1. n. []

The study of the relative or absolute age of rocks, minerals and fossils. Absolute age is the measurement of age in years, but "absolute" ages typically have some amount of error and are inexact. Relative age, in contrast, is the approximate age of rocks, fossils or minerals made by determining the age of the material relative to other surrounding material.

See related terms: absolute age,  geologic time scale,  geomagnetic polarity reversal,  geomagnetic polarity time scale,  paleontology,  relative age,  stratigraphy,  superposition,  varve