Lipids extracted from sediments and peats are potential radiocarbon dating materials. Analy-sis of humic acid-peat residue, humic acid-sediment residue, peat-charcoal, humic acid-charcoal, bone collagen-charcoal, and shell-charcoal pairs did not reveal large systematic dif-ferences in radiocarbon ages. Soil radiocarbon dates can suggest contradicting conclusions about the usefulness of soil-organic materials. See AATA 17-865. -- AATA