Archaeological evidence of interstadial of the Sartan period from Kaminnaya Cave in the Northwestern Altai

This article presents a comprehensive study of evidence from layer 14b of the Kaminnaya Cave sediments, which belonged to the interstadial of the Sartan (Akkemian) sediments (MIS 2) in the Northwestern Altai, and describes the environment and culture of ancient humans who lived there during the Final Upper Paleolithic. The stratigraphical section consisted of alluvial and loamy sediments often enriched with disintegration products of bedrock. The stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and chronology of the layer are discussed. Sedimentation of the layer occurred in conditions of relatively cold open forest-steppe and steppe landscapes. The industry of the interstadial layer associated with the Sartan glaciation contained lithic artifacts of the Final Upper Paleolithic of the Altai-Sayan region. The petrographic features of the assemblage as well as typological and technological aspects of the technocomplex based on parallel reduction were established. Various elongated and shortened spalls were used as tool blanks. The toolkit was distinguished by a combination of the Upper Paleolithic and more archaic artifacts, and included a variety of ventral retouched side-scrapers, notched tools, retouched blades, end-scrapers including those with retouched longitudinal edge, chisel-like tools, burins, individual truncated spalls, borers, small flakes with ventral retouching, and straight backed microblades. The material evidence from the interstadial sediments is a part of the Final Upper Paleolithic industries from the Northwestern Altai.