Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object which contains organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. Archaeologists often use this method to date organic remains (e.g. human or animal bone).

How are bones and artifacts dated?

Scientists can then compare the ratio of normal carbon (carbon-12) to radioactive carbon-14 to determine an approximate age of the creature by testing and analyzing its ancient, fossilized bones. Carbon-14 is not the only radioactive isotope scientists can measure and use to date an artifact.

What is the technique used by the archaeologists to date the bones?

Perhaps the most famous absolute dating technique, radiocarbon dating was developed during the 1940s and relies on chemistry to determine the ages of objects. Used on organic matter, the technique measures the amount of radioactive carbon decay to determine an objects age.

How do we know how old things are?

To establish the age of a rock or a fossil, researchers use some type of clock to determine the date it was formed. Geologists commonly use radiometric dating methods, based on the natural radioactive decay of certain elements such as potassium and carbon, as reliable clocks to date ancient events.

How do scientists know how old things are?

While radiocarbon dating is useful only for materials that were once alive, scientists can use uranium-thorium-lead dating to measure the age of objects such as rocks. In this method, scientists measure the quantity of a variety of different radioactive isotopes, all of which decay into stable forms of lead.

What age bones stop growing?

This is where growth takes place. When bones finish growing, the growth plates close. Girls generally stop growing and reach their maximum height between ages 14 and 16, and boys finish their growth between 16 and 18 years of age.

What is importance of archaeology?

The goal of archaeology is to understand how and why human behavior has changed over time. Archaeologists search for patterns in the evolution of significant cultural events such as the development of farming, the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civilizations for clues of why these events occurred.