Faunal assemblage and spatial structure of the initial Upper Paleolithic site in Northern Mongolia (Tolbor-21)

This article presents the first results of paleontological and zooarchaeological study of complexes from horizon 3B of the Tolbor-21 site located in the basin of the Middle Selenga River in Northern Mongolia. Lithic industry of this site belongs to laminar industries of Initial Upper Paleolithic in its Central Asian - Southern Siberian variant. The species which played an important role in resource procurement by the ancient humans, nature of human modification of bones, and spatial distribution of remains throughout the territory of the site have been identified using comparison of specific features of faunal assemblage and distribution of bones modified by the humans. All four species of large mammals (woolly rhinoceros, horse, wild ass, andyak), which were identified in the complexes of Tolbor-21, belonged to steppe inhabitants. Horse butchering by the humans for procuring meat, bone marrow, and fat directly at the site has been attested. The study of planigraphic structure of horizon 3B manifests its sophisticated structure associated with relatively well-recognizable functionally different zones of the layer where the bones were discovered. Most of the faunal remains and all bones with traces of human impact were found in such structural objects of the layer as stone structure in excavation pit 4 and two fireplaces in excavation pit 2. The data obtained testify to the developed settlement systems of the ancient humans living in the Initial Upper Paleolithic even in specific conditions of workshops at the primary outcrops of stone raw materials.