Puzzling Radiocarbon Dates for the Upper Paleolithic Site of Sungir (Central Russian Plain)
A summary is presented of more than a decade-long study of direct radiocarbon dating for one of the most important human burials in Eurasia, the Sungir site in eastern Europe. Eighteen 14C dates were produced before early 2014 on three skeletons (Sungir 1–3), and there is still no consistency in the...
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| Published in: | Radiocarbon 2014, Vol.56 (2), p.451-459 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | A summary is presented of more than a decade-long study of direct radiocarbon dating for one of the most important human burials in Eurasia, the Sungir site in eastern Europe. Eighteen 14C dates were produced before early 2014 on three skeletons (Sungir 1–3), and there is still no consistency in the results. In the absence of other independent methods to establish the antiquity of Sungir, a careful analysis is performed of the site's stratigraphy, paleoenvironment, and 14C dates run on animal bones from the same layer as the burials. Although the conclusions of this work cannot be guaranteed to be absolutely correct, we suggest that at the present stage of research the age range of ∼26,000–27,210 BP is the most probable time for the creation of the elaborate human burials at the Sungir site. |
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| ISSN: | 0033-8222 1945-5755 |