The study of ancient magnetic properties of rocks and pottery to determine the age and dating of archaeological sites.
From Greek 'archaeo-' (ancient) + 'magnetism'. This scientific term emerged in the mid-20th century when researchers discovered that ancient pottery and rocks retain a magnetic signature from Earth's past magnetic field.
Archaeomagnetism is basically using Earth's changing magnetic field as a clock—ancient pottery locked in Earth's magnetic direction when it was fired, so scientists can date artifacts with incredible precision without destroying them!
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