Archaeology
Objects made by people, such as tools, weapons, containers, etc
Artifacts
Tests whether the document contradicts other reliable documents
External test
The age of an artifact according to a date printed on it, or to a reference in a work of history
Known age
A determination of whether an object is older or younger than another artifact.
Relative age
The study of Earth's history as revealed in the rocks that make up the Earth
Geology
Identifies how many years have passed between the time the original was written and the time of first known copy.
Bibliographic test
The process of counting tree rings to determine the age of trees
Dedrochonology
States that artifacts found in deeper layers of rock or earth are older than those found in shallow layers.
Principle of superposition
The study of life's history through the preserved remains of once-living organisms
Paleontology
Tests whether the document agrees with itself
Internal test
Unique patterns of rings that correspond to several years of weather in a particular region
Master tree ring patterns
Stacked horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, soil, or material formed one on top of another over time.
Strata
The study of past human life as revealed by preserved relics.
Archaeology
Ancient Egyptian writing that uses symbols and pictures.
Hieroglyphics
Using a radioactive process to determine the age of an item.
Radiometric testing
The preserved remnant, impression, or trace of a once-living organism from a past geologic age.
Fossil
An object, tradition, or system from the past that has survived into the present (e.g., artifacts)
Relic
One of the oldest existing manuscripts of the Greek Bible
Codex Vaticanus.
Dates that are determined by archaeologists in the absence of known ages.
The surface layer of the Earth
Crust