The Upper Paleolithic site Barmaky, 2nd cultural layer from Volyhnia-Lublin upland is the most western manifestation of Epigravettian of the Mid Dnieper basin. During several field campaigns the 147 m2 of cultural deposits with three pits and one chalk / marl concentration were studied (fig. 1). The silty-loess deposits of Barmaky, 2 accumulated about 19 kyr cal BP (table 1) under the permafrost conditions. The fauna assemblage is represented by: mammoths, bison, reindeer, red deer, horse, bear, wolf, wolverine, polar fox, fox and hare. More than 100 thousand artifacts were recovered during the last two field campaigns. In essential account (without chips, chunks, unidentifiable debitage), the artifacts assemblage is represented by: cores and pre-cores — 0.87 %; flakes — 45.23; blades — 17.34; bladelets — 14.27; micro-blades — 7.34; burin spalls — 8.08; tools — 6.79 % (table 2). The reduction sequences are based on the flaking of uni-, bidirectional sub-cylindrical and narrow flaking surface unidirectional cores for blades and bladelets (table 3; fig. 2). There is no evidence of micro-blade technology implication. The structure of tool-kit is characterized by the dominance of burins — about 50 %; microliths — 25 %; and truncated pieces — about 18 % (table 4). The rest of tool classes are represented by a few percentages each. Among them are the end-scrapers on blades with truncated base (fig. 3). The most part of burins are represented by pieces made on obliquely truncated blades (table 5; fig. 4). Also, the obliquely truncated blades dominate the truncated pieces assemblage (table 6; fig. 5). The most representative type of microliths is the micro-points with abruptly retouched straight back and obliquely retouched base (table 7; fig. 6). The points, pendants, bracelet fragment made on tusk and perforated fossil marine shells from local chalk deposits are available. The composition of microliths, burins and end-scrapers in Barmaky, 2 tool-kit is characteristic to the cultural layers beyond the dwelling structures on such base-camps as Mezhyrich (fig. 7). Also, the presences of pits and fauna composition are close to what expected from Epigravettian base-camps. The artifacts assemblage of Barmaky, 2 belongs to the Mizyn industry. Also, Barmaky, 2 is the earliest manifestation of Epigravettian in the Mid Dnieper basin.
During the archaeological research of a multilayer Kaya Arasy site of Crimea, a clear stratigraphical sequence of cultural layers was established, that are corresponding to the diverse archaeological contexts. In addition, the material from the previous excavations by the A.A. Schepinskii and A.A. Formozov was analyzed and combining those two datasets the stratigraphic sequence of the Kaya Arasy site was established. The material of the site is currently stored in the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve; however, it was not organized according to the periods and the stratigraphical units. The research presented in this paper allowed to attribute this abandoned material to the chronological sequence of the Kaya Arasy site.
At Kabazi V, level III/4-2, the entire debris from the manufacture of a bifacial preform was found deposited in a small anthropogenic pit. The bifacial preform itself was missing. The fact that it was possible to refit all larger blanks, as well as several chips, from the pit, whereas refits with artifacts discarded on the surface of the corresponding archeological level were not found, underlines the character of the pit's contents as a closed find sensu stricto. The only explanation for the presence of chips of very small size from the same nodule, alongside the larger ones, in the pit fill is the use of an apron to collect all detached items during the process of flaking. Among the numerous anthropogenic pits from the Crimean Middle Paleolithic, the one found at Kabazi V, level III/4-2, and two other examples from Zaskalanya V and Zaskalnaya VI stand out for the intentional deposition of carefully selected artifacts in them. The sizes of the pits match the volumes of the artifacts deposited, which emphasizes the close relationship between the construction of the pits and the artifacts' deposition. This article explores the significance of the three cases of artifact deposition referred to above to our understanding of segmented production processes and of why these depositions occurred. The most evident interpretation is that they were caches of equipment stored as insurance for unforeseen circumstances, which is indicative of substantial planning depth and a recurrent use of logistical territories.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.