New archaeological research at the Kara-Bom Palaeolithic site (the Altai Mountains)

In 2016, new field research at the Kara-Bom site was conducted. The stratigraphic profile of 1991 was unearthed for clarifying the stratigraphy of the site and collecting samples for AMS- and OSL-dating. The studied stratigraphic sequence included five colluvial and aeolian lithological layers and two layers of archaeological materials of the Upper Paleolithic. The earliest concentration of archaeological materials (44 objects) was discovered in the lower in layer 4. A later concentration of artifacts (5 objects) occurred in layers 1 and 2. In terms of its lithological characteristics and archaeological assemblage, layer 4 is similar to layer 6 of the 1991 profile, which contained the archaeological assemblage of the Kara-Bom Initial Upper Palaeolithic cultural tradition.