Abstract
The article provides the results of archaeological survey in the Ertashsai valley (right tributary of the Akhangaran River). During survey of the left bank, in the middle part of the valley, five surface sites were recorded, i.e. Ertashsai 8-12. The technical and typological features of lithic artefacts make it possible to attribute the sites to a wide chronological range of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Some patterns in the location of the discovered Paleolithic sites were identified: they are mainly confined to the outcrops of raw materials (flint in the form of outcrops of silicified limestone strata and effusive in the form of channel gravel). Also, slope exposure played an important role. To confirm this conclusion, stratified sites are needed in this area. The Ertashsai-9 site is the most promising in terms of presence of in situ culture-bearing deposits. All stages of lithic production are presented in the collection of artifacts collected from the surface at this site — pebbles with approbation removals, Levallois cores, burin cores, core trimming elements, front and striking platforms design and reshaping, blanks and tools (side-scrapers, retouched flakes). The location of the site virtually excludes the possibility of the artifacts ’ redeposition as a result of slope processes. If archaeological excavations show the occurrence of cultural layers in situ, this will put the Ertashsai-9 site on a par with the sites of the Western Tien Shan such as the Kulbulak site and the Obi-Rakhmat grotto.
Keywords
Western Tien Shan, low-mountain relief, Ertashsai River, Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, lithic industry, raw material, slope exposure
Pavlenok G.D.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3727-776X
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Leloch M.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4916-7840
University of Warsaw
Kot M.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5277-0283
University of Warsaw
Pavlenok K.K.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0205-2077
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Kogai S.A.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4232-9587
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
Kholmatov A.
National Archaeological Center, Academy of Sciences of Republic Uzbekistan
Khuzhanazarov M.
https://orcid.org//0000-0001-9250-3809
National Archaeological Center, Academy of Sciences of Republic Uzbekistan
Szymczak K.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2735-3247
University of Warsaw
References
Krajcarz M.T., Kot M., Pavlenok K.K., Fedorowicz S., Krajcarz M., Lazarev S.Yu., Mroczek P., Radzhabov A., Shnaider S., Szymanek M., Szymczak K. Middle Paleolithic sites of Katta Sai in western Tian Shan piedmont, Central Asiatic loess zone: Geoarchaeological investigation of the site formation and the integrity of the lithic assemblages. Quaternary International, 2016, vol. 399, pp. 136-150. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.051
Pavlenok K.K., Kot M., Pavlenok G.D., Shimchak K., Khuzhinazarov M., Kogai S.A. Searching of the Paleolithic sites in the Akhangaran valley: history and our time. Teoriya i praktika arkheologicheskikh issledovanii, 2019, No. 2, pp. 153-166. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.14258/tpai(2019)2(26).-11
Список литературы
Павленок К.К., Кот М., Павленок Г.Д., Шим-чак К., Хужиназаров М., Когай С.А. Поиски объектов палеолита в бассейне реки Ахангаран: история и современность // Теория и практика археологических исследований. - 2019. - № 2. - С. 153-166. - DOI: 10.14258/ tpai(2019)2(26).-11
Krajcarz M.T., Kot M., Pavlenok K.K., Fedorowicz S., Krajcarz M., Lazarev S.Yu., Mroczek P., Radzhabov A., Shnaider S., Szymanek M., Szymczak K. Middle Paleolithic sites of Katta Sai in western Tian Shan piedmont, Central Asiatic loess zone: Geoarchaeological investigation of the site formation and the integrity of the lithic assemblages // Quaternary Intern. - 2016. - Vol. 399. - P. 136-150. - URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.051