Doneraile’s Reindeer Ledger
Radiocarbon dating does not deliver a direct calendar anniversary. A measurement estimates the remaining radioactive carbon in once-living material; it must then be calibrated against independently built records of changing atmospheric carbon. The resulting calendar range can be broad, particularly this far back in time. Moreover, a date on a bone establishes, within statistical limits, when the animal died. It does not automatically date a human action on that bone, identify where the animal was killed, or prove that people lived nearby.