Episode 156: Fossils and Dating Methods

An introduction to the techniques used to study the history and ages of geological speciments. We begin with an overview of chronostratigraphy, covering principles of relative dating, way up indicators, and biostratigraphy. We then discuss geochronology, including a review of early attempts to determine the age of the Earth, the principles and assumptions of radiometric dating, and the radioisotopes most commonly used for dating. Finally, we discuss processes and mechanisms of fossilisation, and review some of the most important classes of index fossils. Recommended pre-listening is Episode 74: Minerals and Rocks, and Episode 77: Nuclear Physics. If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a PayPal donation or becoming a Patreon supporter.

You can listen to Episode 156: Fossils and Dating Methods online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 156: Fossils and Dating Methods is an episode from The Science of Everything Podcast by James Fodor.

This episode is 70:48 long.

This episode was published on Nov 30, 2025.

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