Stone inventory of the central part of the sanctuary Koksharovsky hill (based on the materials of excavations in 1995 and 2011)

Koksharovsky Hill is the most famous and most studied cult site of the Middle Trans-Urals. It is located within the boundaries of the Yuryinskoie Neolithic settlement on the southern shore of the Koksharovsky peat bog, forming a cohesive unit with it. While ceramic complexes and products of the sacred purpose of the hill have been extensively documented in many publications, the stone inventory has only been partially and selectively published. The article analyzes the complex of stone products from the central part of the Koksharovsky hill in detail. There is a slight admixture of Mesolithic and Eneolithic on the site, but the main part of the stone inventory (about 90%) belongs to the Neolithic era. The technology of stone splitting was focused on obtaining plates with a width of 1.0-2.3 cm (69%). Among the plates with secondary processing, those with re-touching from the back are the most prevalent (75%). The preferred raw materials for plate production were weakly siliceous rocks, such as light gray weakly siliceous rock and siltstone. On the sites of the Koksharovsky peat bog, this raw material can be considered a marker of the Neolithic era. The plates were used as blanks for the manufacture of knives, arrowheads, darts, scrapers, and points. Double-sided retouching was used to process arrowheads and knives, while abrasive techniques were used in the manufacture of axes, adzes, and knives. Other products found on the site include drills, abrasives, lapels, pestles, hammers, fishing sinkers and tool blanks. Of particular note is the presence of 200 fragments of split grinding plates. Their fragmentary nature and quantity clearly indicate the use of grinding plates in certain rituals. As with any cult sites, there are significant series of crushed stone, whole and split pebbles on the hill. The site also contains evidence of the use of about 20 types of mineral raw materials, mainly of local origin. Almost 40% of the products have preserved their primary crust. It should be also noted that a noticeable series of sacred products has been found in the central part of the hill, including a stone hammer in the form of a beaver's head, fragments of Neolithic vessels with zoomorphic rivets, a clay “ironing” and other clay crafts.