What can be dated? For radiocarbon dating to be possible, the material must once have been part of a living organism. This means that things like stone, metal and pottery cannot usually be directly dated by this means unless there is some organic material embedded or left as a residue.

What is Seriation dating?

In archaeology, seriation is a relative dating method in which assemblages or artifacts from numerous sites in the same culture are placed in chronological order. Seriation is a standard method of dating in archaeology. It can be used to date stone tools, pottery fragments, and other artifacts.

How far back can stratigraphy date?

These tracks accumulate at a fixed rate, and are good for dates between 20,000 and a couple of billion years ago.