The method used to determine the age of ancient artifacts is called radiocarbon dating, or carbon-14 dating. This technique measures the amount of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, remaining in organic materials. When an organism dies, it stops taking in carbon, and the carbon-14 it contains begins to decay at a known rate. By measuring the remaining carbon-14, scientists can estimate the time that has elapsed since the organism's death, providing an age for the artifact up to about 50,000 years. This method has been crucial in archaeology for dating ancient human artifacts and remains.