Field research in Churapcha District (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) in 2024

This article discusses archaeological research in the middle reaches of the Khondu River in Central Yakutia in 2024. Excavations of2024followed archaeological survey of2023 in Churapcha District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which resulted in discovery of the Khondu site with Pleistocene mammoth complex and surface finds of different periods. In 2024, two test pits were made at the site. Pointed wooden stakes made by chopping strikes were discovered in the first pit. The deposits containing these stakes resulted from accumulation of river sediments. The second test pit revealed a habitation layer with remains of wooden structures, including a wooden stake, calcined spots, and traces of organic material. In both pits excavation works were stopped at the level of permafrost thaw. Surface finds indicated the presence of pottery of the Ymyyakhtakh culture, and stone artifacts had Neolithic appearance. The absolute dating of archaeological, osteological, and lithological evidence discovered in 2023 gave a number of radiocarbon dates from 1500 to 50,000 BP. The Khondu site appears to have existed in a wide cultural and chronological period from the Upper Paleolithic to the Late Neolithic. This new paleontological and archaeological site in Churapcha District shows good prospects of this region in terms of discovering new evidence of human presence in the Pleistocene and Early Holocene.