TY - JOUR

T1 - New evidence of the late neopleistocene peoplingof the lower ob valley

AU - Zolnikov, I. D.

AU - Anoikin, A. A.

AU - Filatov, E. A.

AU - Vybornov, A. V.

AU - Vasiliev, A. V.

AU - Postnov, A. V.

AU - Zotkina, L. V.

N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 19-78-20002. The authors are grateful to S.K. Vasiliev for consultations on the species identification of paleontological material from Kushevat; and to the heads and employees of the AMS-laboratory of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (Brussels, Belgium), the Laboratory of Geomorphological and Paleogeographic Studies of the Polar Regions and the World Ocean (St. Petersburg State University), and the Center of Geochronology of Cenozoic (Novosibirsk), who carried out the dating of organic materials. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Institute of Archaeology and Enthnography of the Siberian Branch of The Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - This study focuses on the early human occupation of the arctic part of the West Siberian Plain and introduces the fi nds at the Paleolithic site Kushevat (Shuryshkarsky District, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug), discovered in 2020. Geological and geomorphological characteristics of the Lower Ob region are provided, the chronology of the key Middle and Late Neopleistocene sequences is assessed, and criteria underlying the search for Paleolithic sites in the area are outlined. We describe the discovery and excavations at Kushevat, its stratigraphy and its faunal remains. On the basis of correlation with neighboring key Late Neopleistocene sections with a representative series of absolute dates, the age of the site is estimated at cal 50-35 ka BP. Results of a traceological study of a possibly human-modifi ed reindeer antler are provided. Findings at Kushevat and the available information on the early peopling of northern Eurasia suggest that the boundary of the inhabited part of that region must be shifted -200 km to the north. The Ob, therefore, is one of the last major Siberian rivers where traces of the Early Upper Paleolithic culture have been found. The discovery of a stratifi ed site in its lower stretch is a milestone in the Paleolithic studies in the region. A large area over which faunal remains are distributed, and the presence of lithics among the surface fi nds, suggest that Kushevat is a highly prospective site for future archaeological studies of the early stages in the human peopling of the region.

AB - This study focuses on the early human occupation of the arctic part of the West Siberian Plain and introduces the fi nds at the Paleolithic site Kushevat (Shuryshkarsky District, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug), discovered in 2020. Geological and geomorphological characteristics of the Lower Ob region are provided, the chronology of the key Middle and Late Neopleistocene sequences is assessed, and criteria underlying the search for Paleolithic sites in the area are outlined. We describe the discovery and excavations at Kushevat, its stratigraphy and its faunal remains. On the basis of correlation with neighboring key Late Neopleistocene sections with a representative series of absolute dates, the age of the site is estimated at cal 50-35 ka BP. Results of a traceological study of a possibly human-modifi ed reindeer antler are provided. Findings at Kushevat and the available information on the early peopling of northern Eurasia suggest that the boundary of the inhabited part of that region must be shifted -200 km to the north. The Ob, therefore, is one of the last major Siberian rivers where traces of the Early Upper Paleolithic culture have been found. The discovery of a stratifi ed site in its lower stretch is a milestone in the Paleolithic studies in the region. A large area over which faunal remains are distributed, and the presence of lithics among the surface fi nds, suggest that Kushevat is a highly prospective site for future archaeological studies of the early stages in the human peopling of the region.

KW - Late Neopleistocene

KW - Lower Ob

KW - paleogeography

KW - Paleolithic

KW - paleontology

KW - traceology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108295292&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.1.009-020

DO - 10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.1.009-020

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85108295292

VL - 49

SP - 9

EP - 20

JO - Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia

JF - Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia

SN - 1563-0110

IS - 1

ER -