What type of materials is traditional radiocarbon dating most effective for dating?

Traditional radiocarbon dating is most effective for materials that were once part of living organisms, making option B the correct choice. This method is based on measuring the decay of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope that is absorbed by all living things during their life processes. When these organisms die, they stop taking in carbon-14, and the existing carbon-14 in their remains begins to decay at a known rate. Therefore, materials like wood, shell, animal bones, and antlers, which contain organic carbon, are ideal for radiocarbon dating because they provide a direct measure of the time since the organism's death.

In contrast, metals, ceramics, and glass do not contain carbon and were never alive, so radiocarbon dating cannot be applied to them. Petrified wood and fossils, while they may originate from organic materials, are often altered over time and may not retain the original carbon necessary for accurate dating. Volcanic ash and sediment layers are geological materials that don't involve organic carbon, making them unsuitable for this dating method as well. This context helps clarify why option B accurately captures the essence of what traditional radiocarbon dating aims to assess.