New archaeological sites in the northwestern Altai (Krasnoschekovsky and Soloneshensky districts of Altai krai)

In the field season of2020, the team from the IAET SB RAS conducted a survey in Krasnoschekovsky and Soloneshensky Districts of Altai Krai, aimed at expanding the sources for researching life-supporting strategies used by the late Neanderthals in the Altai. Two areas extending by 55 km were surveyed. The territory in the vicinity of the referential sites of Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov caves belonging to the Sibiryachikha variant of the Altai Middle Paleolithic was studied, which resulted in discovering three new archeological sites. Koziya cave is located at a tributary of the Chagyrka River (the Charysh River basin) 13 km from Chagyrskaya cave in Krasnoschekovsky District of Altai Krai. Verkhnyaya Sibiryachikha cave is located on the left bank of the Sibiryachikha River, the tributary of the Anui River, next to the Okladnikov cave in Soloneshensky District of Altai Krai. The Berezovka site is located on the bank of the Anui River at the confluence with the Berezovka River in Soloneshensky District of Altai Krai. All these archaeological sites belong to the Paleolithic. According to distinctive types of tools and morphology of blanks, Verkhnyaya Sibiryachikha cave was identified as a Middle Paleolithic site, while the Berezovka locality was attributed to the Initial Upper Paleolithic. The most interesting objects among new sites associated with the late Neanderthals of the Altai, are the caves which unlike the known long-term encampments (Chagyrskaya cave, Okladnikov cave) reveal individual visitation events. The studies performed have shown that the middle reaches of the Anui River and northern slope of the Tigirek Ridge demonstrate great prospects for discovering new archaeological sites.