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Lines of evidence: The science of evolution :

Distribution in time and space

Understanding the history of life on Earth requires a grasp of the depth of time
and breadth of space. We must keep in mind that the time involved is vast compared
to a human lifetime and the space necessary for this to occur includes all the
water and land surfaces of the world. Establishing chronologies, both relative and
absolute, and geographic change over time are essential for viewing

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Lines of evidence: The science of evolution :

Chronology

The age of the Earth and its inhabitants has been determined through two
complementary lines of evidence: relative dating and numerical (or radiometric)
dating.

Relative vs. absolute dating

Relative dating places fossils in a temporal sequence by noting their positions in
layers of rocks, known as strata. As shown in the diagram, fossils found in lower
strata were typically deposited first and are deemed to be older (this principle is
known as superposition). Sometimes this method doesn't work, either because the
layers weren't deposited horizontally to begin with, or because they have been
overturned.
If that's the case, we can use one of three other methods to date fossil-bearing
layers relative to one another: faunal succession, crosscutting relationships, and
inclusions.
By studying and comparing strata from all over the world we can learn which came
first and which came next, but we need further evidence to ascertain the specific,
or numerical, ages of fossils.
Numerical dating relies on the decay of radioactive elements, such as uranium,
potassium, rubidium and carbon. Very old rocks must be dated using volcanic
material. By dating volcanic ash layers both above and below a fossil-bearing
layer, as shown in the diagram, you can determine "older than X, but younger than
Y" dates for the fossils. Sedimentary rocks less than 50,000 years old can be dated
as well, using their radioactive carbon content. Geologists have assembled a
geological time scale on the basis of numerical dating of rocks from around the
world.

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Lines of Evidence
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More details
To read more about determining relative dates, visit the Utah Geological Survey
website. And for more information on using radioactive isotopes to determine
numerical dates, visit the USGS website.

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