the process by which the radioactive decay of the carbon-14 isotope is measured to determine the age of organic (once living) items. Most useful for objects 100 years to 70,000 years old.
a chemical analysis used to determine the age of organic materials based on their content of the radioisotope carbon-14; believed to be reliable up to 40,000 years
A form of i sotope dating that relies on the 5730-year half-life of radioactive carbon-14, which decays into nitrogen-14, to determine the age of rocks in which carbon-14 is present. Carbon-14 dating is used for rocks from 100 to 100,000 years old.