Home▸Chronobiology & Circadian Rhythms▸How Archaeologists Actually Date Things

🪨 How Archaeologists Actually Date Things

An interactive 3D timeline comparing the effective age ranges of radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and dendrochronology, with live decay and tree-ring instruments.

Chronobiology & Circadian Rhythms3DAdvanced60 FPS

A 3D log-scale timeline that lays radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and dendrochronology side by side, showing exactly which method can date a sample of a given age — and where each one runs out of road.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Three glowing lanes mark each method's effective age range on a logarithmic scale from 10 to 5,000,000 years. A charcoal sample dims as its carbon-14 decays, a mineral crystal accumulates argon gas over time, and a tree-ring disc reveals more rings the older the sample gets.

🎮 How to Use

Drag the sample-age slider to see which lanes light up as "usable" for that age. Use the method dropdown to spotlight one technique, or turn on auto-sweep to watch the whole timeline play out on its own.

💡 Did You Know?

Radiocarbon dating only works on formerly living material and stalls out after about nine half-lives (~55,000 years), while potassium-argon dating needs enough time for argon gas to build up, so archaeologists routinely combine several methods on the same site.

⚙ Under the hood

An interactive 3D timeline comparing the effective age ranges of radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and dendrochronology, with live decay and tree-ring instruments.

datingarchaeologyradiocarbonpotassium-argondendrochronologytree ringstimelineThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install