carbon dating

/ˌkɑrbən ˈdeɪdɪŋ/

Carbon dating is determining how old an ancient object is based on how much of a specific carbon isotope remains in it.

When archeologists uncover an artifact, carbon dating is one way they can learn more about its history. This method allows scientists to learn the approximate age of nearly anything that was once alive, including plant fibers, wood, and bones. Carbon dating involves comparing the amounts of different carbon isotopes that remain in the object, a calculation that reveals how old it is. The process can be used to accurately estimate the age of artifacts up to about 60,000 years old.

Definitions of carbon dating

1. noun

   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
   synonyms: carbon-14 dating, radiocarbon dating

   type of:

   dating, geological dating

   use of chemical analysis to estimate the age of geological specimens