Hard question huh?
2006-07-21 05:48:53 · 6 answers · asked by datfatduk 1 in Social Science ➔ Anthropology
i'm totally shooting in the dark here, coz i don't get what you mean by "characteristics", but for something to be able to be dated using carbon-14 (they use the half-life concept),
1. it should be organic, or at least contain organic elements.
2. it should also possess carbon-12, because that's from where they base the cumulative loss of carbon-14 to get an approximate date.
but hey, a LOT of things, if not all, fulfill these in some way.
2006-07-21 05:55:08 · answer #1 · answered by hapones120 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
2 characteristics? only one needed. To exist. All objects in nature have Carbon, so..
2006-07-21 15:38:19 · answer #2 · answered by GuardianCy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are organic (living at some point in time), since most organic compounds have carbon in them, and they should have a point of reference to measure decay with. It doesnt do any good to measure it if you dont know what it started at and what rate of decay it processes at.
2006-07-21 05:53:28 · answer #3 · answered by Strange question... 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. they can burn.
2. they can degrade over time.
2006-07-21 07:02:24 · answer #4 · answered by essentiallysolo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They exist, and they're solid.
2006-07-21 05:53:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Duh, there all carbon based!
2006-07-21 05:52:03 · answer #6 · answered by Pobept 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋