Assimilation of the Lower Ob in the Late Pleistocene According to Archeological Data

Abstract

Archaeological sites indicate the assimilation of the Lower Ob region by humans during the Upper Paleolithic. Modern paleogeography reconstructions testify to the possibility of settlement in this area from the MIS 3, however all stone assemblages found in situ were dated to the end of the Upper Paleolithic - the end of MIS 2. Purpose. Analyze the relationships of Lower Ob Paleolithic sites with the Upper Paleolithic industries in the adjacent area. Results. Over the past three years, several new sites of Paleolithic age have been discovered in the Lower Ob region. The comparison of their materials with the assemblage from the Lugovskoye site allow to speak about two industries: bladelet complex (Lugovskoye, Komudvany) and another complex, conventionally called ‘pebble’ (Gorki III, Khashgort, Yugan-Gort IV), represented in the Lower Ob region in the Late Paleolithic. Comparison between the Lugovskoye assemblage and Talitsky, Shestakovo assemblages testifies their relationship. Radiocarbon dating of these sites (Shestakovo (cultural layer 6): 24 000–20 000 years ago, Talitsky: 18 700 ± 200 years ago, Lugovskoye: 13 500–9 400 years ago; all dates are not calibrated) allow the assumption of successful Paleolithic migration from the south-east of the West Siberian Plain to the Urals and then to the Lower Ob region. Conclusion. The Lower Ob region was part of a historical and cultural area of bladelet industries in MIS 2. Lugovskoye and Komudvany sites can be attributed to the Uralic Late Paleolithic culture, which testifies in favor of the assumption of assimilation on this territory from the Ural region in MIS 2. Two kinds of Paleolithic assemblages in the Lower Ob region allow us to speak about two coexisting culture or the functional differences of archeological sites or two waves of assimilation on this territory – early (pebble industry) and late (bladelet industry). Most likely, the ‘pebble’ industries came to this territory from the Ural region too.