Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 41 (1) 2013

Annotation:  Chagyrskaya Cave: A Middle Paleolithic Site in the Altai Large Mammal Fauna from the Pleistocene Deposits of Chagyrskaya Cave, Northwestern Altai (Based on 2 Environmental Conditions During the Early Human Settlement of Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Dental Remains from the Middle Paleolithic Layers of Altai Cave Sites An Archaic Human Ulna from Chagyrskaya Cave, Altai: Morphology and Taxonomy The Neanderthals of Okladnikov Cave, Altai: Environment and Diet Based on Isotopic Analysis The Sibiryachikha Facies of the Middle Paleolithic of the Altai The Burial Rite of the Early Scythian Nomads of Tuva (Based on the Bai-Dag I Cemetery) The Oxus Temple: Localization of the Avestan Vahvi Daitya Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-Manchu Ethnic Minority, Sakhalin Island Interethnic Dynamics among the Indigenous Peoples of Southern Siberia (Demographic Aspect)   

The Sibiryachikha Facies of the Middle Paleolithic of the Altai

A.P. Derevianko, S.V. Markin, and M.V. Shunkov.

The Middle Paleolithic industry of the Sibiryachikha facies is described on the basis of two stratifi ed sites in the Altai – Okladnikov Cave (formerly Sibiryachikha) and Chagyrskaya Cave. Stratigrtraphic, environmental, and chronological aspects are discussed. The structure of two cave sites is analyzed. Petrographic properties of raw material are described and the typology and technology of the lithic industry are compared with those of other local Middle Paleolithic traditions. The Sibiryachikha facies of the Altai Middle Paleolithic represented by two sites was clearly associated with a small group of Neanderthals who migrated from western Central Asia. Eventually the Middle Paleolithic industry evolved into a local variant of the Upper Paleolithic.

Keywords: Chagyrskaya Cave, Okladnikov Cave, Altai, Middle Paleolithic, site structure, technocomplexes, primary reduction, secondary treatment, artifact typology.