Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 51 (3) 2023   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.3.067-074

Annotation:  A.P. Derevianko’s Multivolume Three Global Human Migrations in Eurasia and Its Place in Paleolithic Core-Shaped Tools from the Early Pleistocene Deposits at Bairaki, Moldova Early-Middle Acheulean Occupation of the Northern Transcaucasian Highland Nikolaevo-Otradnoye II—A New Early and Middle Paleolithic Site in the Northeastern Azov Region On the Attribution of Lithic Industry from the Early Paleolithic Site of Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka, the Gazma Cave—A Final Middle Paleolithic Site in Azerbaijan: Paleogeography, Chronology, Archaeology Variability in the Sibiryachikha Assemblages of the Altai Mountains (Based on Materials from Okladni Spatial Structures of the Initial/Early Upper Paleolithic at Tolbor-21, Northern Mongolia A Complex of Stratifi ed Upper Paleolithic Sites in the Foothills of the Northern Tien Shan: General Late Pleistocene Environments of East Kazakhstan (Based on Ushbulak Site Materials) A New Type of IUP Settlement in the Selenga River Basin, Northern Mongolia: The Kharganyn Gol-13 Sho Morpho-Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Radiocarbon Chronology of Suyanggae Sites, Focusing on Loc. Khengerekte-Sukhotino—An Upper Paleolithic Culture in Transbaikalia Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Paleoclimatic Boundaries and Human Settlement of the East Siberia Late Upper Paleolithic of the South Minusinsk Basin and its Mountain Surroundings: Research Results Ɖiem Cave: A Stratified Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Site in Northern Vietnam A Case of Systemic Connective Tissue Disorder in a Pazyryk Male from the Altai Mountains   

A Complex of Stratified Upper Paleolithic Sites
in the Foothills of the Northern Tien Shan:
General Data and Research Perspectives

D.V. Ozherelyev¹ and T.B. Mamirov²

¹Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulyanova 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia

²Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Pr. Dostyk 44, Almaty, A25D9KO, Kazakhstan

This article examines the key cultural trends and events in the evolution of the Upper Paleolithic in the foothills of the Northern Tien Shan (Zailisky Alatau, Kazakhstan). It outlines the history of Paleolithic studies in southeastern Kazakhstan. We describe the geographic characteristics of the region, the geomorphological positions of sites, and features of sedimentation that influenced the preservation of cultural remains in situ. Archaeological materials from key Upper Paleolithic sites are reviewed, including those from stratified sites—Maibulak, Rakhat, and Uzynagash-1, -2. Lithic industries and absolute dates suggest that Maibulak was permanently inhabited during the Early, Middle, and probably Late Upper Paleolithic, materials from the early stages being the most expressive. Early Upper Paleolithic industries display Aurignacian-like characteristics and are paralleled by certain Western Eurasian industries of the same age. The multicomponent site of Rakhat was peopled during the end of the Early Upper Paleolithic, in the Middle Upper Paleolithic, and at the beginning of the Late Upper Paleolithic, documenting the evolution of Upper Paleolithic cultures during the ~30-23 cal ka BP interval. The industries of Rakhat include an Aurignacian-like one, a Middle Upper Paleolithic complex with micro-Gravette-like points, and one with geometric artifacts shaped as scalene triangles. For the first time, results of excavations and prospects of future studies at the new sites Uzynagash-1 and -2, dating to the late Early Upper Paleolithic, are outlined. We conclude that Upper Paleolithic cultures (or industries) of the foothills of the Northern Tien Shan are original, while following a single vector with the Upper Paleolithic of Western Eurasia.

Keywords: Northern Tien Shan, Upper Paleolithic, Maibulak, Rakhat, Uzynagash, loess, lithic industry