Comparison of material of stone axes with “ears” from Salair and Baikal

The article presents the results of the comparative analysis of stone raw materials of two axes with "ears” that were found in the areas located at a considerable distance from each other. The one of the axes was found in the Suenga River valley inn Salair Mountains, another is from the Baikal region. The distribution area of the stone axes with "ears” stretches from the Baikal region to Western Siberia. Mineralogical analysis of the rocks from which the most remote samples of such items were made has never been carried out. The above studies have shown that the axes with "ears” from Salair and Baikal, despite their morphological and typological similarity, differ significantly in the composition of the raw material. The rocks from which the axes with "ears” were made were analyzed through the Raman spectroscopy. The tool from the Suenga River valley is made of a uniform dark-colored stone consisting almost entirely of homogeneous quartz with rare inclusions offeldspars. The axe with "ears” found near Lake Baikal is made of a material more heterogeneous in composition and structure. The stone is variegated, with light yellow, light gray and rare black inclusions. It contains inclusions of various minerals, among which feldspars (albite, anortite) dominate. In general, analyses of the materials of artifacts from the center of their distribution (Baikal) and the periphery (Salair) is important for establishing the sources of raw materials and the logistics of their transportation.