Dating Methods have improved in leaps and bounds since the 19thcentury when Charles Lyell first gave stratigraphy widespread publicity as a means of dating archaeological finds, if only relatively. In very simple terms it means that generally as you dig, older objects will be found under younger ones. For over a century
Willard Libby
this was one of the few dating systems available to archaeologists but it could not offer specific dates.
Absolute dating began with the introduction of radiometric dating methods beginning with radiocarbon dating developed by Willard Libby in 1949. Around the same time dendrochronology was being refined as a dating method with a margin of error less than that of radiometric methods which require expensive equipment and potentially have a greater risk of contamination. This was followed by thermoluminescence (1957) for dating pottery and more recently optical thermoluminescence (1994) has been developed, enabling the dating of building stone.
All the above methods have varying margins of error that are continually being reduced and no doubt will improve further. These enhancements together with new exciting dating methods that can be expected to emerge, will undoubtedly have a profound influence on our understanding of prehistory. Consider how improvements in DNA analysis have enabled the solving of crimes years after cases had gone ‘cold’.
A more cautionary offering came from the catastrophist website, thunderbolts.info., in which events involving influences outside our planet might affect the assumptions upon which some of our radiometrics are based. Since these events are not frequent occurrences we do not, as yet, have enough data to develop reliable calibration charts.
In May 2012, the journal Nature, Ewen Callaway has an article which further highlights potential weaknesses that may be encountered with radiocarbon dating.
(a) http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2004/arch/041129antarctic-fossil.htm
(b) http://www.nature.com/news/archaeology-date-with-history-1.10573
