Luminescence dating (including thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence) is a type of dating methodology that measures the amount of light emitted from energy stored in certain rock types and derived soils to obtain an absolute date for a specific event that occurred in the past.

Is luminescence dating absolute or relative?

Yet luminescence can also be used as a relative numerical dating technique, whence it is possible to establish typological and chronological sequences within archaeological material and create a floating, relative typo- logical framework for the material studied.