Suchergebnisse

The Upper Palaeolithic of the western Central Asia remains poorly understood. On the vast plains and mountainous territories, few sites of this age are known. In this regard, new sites discovered in the contact zone of the steppe and mountain belts of the Northern Tien Shan (Kazakhstan) acquire particular significance. Favorable natural conditions contributed to the active settlement of this territory, and the features of loess sedimentation contributed to the preservation of cultural remains. The first site, discovered and studied in 2004—2006, was the multilayered Maibulak site. The site contains seven cultural layers dated to different stages of the Upper Palaeolithic. The most significant and unique lithic collections were found in cultural layers 3—6, which date back to the Early Upper Palaeolithic. Lithic inventory from layer 6 occupies a special place among them. Two radiocarbon dates were obtained on charcoal from this layer: 35 420 ± 450 14С BP and 34 970 ± 665 14С BP (median 40 557 cal BP and 40 152 cal BP). The lithic industry from layer 6 has certain similarities with the Early Baradostian, Early Ahmarian, Fumanian, Proto-Aurignacian and other synchronous materials from Western Eurasia characterised by the presence of bladelet production technology.

This article introduces the material on the Mugodzhar petroglyphs for scientific discussion. For the first time, full-fledged copies of cave paintings obtained during the continuous fixation of the flat surfaces of the Toleubulak large grotto are published, which allows attracting a wide range of researchers to study and analyze the earliest rock art of Kazakhstan. A comparative and narrative-stylistic study and an analysis of the technique of cave paintings in the Toleubulak large grotto helped to identify three main chronological layers with cave paintings: petroglyphs of the pre-Paleometallic epoch (Neolithic), petroglyphs of the transition period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age (Eneolithic–Early Bronze) and petroglyphs of the Late Bronze Age. The new interpretation of cave paintings of mushroom-shaped figures of the late Bronze Age is proposed. Thus, parallels are drawn with the images of the labyrinths of Dagestan, the drawings on the Northeastern Caspian sanctuary, the labyrinths of the White Sea and the arrow-shaped structures of Ustyurt.

In 2019, the Russian-Kazakhstani archaeological expedition discovered the first stratified Mesolithic site in Eastern Kazakhstan — the Karasai site. The site is located in the mid-mountain part of the Shilikta Valley, about 1500 m asl. In the course of excavations a rich cultural layer (layer 2) with numerous artifacts of the Early Holocene age was recorded. The industry includes elements of all stages of lithic production, and the typological features of the primary knapping and the tool kit correspond to the Mesolithic time. This chronological characteristic is confirmed by a series of AMS- and OSL- dates in the range of 12000—9000 cal BP. The Karasai industry has a similarity with the complexes of the initial Holocene without geometric microliths in the Northern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia.