. Modern archaeological methods help create a new and objective future of the past.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t