Radiocarbon method still a reliable tool for dating fossils

Radiocarbon dating can still be considered a reliable method for determine the age of artefacts and materials, according to a new study.

Recently, it was suggested that the dates offered by radiocarbon dating are increasingly being distorted by external factors. Human carbon dioxide emissions have sped up the reduction of the carbon isotope C-14 in the Earth’s atmosphere, bringing into question the accuracy of the method’s results.

The author of a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters argues that the level of distortion caused by anthropogenic emissions can actually be precisely identified. He believes this can be done by measuring the carbon isotope C-13. Read more.