"unlike carbon-14, which is useful only for dating man made objects."
TRH - I think you mis-spoke and know better.
But here goes: Carbon 14 is an unstable isotope, while Carbon 12 is stable.
All LIVING things - not "man-made" , maintain stable ratios of both while alive. When the organism dies, the Carbon 14 degrades at a known "half-life" into Carbon 12, until eventually there is so little as to be unmeasurable , and useless for dating once alive objects.
The farther back in time it goes, the more uncertainty is induced, and the time-line parameters become greater.
A thumb-nail sketch....
But it is still reliable within parameters far beyond 6,000 years.
Last edited by las; 12/02/23.
