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Science Forum Index » Anthropology - Paleo Forum » Early Upper Paleolithic on the Central Plain of...
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| Marc Verhaegen... |
 Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 1:38 am |
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Hoffecker et al.2008
Early Upper Paleolithic on the Central Plain of Eastern Europe:
New Research at Kostenki‐Borshchevo
During 2007, the international project resumed field research at Kostenki
and Borshchevo on the Don River (Russian Federation), where Upper
Paleolithic open‐air occupations are buried in a sequence of loess‐like
loam, colluvium, and spring deposits on the first and second terraces. The
exceptional concentration of early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) occupations
(i.e., antedating MIS 2) reflects a conjunction of factors that: (1)
attracted people and animals to the area (e.g., active springs) during MIS
3; and (2) attracted archaeologists (i.e., large Gravettian occupations),
who eventually probed below the younger levels and encountered EUP artifacts
that otherwise would have remained undiscovered. EUP occupations are
confined to the second terrace and are subdivided by a volcanic tephra that
has been identified as the CI Y5 (dating to ca. 39 cal ka). During 2007,
field research was undertaken at Kostenki 1, 8, 9, 14, and Borshchevo 5 with
a focus on layers above the tephra and below loess‐like loams deposited at
the beginning of MIS 2 (i.e., EUP dating to ca. 38–30 cal ka). These
occupations are buried in the Upper Humic Bed and its stratigraphic
equivalent (an in situ soil at Kostenki 1) and contain modern human remains
at Kostenki 1, 8, 12, 14, and 15. They yield evidence of a broad diet and
economy based on small mammals, birds, and freshwater aquatic foods, in
addition to large mammals. The artifact assemblages are highly variable and
include those: (a) dominated by typical Upper Paleolithic artifact forms;
(b) dominated by typical Mousterian artifacts and end‐scrapers; and, (c)
containing a mixture of (a) and (b). The variability has been interpreted in
terms of several different cultural traditions (including EUP ʺtransitionalʺ
industries), but alternatively may be explained in terms of functional
differences and sampling; many of the ʺMousterianʺ tools appear to be
expedient forms used for butchering large‐mammal carcasses. |
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