CARBON-14 DATING Radiocarbon dating is the most widely used absolute chronometric method in archaeology, covering the last 55–60 000 years.

How far back in time is radiocarbon dating useful?

Radiocarbon dating is a technique used by scientists to learn the ages of biological specimens – for example, wooden archaeological artifacts or ancient human remains – from the distant past. It can be used on objects as old as about 62,000 years.

What is the time range of the radiocarbon dating method?

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.