Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) The Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Science, Dmitry Ulyanov st., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia; 2) A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS,Leninskiy prosp., 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia; 3) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Soil Science Faculty, Leninskie Gori, 1(12), Moscow, 119991, Russia
Ozherelyev Dmitriy Viktorovich, PhD; ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4841-976X; dmit.ozherelyev@gmail.com; Lev Sergei Yuryevich, PhD; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9306-2806; zaraysk@yandex.ru; Stolpnikova Ekaterina Mikhailovna, PhD; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1809-5648; opallada@ya.ru.
Introduction. This work is devoted to the assessment of the Upper Paleolithic sites of the Northern Tien Shan. Materials and methods. Plains and foothills of Kazakhstan occupies a large western part of Central Asia and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east. There are many Paleolithic sites, the vast majority of which are open-air (surface) sites. Recently several multilayer Upper Paleolithic sites have been discovered in the Northern Tien Shan. Among them are the sites of Maibulak, Rakhat, Uzynagash 1–3, Saryzhazyk and some others. The sites have been studied intermittently since 2004. A new research phase began in 2018. Results and discussion. The sites are located in similar geomorphological conditions. The cultural layers of the sites are nested in loess-like loams covering the northern foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau Range. Most of the cultural layers are interpreted as habitation levels with preserved hearths, burn spots, charcoal spots, and storage pits. Accumulations of lithic artefacts and sometimes animal bone remains are tightly linked with those features of cultural layers. This is an interdisciplinary research. Conclusion. The chronology of these sites covers the Early Upper Paleolithic, the Middle Upper Palaeolithic and the beginning of the Late Upper Paleolithic. The development of the Northern Tien Shan Upper Paleolithic took place within the framework of a single cultural vector, characteristic for the western part of Eurasia. There are cultural horizons with Aurignation-like, Gravettian-like lithic industries, as well as a culture with geometric microliths (scalene triangles). At the same time, lithic industries show considerable originality. Further work is aimed at studying the classification, typology of lithic collections and their correlation with each other.
historical anthropology; archaeological material; Northern Tien Shan; Upper Paleolithic; lithic industry; scalene triangles; Rakhat site
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2023.1.118-128
Цит.: Ozherelyev D.V., Lev S.Yu., Stolpnikova E.M. Problems of the Upper Paleolithic in the foothills of the Northern Tien Shan: latest discoveries and perspectives // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2023; 1/2023; с. 118-128 (Published: February 28, 2023)
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