Final answer:
Establishing the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is problematic due to carbon-14 dating the fabric to around 600-700 years old, which contradicts the belief that it wrapped the body of Jesus. Testing was delayed until an amount of material necessary for testing could be minimized, and even after dating, there is still debate due to the unknown method of imprint creation.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the challenges with establishing the Shroud of Turin's authenticity involves carbon-14 dating. First displayed in 1354 and deemed fraudulent by a bishop at the time, the Shroud of Turin features a negative imprint likened to Jesus with crucifixion wounds. Despite its initial denouncement, the shroud remained an object of veneration and controversy. The carbon-14 dating, which allows objects to be dated using the percentage of carbon-14 (14C) found in living tissues, was not conducted on the Shroud of Turin until 1988. This delay was due in part to the need to refine the dating method to require the least amount of material destruction. When it was finally tested, independent laboratories found that the shroud samples contained 92% of the 14C found in living tissues, which dated the shroud to around 600-700 years old, much later than the time of Jesus. The results of the dating contradict the belief of some that the shroud was used to wrap the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. As a historical and religious artifact, the carbon-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin has been a focal point in debates about its authenticity. Adding to the complexity, the method used to produce the remarkable negative imprint on the shroud still remains a mystery, which casts further doubt on the authenticity and origins of the shroud.