New thoughts on old collections: Nosovo I site at the Northern Azov Sea littoral

The Nosovo I site of the Middle Paleolithic era is located on the right bank of the Mius firth of the North-Eastern Azov Sea Littoral. It was excavated by N. D. Praslov in 1960s. The territory of excavation covered the area of 48 sq. m. A well preserved horizon lies in the loess-like loam at the depth of more than 2 m. Flint artefacts, slate pebbles with traces of active use were found at the site. According to V. Ye. Shchelinskiy, they used complicated technologies of splitting lithic cores. The disc-shaped lithic cores, the two-plane cores with the flattened working front, and Levallois lithic cores were found during excavations. A set of discovered stone tools includes simple scrapers, points of various types, and two-sided tools. There are also specific flat-convex and asymmetric tools. The analysis of wear traces (V. Ye. Shchelinskiy) revealed a considerable amount of flint tools for rough processing of animal skins. The flint industry was based on the local flint pebble of an alluvial origin. Traces of the full cycle of flint splitting were found at the campsite. The re-assembling of split flint tools revealed the process of the lithic cores’ preparation and use, as well as the process of making tools with the flat-convex cross section. Judging by the complex of signs, the flint industry of the campsite Nosovo I is comparable to the monuments of the Middle Palaeolithic of the so-called “East Micoquean” type. The most similar site is located in the North-Western Donbas (the site of Cherkasskoie) on the right bank of the Seversky Donets River. The monuments of this complex cultural group of the Middle Palaeolithic should be approached as the background monuments for Eastern Europe.