Radiocarbon dating

Also called Carbon-14 (C14) dating. All living things absorb different types of carbon from the atmosphere including C14, which is slightly radioactive. When a living thing dies, the C14 starts to decay. Labs measure how much C14 is left in organic material (such as bone, charcoal, or wood) to determine the age of the material. This is the most common kind of dating used in archaeological sites.