Over time, carbon-14 decays in predictable ways. And with the help of radiocarbon dating, researchers can use that decay as a kind of clock that allows them to peer into the past and determine absolute dates for everything from wood to food, pollen, poop, and even dead animals and humans.

What purpose does carbon dating serve for archaeologists?

His radiocarbon dating technique is the most important development in absolute dating in archaeology and remains the main tool for dating the past 50,000 years. How It Works: Carbon has 3 isotopic forms: Carbon-12, Carbon-13, and Carbon-14.