The use of science-based dating methods in historic preservation contexts represents a specialized use of dating method technologies more broadly employed in prehistoric archaeological studies. This discussion focuses attention on the applications of the radiocarbon, dendrochronology, obsidian hydration, and archaeomagnetic dating in historic preservation. The employment of various analytical and technical approaches — of which chronometric resolution is only one aspect — in elucidating and extending descriptive observations is advancing more broadly-based and insightful understandings of the elements of the cultural patrimony of our nation.