Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 48 (4) 2020   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2020.48.4.003-013

Annotation:  Early Middle Paleolithic Industries in Southeastern Dagestan Middle Paleolithic Bone Retouchers: Size or Proportions Shulbinka Paleolithic Site, Eastern Kazakhstan, Revisited Con Moong Cave: A Stratifi ed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Site in Northern Vietnam Novopetrovka III—an Early Neolithic Site in the Western Amur Basin and Its Chronology Peculiarities of Using 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography in Caves Elk Figurine from Tourist-2, Novosibirsk: Technological and Stylistic Features Foundries at Stary Tartas-5—an Early Bronze Age Site in the Baraba Forest-Steppe Wells as a Source of Cultural and Chronological Information: The Case of Kamennyi Ambar, Southern Tr Mobility of the Suzdal Opolye Settlers in 900–1150 AD Descendants of Eleudei: The Problem of Oirat-Buryat Ethnic Contacts Floral Designs on Sacrifi cial Towels from an Old Believers’ Prayer House The Origin of the Okunev Population, Southern Siberia: The Evidence of Physical Anthropology and Gen The Paleogenetic Study of Bertek-33, an Afanasyevo Cemetery on the Ukok Plateau, the Altai Mountains   

Early Middle Paleolithic Industries
in Southeastern Dagestan

A.G. Rybalko, V.N. Zenin, and A.V. Kandyba

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

This study addresses lithic assemblages from the Middle Paleolithic sites Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay-Zaliv-4, which are highly relevant to the understanding of this stage in Dagestan. We examine paleoclimatic conditions prevailing during the sedimentation at these sites. A detailed description of lithics is provided. Artifacts were discovered in a minimally disturbed paleosol. They represent the Middle Paleolithic, specifically Levallois technique of primary reduction. Judging by the presence of unlined fire-pits and the fact that finds are scattered over a large area, we infer that these sites evidence multiple short-term occupation. The dates of the sites fall within the Riss-Wurm (Eemian, Mikulino) interstadial (MIS 5e)—ca 125-110 ka BP. Parallels with coeval sites in Dagestan and elsewhere in the Caucasus are discussed. Whereas no direct parallels with any Caucasian Middle Paleolithic industries can be found, those of Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay-Zaliv-4 are consistent with the general evolutionary trajectory of the Caucasian Paleolithic.

Keywords: Caucasus, Dagestan, Middle Paleolithic, Riss-Wurm interstadial, primary reduction, lithic assemblage, Levallois