Vladislav S. Zhitenev*, Aleksander S. Pakhunov**, Ashot Margarian***, Taisia E. Soldatova*

* Lomonosov Moscow State University (macober@mail.ru; staiss@yandex.ru)
** Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow (science@pakhunov.com)
*** University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum of Denmark (ashotmarg2004@gmail.com)

Key words: Upper Paleolithic, the Kapova Cave, radiocarbon date, AMS-date, nondestructive diagnostics.

The article presents a review of all the available radiocarbon dates from the Late Pleistocene layers of the Kapova Cave (the Southern Urals, Russia). Two new calibrated dates based on the bones from the test-pit in the Dome Hall are being published for the first time, where the multilayer item of the visiting in the Higher Paleolithic period is being analyzed. The data allows claiming that the cave was used in the intervals from 13900 to 16710 years ago. The date 28050±250 (AAR-20983) according to the stratigraphic position of the selected sample, aged, probably, as a consequence of the reservoir effect. The results received earlier were analyzed on the colors’ composition and the group of pictures was distinguished with high content of the amorphous carbon in the colors. The fact is a necessary term for carrying out the dating of the pictures which will allow comparing explicitly the time of their creation and the visiting of the Cave.