Uranium-Lead (U-Pb) dating is the go-to method for dinosaur age samples, being able to accurately date rocks (yes, rocks, well come to that later) between 1 million and 4.5 billion years old3.

Which radioactive isotope would be useful for dating dinosaur bones?

Radiocarbon Radiocarbon “Dates” from Mesozoic Fossils All have had enough 14C to yield radiocarbon “ages” between 9000 and 50,000 years.

Why would you not use carbon-14 to date dinosaur fossils?

Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon. Its has a half-life of about 5,730 years. The short half-life of carbon-14 means its cannot be used to date extremely old fossils.