Help with a question for my anthropology class?

Question

In what kinds of archaological contexts would one choose to use a relative dating method? why?

In what kinds of archaological contexts would one choose to use a absolute dating method? why?

Answer 1

Relative dating techniques can be used when you have a high certainty of how old artifacts are in the context already.  For example, if you know the dates of different stratigraphic layers, and your artifact is between two of those layers that you know the dates of, then you can say that the artifact's age is between the ages of those layers.

For times when you don't have all the information required for a relative date, or if you need a more precise date, an absolute date may be required.  These techniques are based on half-lives of various substances, such as carbon 14, which decays at a known rate and can be used on various artifacts (organic content required) to obtain a very precise date.