Scientists combine several well-tested techniques to find out the ages of fossils. The most important are Relative Dating, in which fossils and layers of rock are placed in order from older to younger, and Radiometric Dating, which allows the actual ages of certain types of rock to be calculated.
Fossils provide evidence in favour of evolution or establish evolutionary relationships by providing missing links.
Two ways to determine the age of fossils
1. Relative method – Fossils found closer to the surface are more recent than those in the deeper layer.
2. By detecting the ratios of different isotopes of the same element in the fossils material.
