Developed in 1949, it is considered the most useful way of determining the dates of artifacts for archaeologists. Radiocarbon dating was discovered when chemist Willard Libby realized radioactive carbon-14 (14C) is made in the Earths atmosphere, and then absorbed into plants and entered into the carbon cycle.

Why is radiocarbon dating important in the climate change debate?

As for still earlier periods, carbon-14 dating excited scientists (including some climate scientists) largely because it might shed light on human evolution — the timing of our development as a species, and how climate changes had affected that.

What is absolute in Earth science?

The absolute age of an Earth material is a measure of how old it actually is in years.