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.

What is the problem with using radiocarbon dating?

Challenges of the method Inorganic materials cant be dated using radiocarbon analysis, and the method can be prohibitively expensive. Age is also a problem: Samples that are older than about 40,000 years are extremely difficult to date due to tiny levels of carbon-14.

What year range is radiocarbon dating accurate for?

Take the quiz. The carbon-14 method was developed by the American physicist Willard F. Libby about 1946. It has proved to be a versatile technique of dating fossils and archaeological specimens from 500 to 50,000 years old.