Final answer:
Cultural dating does not rely on the more precise physical or chemical analysis used in absolute dating methods but uses the cultural attributes associated with artifacts for dating, making it a form of relative dating.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asked which of the given options is not an absolute dating method. The options include tree ring dating, cultural dating, fission-track dating, and amino acid dating. Absolute dating techniques are methods that provide an actual date or date range for an artifact or site, based on the physical or chemical properties, often using the decay rate of radioactive isotopes.
Option a, tree ring dating, is a form of absolute dating that counts annual growth rings in trees to determine the age of wood. Option c, fission-track dating, is another absolute method based on the damage tracks left by the spontaneous fission of uranium-238. Option d, amino acid dating, involves changes in amino acids in organic materials and can also be considered an absolute dating technique. However, option b, cultural dating, stands out as it does not rely on chemical or physical properties to establish an age and is thus not an absolute dating method but a form of relative dating.