Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 43 (3) 2015

Annotation:  Lithic Raw Material Exploitation in the Sibiryachikha Facies, the Middle Paleolithic of Altai The Early Upper Paleolithic of the Gobi Altai Region in Mongolia (Based on Materials from the Chikhe On the Problem of Human Sacrifi ce in Northern Mesopotamia in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic The First Systematic Excavations on Suchu Island and Radiocarbon Dates of the Site (1972) “Tropical Package”: Peculiarities of the Lithic Industries of the Most Ancient Cultures, Coastal Ecu Fish in the Burial Rite of Andronovo (Fedorovka) People, Based on Tartas-1 Cemetery “Life Stones” from the Noyon Uul Burials (Based on Findings of the 2006–2012 Field Seasons) Ethno-Confessional Markers of Russian Identity in the 17th–18th-Century Siberia: Churches with Barre The Turkic Version of the Origins of the Ergene-Kun Legend: Mistakes and Delusions Nonmetric Dental Trait Distribution in the Neolithic Populations of Southwestern Siberia Barangol: A Pazyryk Cemetery on the Lower Katun, Gorny Altai Russkoye Ustye: Anthropological Study   

Lithic Raw Material Exploitation in the Sibiryachikha Facies, the Middle Paleolithic of Altai

A.P. Derevianko, S.V. Markin, N.A. Kulik, and K.A. Kolobova.

The assemblages of the Sibiryachikha facies of the Middle Paleolithic stand out in terms of their production technology and typology among the other contemporary lithic assemblages of Gorny Altai. In this study, the role of raw materials in the development of characteristic features of the Okladnikov and Chagyrskaya caves’ industries is determined. The proximity of sources of the raw material used has been established, and the main principles of its exploitation (quality and availability) have been confi rmed. For the Sibiryachikha facies of the Middle Paleolithic of the Altai, these principles were implemented through selection of easily-accessible good-quality stones and less accessible high-quality materials—Cambrian-Ordovician Zasurye jasperoids. The latter were used selectively, and the quality of raw materials was important for secondary working of stone tools in the Sibiryachikha assemblages. Increase in the proportion of artifacts made of Zasurye jasperoids in the later assemblages of the Sibiryachikha facies is not associated with the introduction of new techniques, and may refl ect the increased availability of this high-quality material and the development of adaptive skills of the ancient population.

Keywords: Middle Paleolithic, Gorny Altai, Sibiryachikha facies, petrographic analysis, raw materials exploitation.