Stone blanks cache from the igandzha river on the upper kolyma: cultural and chronological attribution in comparison with the neolithic caches of northeast asia

Basing on the study of the stone blanks cache from the Igandzha River, discovered in 2017, the article analyzes the concept of «cache» and discusses the main types of the Stone Age caches (personal, hunting, sacred, etc.). Most of the stone blanks from the cache are represented by blanks of arrowheads, spears or darts. Based on the results of topographic and stratigraphic analysis, the author identifies this cluster of artifacts as a hunting cache. The comparative analysis of the tools in the context of other Northeast Asian caches allows to determine its cultural and chronological affiliation to the Late Neolithic Ymyyakhtakh culture of II-I millennium BC. The author concludes that the stone blanks cache from the Igandzha River provides valuable information on the Late Neolithic Upper Kolyma, as well as on the way of life of ancient tribes in this area.