Abstract

The study of the earliest peopling of Mongolia is associated with a number of problems. There are only four stratified sites with the Miiddle Paleolithic complexes, and their reliable chronological attribution is problematic. Paleoclimatic conditions for human expansion or movement in this region have not yet been established. The stratigraphy of the Orkhon-7 site reveals the most complete geochronological, paleoclimatic, and archaeological records in Mongolia. Preservation of lithological layers, evidence of their formation under various climatic conditions, geologically confirmed cryogenic disturbances, paleosol, and gravel layers provide sufficient data for reconstructing climate dynamics in the MIS 3 and MIS 2. Cultural horizons explored in the field season of 2019 corresponded to the sequence revealed by previous research, which makes it possible to view these assemblages in the context of new chronological and paleoclimatic records. The Orkhon valley near the present-day town of Kharkhorin is located at the crossroads of several climatic zones which could have made a significant impact on the environment. The correlation of the data obtained with the known climatic reconstructions for the Khangai Mountains, using complimentary research methods for studying the paleoenvironment of the human existence in the Late Pleistocene, will result in detailed chronoclimatic sequence. The periods of humidity and aridity, as well as main paleogeographic features of accumulation of individual layers at the Orkhon-7 site have been tentatively identified.

Keywords

Mongolia, Middle Paleolithic, paleoclimate, cultural horizon, industry

Khatsenovich A.M.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-5716

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS

Rybin E.P.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7434-2757

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS

Bazargur D.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2183-0591

Institute of Archaeology MAS

Marchenko D.V.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3021-0749

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Novosibirsk State University

Ge J.

Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing

Klementiev A.M.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2129-7072

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Institute of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS

Kogai S.A.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4232-9587

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Irkutsk State University

Dolgushin I.D.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4402-1914

Novosibirsk State University

Shevchenko T.A.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3405-7086

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Novosibirsk State University

Gunchinsuren B.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5052-5081

Institute of Archaeology MAS

Olsen J.W.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5295-7451

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
School of Anthropology of University of Arizona

References

Derevianko A.P., Kandyba A.V., Petrin V.T. Paleolithic of Orkhon. Novosibirsk: IAET SB RAS Publ., 2010, 384 p. (in Russ.).

Derevianko A.P., Nikolaev S.V., Petrin V.T. Geologiya, stratigrafiya, paleogeografiya paleolita Yuzhnogo Hangaya. Novosibirsk: IAET SB RAS Publ., 1992, 90 p. (in Russ.).

Reynolds N., Riede F. House of cards: cultural taxonomy and the study of the European Upper Palaeolithic. Antiquity, 2019, vol. 93, iss. 371, pp. 1350-1358.

Rybin E.P., Khatsenovich A.M., Gunchinsuren B., Olsen J.W., Zwyns N. The impact of the LGM on the development of the Upper Paleolithic in Mongolia. Quaternary International, 2016, vol. 425, pp. 69-87.

Shea J. European Upper Palaeolithic cultural taxa: better off without them? Antiquity, 2019, vol. 93, iss. 371, pp. 1359-1361.

Список литературы

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Reynolds N., Riede F. House of cards: cultural taxonomy and the study of the European Upper Palaeolithic // Antiquity. - 2019. - Vol. 93, iss. 371. - P. 1350-1358.

Rybin E.P., Khatsenovich A.M., Gunchinsuren B., Olsen J.W., Zwyns N. The impact of the LGM on the development of the Upper Paleolithic in Mongolia // Quaternary Intern. - 2016. - Vol. 425. - P. 69-87.

Shea J. European Upper Palaeolithic cultural taxa: better off without them? // Antiquity. - 2019. - Vol. 93, iss. 371. -P. 1359-1361.