Sungir

Sungir (Russian: Сунгирь, sometimes spelled Sunghir) is an Upper Paleolithic archaeological site in Russia. It is one of the earliest places where scientists found evidence that modern humans, known as Homo sapiens, lived in Eurasia. The site is located about 200 kilometers (120 mi) east of Moscow, near the city of Vladimir and the Klyazma River.

Scientists have studied Sungir and found that it dates back to between 32,050 and 28,550 BCE. This helps us learn about how people lived a very long time ago. At Sungir, researchers discovered four burials. The remains of an older man and two adolescent children were found with many valuable items, suggesting they were important members of their group. Other human bones were also found, but without many special items nearby. These discoveries give us clues about the lives and traditions of early humans.

History

This important place was found in 1955 while people were digging up clay. From 1957 to 1977, teams from many universities worked there. They found that the site is from a time when the world was in the Ice Age, but with a warm break. The team thought people used the place only at certain times of the year.

Burials

Grave 1 at Sungir held an adult male, and Grave 2 held two children placed head-to-head with an adult bone covered in red ochre. All three were buried with many beautiful items, such as ivory-beaded jewelry, clothing, and spears. Over 13,000 beads were found, showing the time and care put into these burials.

Map of the site. The grave is located at the center-right. At the bottom left: a hillfort. The river is at the bottom.

The children buried together may have been twins, and their burial seems to have been very special. Finding such complete skeletons from the late Stone Age is very rare and shows these people were important. The way they were buried, with many valuable items, suggests these were special ceremonies. This site gives us early clues about the beliefs and practices of ancient humans.

The remains are kept at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of R.A.S. in Moscow. In 2004, a meeting was held at the University of Durham in the U.K. to discuss these discoveries. Two books have been written about Sungir, sharing details about the items found and what scientists have learned from studying the skeletons.

Archaeogenetics

In 2017, scientists studied the DNA of people from Sungir, who lived about 34,000 years ago. They looked at four people, including one from Burial 1 and three from Burial 2. All four were male, even though one was thought to be female before the DNA test. They are not closely related to each other.

These people from Sungir are most similar to people from Kostenki, especially one named Kostenki 12. They also share similarities with people from Dolní Věstonice, who lived during a time called the Gravettian. Their Y-chromosome haplogroup was C1a2, which was common among early Europeans but is rare today. Their maternal haplogroups were U8c and U2.

There is also a small amount of genetic influence from East Eurasian populations, similar to what is found in the Tianyuan individual. This type of ancestry is not found in the Kostenki14 specimen, which is used as a reference for West Eurasian ancestry.

Scientists also studied the DNA of a person from the Sungir 6 site who lived during medieval times and found they belonged to specific haplogroups.