Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 34 (2) 2008

Annotation:  New Insights into the Archaeological Record at Chikhen Agui Rockshelter (Mongolia) A Paleolithic Bracelet from Denisova Cave Principal Excavation Techniques under Permafrost Conditions (Based on Zhokhov and Yana Sites, Northe Late Pleistocene Bison (Bison p. priscus Bojanis, 1827) from the Southeastern Part of Western Siberi Infant Burials in Dwellings at Chicha-1, in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: Results of DNA Analysis Burial Assemblages of Boisman-2 – a Stratifi ed Site in Southern Primorye The Burial Construction of Noin Ula Mound 20, Mongolia Ornamental Traditions of the Lower Amur Neolithic Horseman Image on an Ostrich Eggshell Fragment Gamma-shaped Artifacts from Western and Southern Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia Destiny in the Traditional Beliefs of the Aginsk Buryats A Historical and Ethnological Analysis of Intellectual Play in the Japanese Art of Incense Blending: Gypsy Easter The Paleodemography of Western Siberia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age The Origins of the Koreans: Evidence of Physical Anthropology   

New Insights into the Archaeological Record at Chikhen Agui Rockshelter (Mongolia)

A.P. Derevianko, J.W. Olsen, D. Tseveendorj, S.A. Gladyshev, T.I. Nokhrina, and A.V. Tabarev.

The paper continues a series of publications dedicated to the analysis of the archaeological fi ndings from Chikhen Agui Rockshelter. Chikhen Agui is among the few stratifi ed archaeological sites that have been located in Mongolia. In the previous papers, Chikhen Agui has been defi ned as a seasonal camp of the Early Holocene hunters. In the present publication, the authors employ the multifunctional approach to the analysis of the whole complex of archaeological fi ndings. Abundant beads made of the ostrich egg shell were recovered from the entry terrace of the rockshelter; remains of a wooden pole were located in the central portion of the grotto, handles of composite tool were found in association with fi re places. A biface blank and a pendant fragment made of the raw material unusual for this area were discovered. All these fi nds feature the nonutilitarian technologies. Hence, the authors hypothesize a more complex archaeological context of the site that it was believed before. This hypothesis is supported by the occurrence of a set of objects that can be explained by utilitarian purposes in the living zone. Extensive exploration of natural resources and adaptation to the environmental conditions gave rise to the relevant processes in the spiritual sphere, i.e., attached sacred signifi cance to specifi c landscape features. In the authors’ point of view, the ritual episode at Chikhen Agui Rockshelter can be linked with this cultural background.