Results of field research of the Khoronnookh-Vilyuisky site in the Mirny District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 2024

The article provides the results of rescue archaeological work carried out at the Khoronnookh-Vilyuisky site (Yakutia). The site is situated on the cape near the mouth of the Khoronnookh River (a tributary of the Vilyui River). During the research, the entire area of the site was studied, and materials related to the Neolithic (Syalakh and Belkachi archaeological cultures of the 5th-3rd millennia BC) were obtained. The collection of stone artifacts includes cores and plates, scrapers, stone axes, a polished adze, an arrowhead, and numerous flakes. The discovered fragments of ceramic vessels are few in number and inexpressive. However, they include fragments with technical mesh decor, marking the Syalakh culture of the early Neolithic. At the same time, possible presence of the Belkachi complex of the middle Neolithic is indicated by eared axes and a polished adze. In addition to the Neolithic materials, there were a few finds from a later period: fragments of ceramic vessels of the Ust-Mil culture of the Bronze Age, and an iron knife. No economic objects or dwelling remains were found at the site. The cultural layer was not formed due to soil erosion, geomorphological processes, and sporadic character of people staying at the site. However, individual clusters were recorded in locations of stone splitting, including numerous flakes, cores and plates made of the same raw material. The article puts forward a hypothesis about the use of the entire site exclusively as a technological platform for primary stone processing and the manufacture of stone products with their subsequent transportation to the base settlement. The materials obtained during the work are very important for the study of the stone industry of the Neolithic of Yakutia and have the potential for further study.