Has carbon 14 been found in fossils?

1 Answer
Jan 19, 2016

Carbon 14 (#""^14C#) has been found in fossils, but only fairly recent ones.

Explanation:

Carbon 14 has a half life of 5,730 years, and is only useful in dating organic matter that is less than about 50,000 years old. Beyond that time there is too little #""^14C# left to measure reliably.

But there are plenty of human, plant and animal fossils younger than that - not all fossils have to be millions of years old!