In
archaeology,
seriation is a
relative dating method in which
assemblages or
artifacts from numerous sites, in the same culture, are placed in chronological order. Where
absolute dating methods, such as
carbon dating, cannot be applied, archaeologists have to use
relative dating methods to date archaeological finds and features. Seriation is a standard method of dating in archaeology. It can be used to date stone tools, pottery fragments, and other artifacts. In Europe, it has been used frequently to reconstruct the chronological sequence of graves in a cemetery (e.g. Jørgensen 1992; Müssemeier, Nieveler et al. 2003).