1. Identifying the Cultural Context:
* Culture: Before starting, it's crucial to establish a clear understanding of the culture you're dealing with. This involves defining its geographical extent, approximate time period, and defining features.
* Site: The locations where the artifacts were found need to be identified and their spatial relationships considered.
2. Analyzing the Artifacts:
* Typology: Artifacts are grouped based on their form, style, material, and function.
* Chronological Markers: Look for changes in the artifacts' characteristics over time. These can be:
* Style changes: Gradual shifts in decoration, shape, or manufacturing techniques.
* Material changes: Changes in materials used for tools, pottery, or other artifacts.
* Functional changes: Evidence of changes in how objects were used.
3. Establishing Relative Chronologies:
* Cross-Dating: Compare similar artifacts found at different sites. If artifacts share similar characteristics, they are likely from the same period.
* Assemblages: Analyze the combination of artifacts found at a site. Certain combinations may be characteristic of a specific time period.
* Stratigraphy: If artifacts are found in layered deposits (stratigraphy), the layers can provide a relative chronology. The lower layers are generally older than the upper layers.
4. Absolute Dating Techniques:
* Radiocarbon Dating: Provides a numerical age for organic materials.
* Dendrochronology (Tree Ring Dating): Provides an exact age for wood samples.
* Pottery Analysis: Analysis of pottery can provide relative dates based on established ceramic sequences.
5. Creating a Chronological Framework:
* Sequence: The data from the above analyses is used to build a chronological sequence of artifacts.
* Chronological Markers: Key artifacts or assemblages are used as markers for specific time periods.
Example:
Let's say you have pottery shards from two sites of a Bronze Age culture. One site features pottery with simple, geometric designs while the other has intricate, floral patterns.
* Typology: You categorize the shards by their style and decoration.
* Chronological Markers: The simple, geometric designs might indicate an earlier phase, while the intricate floral patterns suggest a later period.
* Cross-Dating: If you find a shard with simple designs at the site with floral patterns, it suggests that the simple design style existed at that site but was replaced by the floral style later.
Caveats:
* Regional Differences: Cultural changes may occur at different rates in different parts of a culture's territory.
* Artifact Interpretation: The meaning and significance of artifacts can be subject to interpretation.
Note: This process is complex and involves many factors, making it a collaborative effort between archaeologists.