A new variant of middle Paleolithic industry in the Western Tian Shan

Until quite recently, only laminar complexes of Obi-Rakhmat cultural tradition provide information on cultural content of Middle Paleolithic and Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition at the territory of Western Tian Shan. The Katta Sai site (2013-2015) was excavated in collaboration of Institute archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS (Novosibirsk, Russia), Institute of Archaeology. University of Warsaw (Poland) and Institute of Archaeology of AS RUz (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). This investigation allows determining that ancient people have occupied the mid-mountain zone of Chatkal ridge during the warm spells, obviously correlated with OIS 4. As grain size measurement, geochemical and micromorphological analyses of sediments well as species composition of malakofauna shows that in this period climate was close to modern conditions. Technological and typological analyses of lithic collection define that stone raw material utilization base oneself on the flat-faced core flaking for production of the flattened flakes of predesignate form. The Mousterian point, single side-scraper and flakes with irregular retouch is the best illustrations of the tool assemblage. The all data array gives an opportunity to determine the functional type of this occurrence as a camp-workshop. The odds are that in this area the tool blanks had been produced for further transportation from the site. The provided investigations suggest a new adaptational variant of ancient human occupation in the foothills of the Western Tien Shan. It stands out from the Obi-Rakhmat cultural tradition and resemble the Mousterian sites, which had not presented at this territory before.