Relative dating is when fossils are arranged in order from oldest to youngest, while absolute dating pins an object down to an actual point in time. The deeper it is, the older it (probably) is.

First, the relative age of a fossil can be determined. Relative dating puts geologic events in chronological order without requiring that a specific numerical age be assigned to each event.

Estimating the age of hominid fossils is usually a painstaking, two-part process, involving both "absolute" and "relative" dating. "Absolute" dating means finding a specific age for an object.

Whenever possible, researchers use one or more absolute dating methods, which provide an age for the actual fossil or artifact. Unlike observation-based relative dating, most absolute methods require ...

Fossils are invaluable archives of the past. They preserve details about living things from a few thousand to hundreds of ...

For nearly a century, scientists have been puzzling over fossils from a strange and robust-looking distant relative of early ...

Estimating the age of hominid fossils is usually a painstaking, two-part process, involving both "absolute" and "relative" dating. "Absolute" dating means finding a specific age for an object.