Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 50 (3) 2022   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.3.003-015

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Aktas—an “Ephemeral” Upper Paleolithic Site
in North Kazakhstan

A.A. Anoikin^{1, 2}, A.M. Klementiev^{1, 3}, L.V. Zotkina^{1, 4}, R.N. Kurbanov^{5, 6}, V.M. Kharevich¹, E.N. Bocharova¹, and Z.K. Taimagambetov⁷

¹Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

²Altai State University, Pr. Lenina 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russia

³Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lermontova 128, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia

⁴ZooSCAn International Research Laboratory, CNRS – IAET SB RAS, IRL 2013, Kutateladze 7/3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

⁵Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Moscow, 119991, Russia

⁶Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny per. 29, bldg. 4, Moscow, 119017, Russia

⁷National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Pr. Tauelsizdik 54, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan

This paper presents new findings from field studies at Aktas, an Upper Paleolithic site first excavated in 1982 and 1983. It is located in North Kazakhstan, where Paleolithic sites are quite rare. We describe the stratigraphy, paleontology, archaeology, and chronology of Aktas. Six lithological layers are distinguished, two of which (3 and 4) abound in faunal remains. Chronology was generated from a new series of OSL-ages. The accumulation of layer 2 took place between ca 20-12 ka ago, whereas layers 3 and 4 were formed ca 50-30 ka ago. A side-scraper, made of imported flint, was found. The bulk of the faunal complex relates to large ungulates such as Pleistocene horse (Equus ferus), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), and mountain sheep (Ovis ammon). Some bones bear traces of deliberate fragmentation and dismemberment using stone tools. These facts, along with the taphocenotic indicators (species composition, absence of traces of predator activity, etc.), as well as the location and stratigraphy of the site, allow us to conclude that the faunal assemblages at this location are anthropogenic. Traces of human occupation are scarce, suggesting that Aktas is an “ephemeral” site, attesting to human presence in that territory during the Late Pleistocene, but revealing no cultural indicators. The findings picture Aktas as a kill-site—the place where the prey was butchered and consumed. This is the only such site known in the area to date. The number of lithics is too small for cultural attribution. However, the estimated age suggests that North Kazakhstan was peopled as early as the beginning of MIS3, corresponding to the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic.

Keywords: North Kazakhstan, Upper Paleolithic, Upper Pleistocene, paleontology, traceology, OSL-dating