Why did carbon-14 dating cause such an uproar when it was first used in the 1950s?
   Ronald, Web Post

Dr. dig responds:
Carbon 14 or radiocarbon dating offered the first opportunity to date ancient objects in a truly scientific way. Until this time, typology (the study of tool types) had to be used to date otherwise un-datable objects in societies where writing did not exist. Today, we realize that radiocarbon has its limitations, both in terms of accuracy and in date-range, but it is still the most useful dating method in use.