Single amino acid radiocarbon dating of Upper Paleolithic modern humans

Archaeological bones are usually dated by radiocarbon measurement of extracted collagen. However, low collagen content, contamination from the burial environment, or museum conservation work, such as addition of glues, preservatives, and fumigants to "protect" archaeological materials, hav...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 109; no. 18; pp. 6878 - 6881
Main Authors Marom, Anat, McCullagh, James S. O., Higham, Thomas F. G., Sinitsyn, Andrey A., Hedges, Robert E. M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 01.05.2012
National Acad Sciences
SeriesFrom the Cover
Subjects
Amino acids
Anatomy
Animals
Archaeology
Bioindicators
Biological Sciences
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - analysis
Bone
Bone and Bones - chemistry
Bones
Carbon Radioisotopes - analysis
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Collagen
Collagen - chemistry
Collagens
dispersal
Fossils
fumigants
Funeral Rites - history
Gelatins
History, Ancient
Hydroxyproline - analysis
Mass Spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Nitrogen - analysis
plains
Preservatives
Radiocarbon dating
Russia
Skeleton
Time Factors
Ultrafiltration
Russia
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Summary:Archaeological bones are usually dated by radiocarbon measurement of extracted collagen. However, low collagen content, contamination from the burial environment, or museum conservation work, such as addition of glues, preservatives, and fumigants to "protect" archaeological materials, have previously led to inaccurate dates. These inaccuracies in turn frustrate the development of archaeological chronologies and, in the Paleolithic, blur the dating of such key events as the dispersal of anatomically modern humans. Here we describe a method to date hydroxyproline found in collagen (~ 10% of collagen carbon) as a bone-specific biomarker that removes impurities, thereby improving dating accuracy and confidence. This method is applied to two important sites in Russia and allows us to report the earliest direct ages for the presence of anatomically modern humans on the Russian Plain. These dates contribute considerably to our understanding of the emergence of the Mid-Upper Paleolithic and the complex suite of burial behaviors that begin to appear during this period.
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Edited by Ofer Bar-Yosef, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved March 20, 2012 (received for review October 6, 2011)
Author contributions: A.M., J.S.O.M., and R.E.M.H. designed research; A.M. performed research; J.S.O.M. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; A.A.S. excavated the Kostenki site; A.M., J.S.O.M., T.F.G.H., A.A.S., and R.E.M.H. analyzed data; and A.M., J.S.O.M., and T.F.G.H. wrote the paper.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1116328109