In Depth Analysis

Carbon Dating Must Be Reliable — Mustn't It?

Carbon-14 dating relies on several key assumptions: that cosmic radiation levels have remained constant, that samples are uncontaminated, and that the decay rate is fixed. Each of these assumptions has been challenged by direct measurement.

The earth's magnetic field, which shields the atmosphere from cosmic rays, has been measured to have weakened by as much as 65 percent over the past 2,000 years — meaning ancient organic material would show artificially old carbon-dating results.

Even carbon dating's own inventor acknowledged its unreliability beyond roughly 4,000-5,000 years, a limit that lines up closely with the biblical timeline rather than the vastly older ages often claimed.