And settlements at the upper Paleolithic Rakhat site (layer 2) in Southeastern Kazakhstan

The history of studies related to the Upper Paleolithic in Kazakhstan began in the 1940s. Very few sites with buried human remains have been discovered so far. Some sites reveal occupation layers with remains of settlements and traces of sunken hearths, fire pits, calcined fragments, etc., dating to different periods. However, there are no relevant publications of these materials. Poor preservation conditions of organic residue and combustion products in loess-like loams prevent scholars from studies of all aspects of various objects and offer their interpretation with confidence. Excavations conducted at Rakhat in 2019 revealed occupation layers (layers 1-3) with stone finds and archaeological objects such as pits of various functions. The paper attempts to explore and present these objects in a structured mode in order to identify a dwelling site in occupation layer 2, which is the most informative. Stone tools coming from Rakhat layers 1-3 find analogies among the sites dating from the early stage of the Epipaleolithic of Near East and Central Asia (Kebaran, early Zarzian, ca. 20 000-18 000 years ago).