For the Hourglass Cave individual, the radiocarbon determinations from bone collagen fell in the range of approximately 8,170 to 7,714 radiocarbon years before present, depending on the specific samples and dates reported in the published literature.

These radiocarbon ages, when calibrated against the standard calibration curves used in American archaeology, correspond to calendar ages in the range of roughly 8,800 calibrated years before the present — which is the figure used in modern summaries and in this article’s headline.

Older publications about the site sometimes described the individual as “8,000 years old” — a figure that corresponds roughly to the uncalibrated radiocarbon age rather than the calibrated calendar age.

The difference between 8,000 radiocarbon years and 8,800 calibrated calendar years is not trivial: it represents roughly 800 years of actual elapsed time, and it affects how the individual is positioned relative to other dated sites and individuals in the early Americas.