His radiocarbon dating technique is the most important development in absolute dating in archaeology and remains the main tool for dating the past 50,000 years. How It Works: After an organism dies, the radiocarbon decreases through a regular pattern of decay. This is called the half-life of the isotope.His radiocarbon dating technique is the most important development in absolute dating

Why is radiocarbon dating used?

This isotope lets scientists learn the ages of once-living things. 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.