Origins of the late Paleolithic in Primorye

The origins of the Paleolithic in Primorye are still under discussion. The hypothesis of peopling the region from the northwest via the Amur region has not been convincingly confirmed by facts. The nearest Late Paleolithic sites with clear stratigraphy and 14C dates are located on the Selemdzha River (Ust-Ulma, etc.) and in Southern Sakhalin (Ogonki-5), while there are no any dated Paleolithic locations between these sites and the Ustinovka-Suvorovo group in Southern Primorye. Archaeological evidence of the Late Paleolithic in Eastern Asia demonstrate very early emergence of industries with pressure microflaking. Rich evidence of archaeological collections from stratified sites accompanied by large number of 14C and OSL dates have been obtained in the last decades. The earliest microlithic complexes on the Korean Peninsula are Jangheung-ri and Sinbuk sites dated to ca. cal. 29,000 BP. In the period of cal. 29,000-20,000 BP, microlithic complexes spread over the entire Korean Peninsula. In Northern China, the sites with microlithic component and reliable dates appeared not later than cal. 22,000 BP (Shizitan, Longwangchan). The Datong site dated to cal. 20,000-16,000 BP and located in Northeastern China almost at the border with the Russian Promorye shows undoubted similarity with the microlithic complexes of the Ustinovka-Suvorovo group of sites. The earliest sites of Primorye (Suvorovo-4, Ustinovka-5 and-7) are of similar age (cal. 19,500-18,500 BP). According to this data, the most likely scenario for peopling the region is associated with the southern route from China and the Korean Peninsula.