Moreover, the carbon in phytoliths that is taken up from the soil is variable and generally unknowable, which limits phytoliths carbon as a reliable dating material (Alexandre et al., 2015; Alexandre et al., 2016; Santos et al., 2018).

What substances can be carbon dated?

Carbon-14 Datable Materials

Samples that have been radiocarbon dated since the inception of the method include charcoal, wood, twigs, seeds, bones, shells, leather, peat, lake mud, soil, hair, pottery, pollen, wall paintings, corals, blood residues, fabrics, paper or parchment, resins, and water, among others.

What Cannot be dated using carbon?

For radiocarbon dating to be possible, the material must once have been part of a living organism. This means that things like stone, metal and pottery cannot usually be directly dated by this means unless there is some organic material embedded or left as a residue.