Relativity vs. Absolute Dating

Relativity vs. Absolute Dating

There are two methods of discovering the age of an ancient object; Relative Dating is using the particular ancient object in context and comparing two items to determine which one is older. Then in the 1940s, Willard Libby exposed a more accurate method by focusing in on the role of Carbon-14. Looking at the Carbon-14 and determining the age is refered to as Absolute Dating. Libby learned that as time passed the Carbon-14 deteriorated at an even rate that was crucial in moving from a hypothetical to a concrete age. One technique of Relative Dating is Cation Ratio Dating.

Cation Ratio Dating is used in determining the age of rocks, some of which contain petroglyphs. The prehistoric rock carvings have a varnish topping, which is in a chemically-changed coating that presents itself over a period of time. The calcium and potassium bleed through the rock. To find the Cation Ratio, one must scrape away a section of the rock and compare the new varnish with the unearthed scrape-mark section and make a comparison between the two utilizing a positively charged ion. This relationship is affected by soil and moisture.

One technique used by Absolute Dating is Dendrochronology. Dendrochronology is examining the tree ring growth to tell the age of a tree or artifacts that are generally close. Clark Wissler and A.E Douglass were the first to pioneer this technique. The rings are composed of xylem. Every spring or summer a fresh layer of xylem is created, producing countable rings. However, one problem that was encountered in their method of Dendrochronology is due to the climate. When the climate is particularly damp, the tree will construct wider rings and in the waterless years, narrower rings. Sometimes because of harsh weather, trees may not generate one ring each year. Yet the cure to their weather problem was solved by comparison. To make sure that the ring count is accurate, scientists use resources in close proximity to corroborate the information.