AMS RADIOCARBON AGE DETERMINATION OF BONE COLLAGEN FROM MONTE VERDE I, CHILE

Monte Verde I, located in south-central Chile, has produced radiocarbon dates indicating pre-Clovis occupation. Dates concurrent with occupational surface artifacts and features at MVII, including lithic, non-lithic artifacts, architectural remains, and spatial patterning, indicate site occupation approximately 14,600 to 14,200 years Cal BP (Dillehay, et al. 2008:784). Excavations at MV-I have produced dates ranging from 16,000 ± 60 to 9320 ± 40 BP. Noncultural levels have been dated between >43,500 BP to 23,660 ± 320 BP (Dillehay, personal communication July 13, 2015). A bone fragment collected during the 2013 field season from Unit 45A, in MV-7 was submitted for bone collagen extraction and AMS radiocarbon dating to provide additional evidence of the site’s antiquity.