TY - JOUR

T1 - The Initial Upper Paleolithic of Kamenka site, Zabaikal region (Siberia)

T2 - A closer look at the blade technology

AU - Zwyns, N.

AU - Lbova, L. V.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2018

PY - 2019/3/1

Y1 - 2019/3/1

N2 - In Asia, the Initial Upper Paleolithic refers to blade-based lithic assemblages that display a specific suite of features and date back to the beginning of the MIS3. Previously we reported strong similarities between examples from the Siberian Altai and North Mongolia, but little is known about what generates the variability observed at the assemblage level. The site of Kamenka is particularly relevant to discuss these issues for several reasons. First, it documents some of the earliest occurrences of the Upper Paleolithic in the Zabaikal region. Second, the fast burial of the archeological layer and the bone preservation provide groundwork to discuss human subsistence strategies. Third, the dominant raw materials sources could be distant and fall outside of the daily foraging radius. Here we give a closer look at the Kamenka A blade assemblage to model the reduction sequences. Then we discuss the main implications of the model for issues related to Initial Upper Paleolithic raw material provenience, mobility and settlement patterns. Our analyses confirm that the blade technology fits a conservative definition of the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Asia. Considering other lines of evidence (such as spatial distribution, or fauna analyses), we discuss the impact of mobility, site function and raw material procurement strategies on the assemblage composition. We conclude that while some of these parameters may affect the tool types and reduction stages represented within the assemblage, the blade reduction method does not show substantial changes between neighboring regions.

AB - In Asia, the Initial Upper Paleolithic refers to blade-based lithic assemblages that display a specific suite of features and date back to the beginning of the MIS3. Previously we reported strong similarities between examples from the Siberian Altai and North Mongolia, but little is known about what generates the variability observed at the assemblage level. The site of Kamenka is particularly relevant to discuss these issues for several reasons. First, it documents some of the earliest occurrences of the Upper Paleolithic in the Zabaikal region. Second, the fast burial of the archeological layer and the bone preservation provide groundwork to discuss human subsistence strategies. Third, the dominant raw materials sources could be distant and fall outside of the daily foraging radius. Here we give a closer look at the Kamenka A blade assemblage to model the reduction sequences. Then we discuss the main implications of the model for issues related to Initial Upper Paleolithic raw material provenience, mobility and settlement patterns. Our analyses confirm that the blade technology fits a conservative definition of the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Asia. Considering other lines of evidence (such as spatial distribution, or fauna analyses), we discuss the impact of mobility, site function and raw material procurement strategies on the assemblage composition. We conclude that while some of these parameters may affect the tool types and reduction stages represented within the assemblage, the blade reduction method does not show substantial changes between neighboring regions.

KW - Blade technology

KW - Early modern humans

KW - Initial Upper Paleolithic

KW - Siberia

KW - Subsistence strategies

KW - ENVIRONMENTS

KW - CHRONOLOGY

KW - HUNTER-GATHERER MOBILITY

KW - NEANDERTHAL

KW - STRATEGIES

KW - ORGANIZATION

KW - BAIKAL REGION

KW - REDUCTION

KW - SOUTHERN SIBERIA

KW - STONE

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042878638&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ara.2018.02.004

DO - 10.1016/j.ara.2018.02.004

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85042878638

VL - 17

SP - 24

EP - 49

JO - Archaeological Research in Asia

JF - Archaeological Research in Asia

SN - 2352-2267

ER -