Archaeomagnetic dating

Archaeomagnetic dating is when we use tiny pieces of metal in very old stuff, like pottery, to figure out when it was made.

You know how magnets can stick together? Well, the Earth is like a giant magnet too. Some of the metal in the pottery is also magnetic, and it lines up with the Earth's magnetism when it cools down after it's made.

Scientists can figure out what the Earth's magnetism was like in the past, by looking at things like rocks and ancient soil. So, they can compare the magnetic direction of the metal in the pottery to what the Earth's magnetism was like back then.

And with that, they can figure out how old the pottery is – it's like an invisible stamp that tells us when it was made! It can be a bit tricky, but scientists use special machines and calculations to make sure they get the right date.