Exercise: How Would You Date a Monument If You Had No Texts?

Imagine this scenario.

Tomorrow, archaeologists uncover a massive stone monument. It’s clearly intentional, clearly engineered, and clearly ancient. But there are no inscriptions, no historical references, no surviving written culture attached to it.

You are asked one question only:

How old is it?

You are allowed to use modern tools, but you must choose where you place your trust.

Here are the five types of evidence available to you. You are allowed to rank them, combine them, or reject some entirely.

1. Material science

Radiocarbon dating of organic inclusions, mortar analysis, tool marks, stone sourcing.

Strength: measurable, repeatable
Weakness: contamination, reuse, sampling bias

2. Archaeological context

Stratigraphy, surrounding settlements, quarrying patterns, infrastructure.

Strength: situates the monument in human systems
Weakness: assumes continuity and correct interpretation

3. Geological processes

Erosion, weathering, sedimentation, hydrology.

Strength: long-term natural signals
Weakness: multiple mechanisms can produce similar effects

4. Astronomical alignment

Orientation to stars, solstices, celestial cycles.

Strength: intentional design can be long-lasting
Weakness: symbolism does not equal construction date

5. Cultural intuition

What you believe humans of a certain period were capable of.

Strength: holistic judgement
Weakness: often wrong, often biased

Now the uncomfortable part.

You must discard one category entirely. You are not allowed to use it at all.

Then you must answer:

Which category do you discard, and why?
Which category do you trust most, and why?
What kind of error worries you more: being thousands of years too early, or thousands of years too late?

There is no “correct” answer here.But there are weak and strong justifications.

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