Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 52 (4) 2024   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.4.075-084

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The Afontova Gora IV (Ovrazhnaya) Site:
An Analysis of a Complex with “Ocher” in the Structure
of the Paleolithic Layer

I.I. Razgildeeva¹, Е.V. Akimova², А.V. Barkov³, Е.I. Demonterova⁴, and А.М. Klementiev⁴

¹Transbaikal State University, Alexandro-Zavodskaya 30, Chita, 672039, Russia

²Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

³“Krasnoyarsk Geoarchaeology” LTD, Pr. Mira 25, bldg. 1, Krasnoyarsk, 660049, Russia

⁴Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lermontova 128, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia

We analyze a part of the Paleolithic layer of Afontova Gora IV (Ovrazhnaya) in Krasnoyarsk, evidencing intentional exploitation of outcrops of red sandstone and other local rocks. We describe archaeological finds and faunal remains, identify species important for subsistence. Based on the results of the intrasite spatial analysis, we separate an area of domestic activities centered on an open hearth. Scar-patterns and raw material links were analyzed. The preservation of the cultural context was demonstrated. The area likely functioned within a single activity episode. Types of activity are reconstructed. Primary reduction techniques applied to oval-flat pebbles to get first or second order blades were the same as those used to obtain ready wedge-shaped microcores transported to the site. To test the idea that red rocks were used as sources for mineral pigment, rock samples and archaeological artifacts were examined. In samples from Afontova Gora IV, no minerals that could be used to obtain the red pigment of the "ocher" type were found. Pieces of red rock brought to the site must have been used differently. The ¹⁴C-date of the complex with cultural remains is ca 18 ka cal BP.

Keywords: Yenisei Paleolithic, Afontova Gora, utilitarian complex, intrasite spatial analysis, ocher, X-ray diffraction analysis