This article is devoted to the preliminary results of multidisciplinary studies at Komudvany—a site located within a “mammoth cemetery” in the Lower Ob basin. We present the excavation history, geomorphological characteristics, results of radiocarbon analysis, and descriptions of archaeological and faunal remains. According to geological and geomorphological criteria, three parts of the site are distinguished: the terrace, the promontory, and the fl oodplain. The radiocarbon analyses of bones show the chronological heterogeneity of fl oodplain fi nds. Finds from the promontory and the terrace most likely represent a single episode of habitation and butchering or collecting bones and tusks. The mammoth “cemetery” was dated to 20–12 cal ka BP. At least one episode of habitation and human activities has been registered and dated to 15–14 cal ka BP. Archaeological fi nds and series of radiocarbon dates suggest the attribution of Komudvany to the Final Paleolithic. It is the northernmost site of that period in the West Siberian Plain and, along with Lugovskoye, is a reference object for studying the early human habitation in the northern regions of Asia.

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Lakhuti-IV: a new site of the Loessic Paleolithic in Tajikistan

Anoikin A.A., Rybalko A.G., Khudjageldiev T.U., Sosin P.M., Sharipov A.F., Kurbanov R.N.

Статья научная

We present the fi ndings of excavations at the Early Paleolithic site of Lakhuti-IV in the middle reaches of the Obi- Mazar River, Republic of Tajikistan. The geological and geomorphological situation in the area is reconstructed, and Pleistocene deposits are described. On the basis of the available chronostratigraphic constraints, we can determine time of formation of the cultural layer that is associated with deposits of the fi fth buried soil (pedocomplex 5, dated to ~0.5 Ma ago). Characteristics of archaeological fi nds (662 artifacts) from eight cultural horizons are discussed. Primary reduction is dominated by the simplest parallel, radial, and slice cores. Among fl akes, “citrus slices” and decortication chips are the most frequent. Tools include numerous fl akes and retouched fragments. Single-edged sidescrapers on large fl akes, denticulate-notched tools, and unifaces are abundant. The concentration of artifacts is very high for the Khovaling Loess Plateau. Lakhuti IV is the fi rst site of the Loessic Paleolithic where artifacts occur in distinct archaeological horizons. Industries associated with pedocomplexes 6–4 in the region (Obi-Mazar-VI, Lakhuti-I, -IV, etc.) show common features, such as primary reduction techniques (slice, radial, simple parallel) and the composition of the toolkits (choppers, unifaces, single-edged side-scrapers, etc.). The fi ndings allow us to draw more reliable parallels with contemporaneous industries of other regions. The closest similarities to industries of the Karatau culture are seen among the Soanian industries in northern Hindustan and the Early Paleolithic assemblages of southwestern China.

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Late Acheulean handaxes from Northeastern Caucasus: morphology and technology

Kharevich A.V., Kolobova K.A., Rybalko A.G.

Статья

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Late Krotovo (Cherno-ozerye) burials with casting molds from Tartas-1, Baraba forest-steppe

Molodin V.I., Durakov I.A.

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Late Pleistocene environments of East Kazakhstan (based on Ushbulak site materials)

Anoikin A.A., Pavlenok G.D., Silaev V.I., Shnaider S.V., Koval V.V., Devyatova A.Y., Vasiliev S.K., Bocharova E.N., Kharevich V.M., Taimagambetov Z.K.

Статья научная

We reconstruct environmental conditions at various stages of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene of East Kazakhstan. The reconstructions are based on materials from the stratified Ushbulak site in the Shilikta Valley, spanning a period from the Early Upper Paleolithic to the Bronze Age. Climatic changes were evaluated using natural science methods-mineralogical, ZooArchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), OSL- and AMS-dating, etc. Sevaral stages, relating to environmental changes, are evaluated. The fi rst period (~52–37 ka BP) was period of moderately warm and relatively humid climate, with predominantly forest-steppe, meadow-steppe, and semidesert landscapes. The second period (~25–21 ka BP) coincided with a transition from a moderately warm to a very cold and more arid climate dominated by steppes. The third period (~18–16 ka BP) was transitional from the glacial maximum to the postglacial interstadial, with a relatively cool and arid climate and mostly steppe and forest-steppe landscapes. The fourth period (~15–14 ka BP) was characterized by the warmest climate in the Late Pleistocene; steppe and forest-steppe vegetation dominated. During the latest, Early Holocene period, the climate was warm and humid, with savanna-like landscapes. The analysis of natural-climatic conditions allows us to conclude that the early stage of the site’s functioning, characterized by the highest intensity of settlement, was optimal for ancient man.

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Late Pleistocene paleoenvironments and episodic human occupations in the Orkhon valley of Central Mongolia

Khatsenovich A.M., Vishnevskaya I.A., Klementiev A.M., Zhilich S.V., Marchenko D.V., Kogai S.A., Rybin E.P., Olsen J.W., Derevianko A.P., Bazargur D., Gunchinsuren B., Volvakh A.O., Ge J., Okuneva T.G.

Статья научная

Here, we present initial results of a new course of research being carried out at the Moiltyn-am, Orkhon-1, and Orkhon-7 Paleolithic sites in the Orkhon River Valley, central Mongolia. Our research focuses on the Moiltyn-am site, which preserves a cultural and chronological sequence from the Final Middle to the Late Upper Paleolithic. Results from analyses of rare earth elements, Strontium (Sr) isotopes, and faunal assemblages are correlated with data on paleoenvironmental conditions in the region during MIS-3 and MIS-2. Our conclusions are based in part upon post- depositional changes detectable in archaeological material from cultural layers at the Moiltyn-am site revealed through convergent analyses of stratigraphy, sedimentology, planigraphy, and the comparison of Sr isotopes in sediments and osteological remains. XRF-derived geochemical data from the Moiltyn-am sedimentary sequence yields evidence of past climatic conditions. We correlated these data with human occupational episodes in the Orkhon Valley during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and the results are analyzed in the context of extant paleoenvironmental information from northern Mongolia. Our results indicate a relatively humid climate prevailed during MIS-3, followed by a period of aridification, and the redeposition of sediments at Moiltyn-am. Faunal analysis reveals that Bos sp. and equids were the principal prey species for humans in the Final Middle to Initial Upper Paleolithic, supplemented by members of the Caprinae during the Early Upper Paleolithic. A complex mammoth fauna inhabited forest-steppe and steppe landscapes in the Khangai Mountains during MIS-3 and MIS-2.

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Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene paleoclimatic boundaries and human settlement of the East Siberian Arctic

Pitulko V.V.

Статья научная

This article examines archaeological records relating to the East Siberian Arctic in the Stone Age. It spans approximately 50,000 years, from the early stage of MIS 3 to the Early Holocene. Human settlement of the region can be divided into three main stages: early (~50,000–29,000 BP, MIS 3), middle (~29,000–11,700 BP, MIS 2), and late (11,700–8000 BP). The peopling of Arctic Eurasia and the cultural evolution in that part of the world were driven both by abiotic and biotic factors, as evidenced by the correspondance between archaeologically detectable changes and key paleoclimatic events. Early human settlement of that region is associated with a population marked by West Eurasian genetic ancestry, whose cultural elements are typical for Southern Siberia. The early settlers were replaced by people displaying East Asian ancestry, migrating northwards under the impact of climatic changes. It is concluded that the successful peopling of the Arctic was facilitated by the adoption of critically important innovations such as sewing with eyed bone needles, and manufacture of long shafts and pointed implements made of mammoth tusks. Lithic industries marking various stages are described. That of the early stage is characterized by fl ake technology; in the middle stage, wedge-shaped core technology appeared; and the principal feature of the late stage is microprismatic technology, indicating total population replacement. The onset of the Holocene coincides with a key innovation—land transportation by dogsled, resulting in much higher mobility.

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Late Upper Paleolithic of the South Minusinsk basin and its mountain surroundings: research results and problems

Vasiliev S.A.

Статья научная

This paper briefl y reviews the main Late Upper Paleolithic sites of the Upper Yenisei—in the South Minusinsk Basin and in the adjacent highlands of the West Sayan. Known sites mostly date to the Late Sartan period. They concentrate on the Upper Abakan River, in the Yenisei valley between Maina and Sayanogorsk, and on the Upper Tuba River. Information is provided on the composition of fauna and on pollen data, indicating the predominance of mosaic landscapes with alternating forested and open steppe spaces. Climate fl uctuations of the Final Pleistocene were refl ected in the alternation of phases of herbaceous and forest vegetation. The association of most sites with deposits of the second and third terraces has been established. Certain sites, however, are associated with cover deposits at high elevations, on the one hand, and with the fi rst terrace lowered to the level of the high fl oodplain, on the other. In recent years, the Late Paleolithic of the Upper Yenisei has been considered in the context of the original version of catastrophic fl oods, which presumably occurred repeatedly in the Late Pleistocene. The nature of the stratigraphic sections of the multilayered sites of the Maina group on the Yenisei, however, disagrees with this hypothesis, and indicates continuous alluvial sedimentation in the Sartan Age. A conclusion is made about the predominance of remains of seasonal huntergatherer habitation sites on the riverbanks. But there are also traces of a lithic workshop near the quartzite outcrops (Kuibyshevo II). Unfortunately, no sites earlier than the Late Upper Paleolithic are known in the region, and Mesolithic ones are extremely rare.

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Late bronze age petroglyphs of Unyuk mountain, in the Minusinsk basin

Esin Y.N., Skobelev S.G.

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Late bronze age smelting and processing furnaces of the eastern variant of the Pakhomovskaya culture in the Baraba forest-steppe

Molodin V.I., Selin D.V., Mylnikova L.N., Efremova N.S., Durakov I.A.

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Late bronze and iron age crania from Armenia: a paleoecological study

Khudaverdyan A.Y.

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Late middle and Early Upper Paleolithic in the Eastern Adriatic and the problem of the regional middle/upper Paleolithic interface

Karavanid I., Vukosavljevic N.

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Leather artifacts from Tara, Western Siberia, excavated in 2012-2014

Osipov D.O., Tataurov S.F., Tikhonov S.S., Chernaya M.P.

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Levantine Middle Pleistocene blade industries

Derevyanko A.P.

Статья научная

The origin of Near Eastern Middle Pleistocene blade industries is discussed with reference to the Levallois reduction-technique. Special attention is paid to the Gesher Benot Ya'akov site, in Israel, where the Levallois technology is the earliest in the region (ca 800 ka BP). Whereas later Acheulean industries show no continuity with the Levallois tradition, the alternation of predominant Middle Pleistocene technologies indicates changing adaptation strategies caused by ecological conditions. Accordingly, the early appearance of the laminar technology in the Near East evidences local evolution rather than immigration. The major factors underlying this innovation were adaptation and the intrin sic development of the Levallois system. Laminar technologies, which are fi rst evidenced by certain Levantine sites even earlier than Gesher Benot Ya'akov, became widely distributed at the Acheulo-Yabrudian stage of the late Acheulean. A well-developed blade technology is demonstrated by the Amudian industry of Qesem, Israel, dating to 400–200 ka BP.

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Literacy and numeracy skills of the inhabitants of Tara and its rural districts in the 17th and 18th centuries

Tataurova L.V., Tataurov S.F., Tataurov F.S.

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Location of Tatar settlements in the Middle and Lower Tara region according to 18th century maps

Tikhomirov K.N., Tikhomirova M.N.

Статья

Тhis article discusses the location of Tatar settlements in the lower and middle reaches of the Tara on maps of the Tarsky Uyezd (1784 and 1798) and on topographic plan of the Kartashevskago and Bergamotskaya districts of the Tarsky Uyezd (1798). These maps had not been previously used for reconstructing the history of the region. To test their accuracy, other sources are used, including the Inventory Book of the Tarsky Uyezd, Gerhard Miller’s itineraries, etc., as well as the results of archaeological and ethnographic studies. Based on the analysis of maps, patterns in the locations of Tatar settlements are reconstructed. They were situated between the mouth of Tara and its confl uence with the Chertalinka River on the right bank, and between the Chertalinka and Kalinka rivers on the left bank. The reliability of the late 18th century maps as sources of information about the winter and summer settlements of the Tatars of the Middle and Lower Tara is assessed. These maps do not suggest that the settlements were still seasonal rather than permanent at that time. The winter camps were situated on the Tara high terrace, away from the valley, and summer camps were on the fl ood plain, close to the villages. The general pattern was that people settled along the river, often close to the places where the Tara tributaries fl owed into it. Place names are suggestive of seasonal settlements. Comparison with modern maps suggests that the current settlements pattern on the Lower and Middle Tara emerged in the late 18th century.

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