Paleolithic sites of the Northern Aral sea area: materials of 1998-1999 collecting

The locations Aral-A-D, Aral-1, -2, -4-6, -8 were found by the joint Russian-Kazakhstan expedition during the exploration works on the territory of the Aral sea northern coast in West Kazakhstan in 1998-1999. Predominance of arid conditions on Kazakhstan area in Pleistocene had complicated the process of active sedimentation. As a result of archaeological sites formed a special type - sites with the occurrence of surface artifacts. For the reason that in arid zone Paleolithic sites had not been overlapped by unconsolidated deposits, the main sources of information are the collections of stone artifacts. Thus, evaluating the results of the petrographic, technical and typological studies of Paleolithic collections of stone artifacts from the northern coast of the Aral Sea as a whole, it should be noted that the items Aral A-D, Aral-1, -2, 4-6, -8 are mixed complexes, basic materials of which are likely to refer to the final stage of the middle - upper Paleolithic and probably Mesolithic and Neolithic. At the same time part of the collection on the basis of morphological traits can be attributed to the earlier stages of the Paleolithic.