Nagoya University
NagoyaUniversity

Radiocarbon Dating ofMammoth
from Russian Permafrost
at Nagoya AMS Facility[IbshioNakamurai), Tbmoo Ozawa?),ViktorM. Mikhelson3),
PeterA. Lazarev4),
Kigen Arai5)
andShin-ichi
Sano6)

1) Ckenterfor
C7zronologicalReseareh,
IVLigayaUhiversi4u
Ndgcpu,Llmpan5Zudies,
IVdgayaUhivensi(zIVZigqya,
J4panZ)GraduateSchoolofEhvironmental
RussianAcadeay ofSt]iences,
St.PZitersburg Russia
spClytologicaJlhstitute,
Mdmmoth Mdeseum,AcacienryofSciences.
SZikhaRepublic,
RussiatO

Mketsumoto,
opAlaganoPaleontologiealMitseum,.1opanthe2005 PPZ)rlda)Jmpan Associationfor]lixposition,Aiehi,.1opan,andNtkui P)oj2ictural
DinosaurMbseum,

Kdtsayama,Jopan

Seven sarnples consist of soft tissueand body hairsthatare collected fram Russian
marnmoths
weremeasured
for radiQcarbon
age with the AMS
systemat the Center
fbr(i4C)
ChronologicalResearch,
Nagoya University.
Sample materials and sites of sample collection are 5
body soft tissuesamples fromYulcagir,
Os. Bol'shoyfyakhouskiM
Saiga-Ytiriakh,
Khatangeg in
EastSiberi&one bodysoft tissue
samplefrom Yarnaland one body hairsample from TUribeyinWest Siberia.
The samples were cleaned with wami distilledwater on an elecuic oven formore thana
week, and driedat 80 C. Several
mg ofthe samples
were combusted
to C02 and finallyconverted
tographite,whose
spectrometryages

caifboni3cfi2c)isotopicratios (i4cfi2C
and(AMS)systematweremeasured

Nagoya University.
From the measuredof thesamples were calculated as wellas one-sigma

erTors.

withan accelerator

mass
i4c

carbon isotqperatios,

The obtained

i4C

ages diverged

from 9950BP to >49,500BR
The obtainedwith the ages measured so fhrfbrthe respective
sarnples. A soft tissue sample from theYinkagir
mammoth,thatwas displayed
at the2005 Wbrld
i4C
Exhibition,Aichi,Japan,was also measured. The measured
E40 BP isconsistentage of 18,420
i`C
wnhages akeady datedby other groups:18,51O± 80 BP fbrribbone;18,51e± 1OO BP fbrbody± 100 BP fbrbody hairmeasured
skin, 18,680
by GroningenUniversity}the Netherlands,and18,160± 11O BP forribbone by Uriiversity
ofArizona, USA, as shown inTahle 1.
ages

werecompared

The i4C ages of fivemammoth
sarnples are comparedwith the ages measured previously
i4C
by other datinggroups.Theages measured
by theconventional methods haveerrors much larger
i4C
than those by the AMS method. Someages are consistent betweenthetwo methods,
butsomeare not.

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Nagoya University
NagoyaUniversity

Accordmg to a compilation of i4C age formarnmoth samples fromSiberian
inpermafirost
i4C±70BP) belong
Eurasiancontinept alI ages of the mammoth
samples (older
than 10,370
to theHowever, a mammoth
after the lastglacialsample from Wi:angelperiod of sti11 cold justperiod.
± 90BP(NUTA-6292),
much
Island in the SiberianArctic showedyounger ages (5900
inmid-Holocene.
mammoth
Iivedin
6870± 130BP(NUTLA-6357),
fromOhtaet al.(2001)),
Althoughislands
Eurasiancontinent disappeared
completely early Holocenebutmammoth
inthe isolated
survive till
mid Holocene(Vartanyan
et aL 1993).
,Tal)le1. Comparison of i`Cagesith([Sdatedby threedifferent

fbr the Yukagirlaboratories

mammoth

No.
1
2
3
4

S

i4Cage(Bglserror),Labcode± 40,
18,420
NUTA2-9152±80,
18,510
GifN-28258
18,51ee100,GiN-28259
18,680± 100,
GrtNI-24288± 110,18,160
AA-59602±

Materialdated

Sitesoft tissue

YUkagir
YUkagir
YUkagirbone(rib)sknhairbone (rib)

NUTA2:Nagoy4
Nos.2 and 5 are from a single bone piece.

References:
Holocenedwarfmammoths
VartanyanS.L.et al.(1993)
Nature,362:337-340.
Holocene dwarfmammoth
Ohta K. et al.(2001)

YUkagir

Yinkagir

GtN:Groningeq AA:Arizona

fromWrangel IslandintheSiberian
Arctic.

teethfrom Wi;angelIslandintheSiberian
Arctic,Warth Science,
55,6,357-360.

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