Dátumozási

Dátumozási is a Hungarian term that denotes the act or process of assigning a date to an item, document, event, or dataset. The base noun is dátumozás ('dating' or 'date attribution'), and the form dátumozási functions as an attributive adjective, as in dátumozási eljárás (dating procedure) or dátumozási adatok (date information).

In archival science and library work, dátumozás is essential for provenance, historical context, and retrieval. Dates may be determined from internal features, such as handwriting, ink, or paper, or from external evidence, such as documents, metadata, or witnesses. In archaeology and paleontology, dating methods range from scientific techniques (radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, thermoluminescence) to stratigraphic sequencing to establish relative and absolute ages. In digital contexts, dátumozás also means applying timestamps to data and records, often via cryptographic timestamping to ensure integrity and non-repudiation; creation, modification, and access times are stored in metadata and may be standardized using ISO 8601 formats.

Challenges in dátumozás include calendar reforms (e.g., Julian to Gregorian), uncertainties in measurement, sedimentation rates, and ambiguous historical evidence. The reliability of a date depends on method, preservation state, and source quality. Overall, dátumozási practices aim to place items within an interpretable temporal framework, enabling comparison, correlation, and traceability across disciplines.