AMS ¹⁴C age of the Upper Palaeolithic skeletons from Sungir site, central Russian Plain

Bones of three human individuals, found at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Sungir (central European Russia) in graves with unique adornments and other rich burial goods, have recently been ¹⁴C-dated at the NSF-Arizona AMS Facility. Collagen for dating was extracted using slow demineralization of whole bone fragments in weak hydrochloric acid. For the Sungir 1 burial, a ¹⁴C value of ≈19200 BP was obtained; for the double burial Sungir 2 and 3, ¹⁴C values of ≈26200-27200 BP (average ≈26400 BP) were obtained. This contradicts earlier ¹⁴C dates made at the Oxford AMS Lab, with collagen extracted following Longin's technique: ≈22900 BP for Sungir 1; and ≈23800-24100 BP (average ≈23900 BP) for Sungir 2 and 3. The use of two different techniques of collagen extraction for the Tucson and Oxford dates might be the cause of the age differences. Additional studies need to be conducted to resolve these ¹⁴C age differences.