Radiocarbon dating

A method for estimating when once-living material died by measuring its remaining carbon-14 and accounting for radioactive decay and changing atmospheric carbon levels.

Carbon-14: A radioactive carbon isotope produced in the atmosphere and incorporated into living organisms. Its decay after an organism dies provides the clock radiocarbon dating measures.
Isotopes of carbon: Forms of carbon whose atoms have the same proton count but different numbers of neutrons. Dating distinguishes radioactive carbon-14 from stable carbon isotopes.
Archaeology: The study of past human societies through material remains. Radiocarbon dating provides calendar constraints for organic archaeological materials.
Potassium–argon dating: A radiometric dating method that uses the decay of potassium-40 to argon-40, chiefly in rocks. It dates volcanic materials and geological events rather than the organic remains targeted by radiocarbon dating.
Radioactive decay: The spontaneous transformation of unstable atomic nuclei into more stable configurations. Carbon-14 loss follows a predictable statistical decay rate.
Radiocarbon: Carbon-14 present in environmental carbon and living organisms. The method’s measurements compare a sample’s radiocarbon with a reference standard.
Paleoclimatology: The reconstruction of past climates from natural archives and historical evidence. Dated organic records help place climate changes in time.
Uranium–lead dating: A radiometric dating method based on uranium isotopes decaying into lead isotopes, often in zircon crystals. Its long timescale suits ancient rocks far beyond radiocarbon’s practical range.
Half-life: The time required for half the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay. Carbon-14’s half-life converts measured isotope abundance into an elapsed-time estimate.
Radiocarbon age: An age calculated from a sample’s carbon-14 measurement using specified conventional assumptions. It is not automatically a calendar age and requires calibration.

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