Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 51 (2) 2023   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.2.003-013

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Lakhuti-IV: A New Site of the Loessic Paleolithic in Tajikistan

A.A. Anoikin^{1, 2}, A.G. Rybalko¹, T.U. Khudjageldiev³, P.M. Sosin⁴, A.F. Sharipov³, and R.N. Kurbanov^{5, 6}

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

³Donish Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Pr. Rudaki 33, Dushanbe, 734025, Republic of Tajikistan

⁴Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology, National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Pr. Aini 12A, Dushanbe, 734025, Republic of Tajikistan

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

We present the findings of excavations at the Early Paleolithic site of Lakhuti-IV in the middle reaches of the Obi-Mazar River, Republic of Tajikistan. The geological and geomorphological situation in the area is reconstructed, and Pleistocene deposits are described. On the basis of the available chronostratigraphic constraints, we can determine time of formation of the cultural layer that is associated with deposits of the fifth buried soil (pedocomplex 5, dated to ~0.5 Ma ago). Characteristics of archaeological finds (662 artifacts) from eight cultural horizons are discussed. Primary reduction is dominated by the simplest parallel, radial, and slice cores. Among flakes, “citrus slices ” and decortication chips are the most frequent. Tools include numerous flakes and retouched fragments. Single-edged side-scrapers on large flakes, denticulate-notched tools, and unifaces are abundant. The concentration of artifacts is very high for the Khovaling Loess Plateau. Lakhuti IV is the first site of the Loessic Paleolithic where artifacts occur in distinct archaeological horizons. Industries associated with pedocomplexes 6-4 in the region (Obi-Mazar-VI, Lakhuti-I, -IV, etc.) show common features, such as primary reduction techniques (slice, radial, simple parallel) and the composition of the toolkits (choppers, unifaces, single-edged side-scrapers, etc.). The findings allow us to draw more reliable parallels with contemporaneous industries of other regions. The closest similarities to industries of the Karatau culture are seen among the Soanian industries in northern Hindustan and the Early Paleolithic assemblages of southwestern China.

Keywords: Tajikistan, Early Paleolithic, assemblage, stratigraphy, loess, soil complex