Chronological dating, or simply dating, is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology. This usually requires what is commonly known as a dating method.

What is the study of dating called?

Before the advent of absolute dating methods, nearly all dating was relative. The main relative dating method is stratigraphy . Stratigraphy is the study of layers of rocks or the objects embedded within those layers. The smallest of these rock units that can be matched to a specific time interval is called a bed.