As with any laboratory test method, age determination with carbon 14 method provides highly reliable results as long as all relevant variables are checked and understood. Only a few factors affect the test results in the carbon 14 method, but they are not easy to objectively control.

Therefore, it is generally preferable to date objects using multiple methods rather than relying on a single test. So the carbon 14 method is reliable within certain parameters, but it is absolutely not perfect.

For one thing, this method only works on substances that were once alive and only shows the approximate date of death. For example, for a steel spearhead, this method does not work, but it can be tested on the wooden body to which the spearhead is attached. But even this test only shows how long ago the wood was cut from a living tree.

Therefore, it is not possible to understand if the spearhead is subsequently attached to a previously used wooden body. Therefore, when archeologists make an object's dating, it also takes into account the test results on other living remains in the vicinity. In other words, assumptions are acted to some extent.

Carbon 14 is a weak radioactive isotope of carbon. Experts regard this as an isotopic stopwatch. Carbon dating with 14 is a method used for carbon-based substances originating from living organisms.

Tests measure the amount of carbon 14 present in the substance and estimate the age of the substance by comparing it to an internationally used reference standard. This technique is considered one of the most important discoveries of the twentieth century.

In the wet tests with carbon 14 method performed by the authorized institutions, TS EN 16640 Biological based products - Biological based carbon content - Standard of determination of biological based carbon content using radiocarbon method is complied with.