Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby.

What is the meaning of radiocarbon dates?

radiocarbon dating. noun. a technique for determining the age of organic materials, such as wood, based on their content of the radioisotope 14 C acquired from the atmosphere when they formed part of a living plant. The 14 C decays to the nitrogen isotope 14 N with a half-life of 5730 years.