Carbon-14 dating, also called radiocarbon dating, method of age determination that depends upon the decay to nitrogen of radiocarbon (carbon-14). Radiocarbon decays slowly in a living organism, and the amount lost is continually replenished as long as the organism takes in air or food.

How accurate is carbon 14 dating?

To radiocarbon date an organic material, a scientist can measure the ratio of remaining Carbon-14 to the unchanged Carbon-12 to see how long it has been since the materials source died. Advancing technology has allowed radiocarbon dating to become accurate to within just a few decades in many cases.