La datación absoluta es un conjunto de técnicas de datación. Algunas de estas técnicas permiten calcular desde unos pocos cientos de años de antigüedad a varios miles (muy útiles, por tanto, para ser aplicadas a objetos o restos arqueológicos), mientras que otras son capaces de calcular antigüedades de cientos de millones de años, permitiendo de este modo el cálculo de la edad de rocas, minerales o fósiles. Para tal fin se recurre a diversas propiedades físicas de los elementos sometidos a datación, siendo las más comunes la datación por radioisótopos, la termoluminiscencia o el paleomagnetismo. La datación absoluta se opone a la datación relativa, en la que no hay un referente absoluto como criterio de datación.

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Absolute dating is the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology. Some scientists prefer the terms chronometric or calendar dating, as use of the word "absolute" implies an unwarranted certainty of accuracy. Absolute dating provides a numerical age or range in contrast with relative dating which places events in order without any measure of the age between events. In archaeology, absolute dating is usually based on the physical, chemical, and life properties of the materials of artifacts, buildings, or other items that have been modified by humans and by historical associations with materials with known dates (coins and written history). Techniques include tree rings in timbers, radiocarbon dating of wood or bones, and trapped charge dating methods such as thermoluminescence dating of glazed ceramics. Coins found in excavations may have their production date written on them, or there may be written records describing the coin and when it was used, allowing the site to be associated with a particular calendar year. In historical geology, the primary methods of absolute dating involve using the radioactive decay of elements trapped in rocks or minerals, including isotope systems from very young (radiocarbon dating with 14C) to systems such as uranium-lead dating that allow acquisition of absolute ages for some of the oldest rocks on earth.

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