Concerning the age of the Ilskaya mousterian site

The Ilskaya Mousterian site is located on the Il River, Kuban basin. Its geological age remains debatable. The author suggests new ideas on the site's stratigraphy and age. At the site there are preserved both a Holocene terrace and two Late Pleistocene ones. The second terrace sediments overlay those of the third one, which stresses the early age of the latter within the Late Pleistocene (Figs. 1, 2). Alluvium of the third terrace dates to the Mikulinsky interglacial period, or stage 5e OIS. The site is related to the third terrace, it is a multilayer site containing 7 cultural horizons located both in talus and alluvium sediments. The Ilskaya site was settled repeatedly by primitive hunters within a long period of time. Its lower layers (layers 5-7 in eastern part) date to stage 5e OIS. The upper layers emerged in the early Valdai glaciation. Layers 3-4 correspond to stages 5b-d, layer 2 to stage 5a, and the latest layer 1 to stage 4 or the beginning of stage 3.