Geoarchaeological research at the Paleolithic sites of northern Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan in 2024

In the 1990s, the Russian-Kyrgyz archaeological expedition discovered and studied the open-air sites of Tosor on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul and Yutash-sai in the Alai Range. The industries of these sites were tentatively attributed to the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, the absence of organic materials in the layers did not make it possible to obtain absolute chronological definitions for these complexes. Although the situation was somewhat different at the Kurama site, discovered by T.T. Chargynov in the Kurama Range in 2011, the earliest technocomplexes of that site also do not have precise chronology. Determining the age of these key Paleolithic sites in Kyrgyzstan is necessary for understanding cultural and migration processes in the Upper Pleistocene in the Tien Shan and the entire Central Asia. In 2024, geomorphological position and stratigraphy of these sites were studied and samples for OSL dating were taken. The deposits of all sites under study, represented by loesslike loams, were potentially suitable for this method. Representative series (up to 12) of samples were selected from each cross-section. Ash lenses were found at the Tosor site, and charcoal samples were taken for radiocarbon dating (AMS). The industries of the sites show similarities with other complexes of Central Asia: Yutash-say - with the Selungur cave in the Fergana Valley of Kyrgyzstan, Tosor - with the Khudzhi site in Tajikistan, and Kurama - with the Rakhat site in Kazakhstan. Obtaining a set of data on the chronology of key open-air sites in Kyrgyzstan will make it possible to establish cultural dynamics, nature and intensity of connections with neighboring regions in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and close a huge gap between the industries of the Initial Middle Paleolithic from the Selungur cave and Final Pleistocene - Early Holocene complexes of the Fergana and Alai valleys.