Radiocarbon dating: radioactive carbon decays to nitrogen with a half-life of 5730 years.
In dead material, the decayed 14C is not replaced and its concentration in the object decreases slowly.
A new method "stands to revolutionize radiocarbon dating," according to a new research.
Conventional carbon dating estimates the age of an artifact based on the decay rate of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, a variant of carbon that is incorporated in all living organisms.
Any material of plant or animal origin, including textiles, wood, bones and leather, can be dated by its content of carbon-14.
The amount is then compared to the initial quantity of carbon 14, and, thanks to the half-life, the age of the object is calculated.
Since 2013 KIK-IRPA uses an AMS machine of the newest generation, the so-called MICADAS (Mini carbon dating system).