The primary objective of relative dating techniques is to determine a reliable sequence of archaeological deposits. This task becomes more difficult whenever our research steps beyond individual sites ...

Despite seeming like a relatively stable place, the Earth's surface has changed dramatically over the past 4.6 billion years. Mountains have been built and eroded, continents and oceans have moved ...

When it comes to determining the age of stuff scientists dig out of the ground, whether fossil or artifact, “there are good dates and bad dates and ugly dates,” says paleoanthropologist John Shea of ...