The basis of radiocarbon dating is simple: all living things absorb carbon from the atmosphere and food sources around them, including a certain amount of natural, radioactive carbon-14. When the plant or animal dies, they stop absorbing, but the radioactive carbon that theyve accumulated continues to decay.

What is carbon dating in simple terms?

: the determination of the age of old material (such as an archaeological or paleontological specimen) by means of the content of carbon 14.