Levallois points in barun-alan-1 7G layer industry (Western Transbaikal)

The Levallois technique in its classic variant of removing flakes from cores with centripetal trimming of the frontal surface played a considerable role in the Paleolithic industry from layer 7г at the Barun-Alan-1 multilayered site in Western Transbaikal region. Continued research of the Levallois technique at Barun-Alan-1 has shown that in addition to producing the Levallois flakes, it was used for producing the Levallois points. Regardless of the initial shape, the frontal surface of cores intended for removal of the Levallois points, was shaped according to a standard system which could be described as distal and divergent. In this system, the longitudinal ridge was made in the distal part of the core by divergent removals oriented from the distal end towards the main striking platform. During the reduction process, this longitudinal ridge facilitated production of flakes with pointed ends. The clearest parallels to the Levallois objects from layer 7г at Barun-Alan-1 was evidence discovered in the Final Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic horizons at the Mongolian sites ofMoil’tyn-am and Orkhon-1. However, the system of core preparation for point production from layer 7г at Barun-Alan-1 differed from the unidirectional convergent system which was reconstructed for the Levallois technique at the Mongolian sites. If industry from layer 7г resulted from penetration of these Mongolian industries into Western Transbaikal region, this could have happened not later than the Final Middle Palaeolithic. This conclusion is confirmed by the presence of all components of lithic industry typical for layer 7г, including Levallois reduction technique, in layer 8 at Barun-Alan, which shows that the industry of layer 7г developed for a long time on a local basis.