Abstract

Geometric microliths are one of the main cultural and chronological markers, typical of the Central Asian Stone Age archaeology. The article provides an overview of the spread of geometric forms in the western Central Asia. The earliest geometric microliths in the region represented by scalene triangles in the Kulbulakian complexes (ca. 31-21 ka BP). The geometric microliths subsequently shift from rectangle (20-15 ka BP) to lunate (15-9 ka BP) forms. Lunates are a defining attribute of a toolset of the Eastern Caspian Mesolithic complexes, which are shifted to scalene triangles and symmetric trapezes in the Neolithic period. The Central Asian Neolithic complexes are characterized by abundance of trapezes in various shapes: symmetric trapezes on microblades (Oyukly culture and early Holocene complexes in the mountainous part of the Central Asia), symmetric shortened and elongated trapezes on blades (Jeitun culture), and horned trapezes (Kelteminar culture). As a result of the research, the following chronological scheme of geometric microliths shape variability was traced in the Central Asian region: scalene triangles - rectangles - lunates - trapezoids. According to the authors, the shape of geometric microliths can be considered as a chronological marker, and the shape of trapezes as cultural marker in the Neolithic complexes. The review allowed us to trace the correlation between the types of geometric microliths and the splitting technique typical of a particular industry. It was established that scalene triangles, rectangles, and lunates are represented in the complexes with the percussion blade/bladelet industries (Kulbulakian, Tutkaulian, Mesolithic and Neolithic of Eastern Caspian). Trapezes are widely spread in the pressure blade/bladelet assemblages (Jeitun, Kelteminar, Oyukly and Hissar cultures, complexes of the Fergana and Naryn valleys).

Keywords

Central Asia, Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, geometric microlith

Shnaider S.V.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2230-4286

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS

Alisher kyzy S.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3138-0942

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS

Markovsky G.I.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2698-707X

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS

References

Abdykanova A.K., Tabaldiev K.T., Chargynov T.T., Rashit-uulu N., Alisher-kyzy S. Rezul’taty issledovanii pamyatnika kamennogo veka Alamyshyk v 2012-2013 gg. In Vozvrashchenie k istokam: sbornikpamyati V.A. Ranova. Novosibirsk: IAET SB RAS Publ., 2015, pp. 207-214. (In Russ.).

Alisher kyzy S., Shnaider S.V., Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I. New Data on the Mesolithic of Eastern Caspian: Lithic Industry of Dam-Dam-Cheshme-2 Site (based on A.P. Okladnikov’s materials). Stratum Plus, 2020, No. 1, pp. 257-278. (In Russ.).

Astaf’ev A.E. Neolithic and eneolitithic of Mangyshlak Peninsula. In Materialy i issledovaniya po arkheologii Kazakhstana. Astana: Poligrafkombinat, 2014, vol. VI, 359 p. (In Russ.).

Bamforth B.D., Bleed P. Technology, Flaked Stone Technology, and Risk. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 1997, No. 7 (1), pp. 109-139.

Belfer-Cohen A., Goring-Morris A.N. Why microliths? Microlithization in the Levant. In Thinking Small: Global Perspectives on Microlithization. Arlington: American Anthropol. Association, 2002, pp. 57-68.

Brown K.S., Marean C.W., Jacobs Z., Schoville B.J., Oestmo S., Fisher E.C., Bernatchez J., Karkanas P., Matthews T. An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa. Nature, 2012, iss. 491, pp. 590-593.

Brunet F. Asie centrale: vers une redefi nition des complexes culturels de la fi n du Pleistocene et des debuts de l’Holocene. Paleorient, 2002, No. 28 (2), pp. 9-24.

Brunet F. The Technique of Pressure Knapping in Central Asia: Innovation or Diffusion? In The Emergence of Pressure Blade Making. From Origin to Modern Experementation. N. Y.: Springer, 2012, pp. 307-328.

Islamov U.I., Timofeyev V.I. Kultura kamennogo veka Tsentralnoy Fergany. Tashkent: Phan, 1986, 304 p. (In Russ.).

Kolobova K.A. Verkhnii paleolit Zapadnogo Pamiro-Tyan’-Shanya: cand. sc. (history) dissertation abstract. Novosibirsk, 2014, 38 p. (In Russ.).

Kolobova K.A., Flyas D., Derevianko A.P., Pavlenok K.K., Islamov U.I., Krivoshapkin A.I. Kulbulak small-blade tradition in the Upper Paleolithic in Central Asia. Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia, 2013, No. 2, pp. 2-25.

Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I., Derevianko A.P., Islamov U.I. The upper Paleolithic site of Dodekatym-2 in Uzbekistan. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, 2011, No. 4 (48), pp. 2-21.

Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I., Shnaider S.V. Early geometric microlith technology in Central Asia. Archaeol. and Anthropol. Sci., 2019, vol. 14, pp. 1407-1419. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0613.

Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I., Shnaider S.V., Shalagina A.V. Justification of the Age of Early Geometric Microliths in the Western Part of Central Asia. Theory and Practice of Archaeological Research, 2018, No. 1 (21), pp. 155-164. (In Russ.).

Korobkova G.F. Orudiya truda i khozyaistvo neoliticheskikh plemen Srednei Azii. Moscow: Nauka, 1969, 216 p. (In Russ.).

Korobkova G.F. Mezolit srednei Azii i Kazakhstana. In Mezolit SSSR. Moscow: Nauka, 1989, pp. 149-174. (In Russ.).

Korobkova G.F. Srednyaya Aziya i Kazakhstan. In NeolitSevernoiEvrazii. Moscow: Nauka, 1996, pp. 87-135. (Arkheologiya SSSR) (In Russ.).

Markov G.E. Grot Dam-Dam-Cheshme-2 v Vostochnom Prikaspii. Sovetskaya Arkheologiya, 1966, No. 2, pp. 104125. (In Russ.).

Markov G.E. Materialy po kamennomu veku Pribalkhan’ya. InMaterial’naya kul’tura Turkmenistana. Ashkhabad: AS TSSR Publ., 1971, pp. 23-59. (In Russ.).

Masson V.M. Poselenie Dzheitun (problema stanovleniya proizvodyashchei ekonomiki). Moscow; Leningrad: Nauka, 1971, 208 p. (In Russ.).

Neeley M.P. Going microlithic: a Levantine perspective on the adoption of microlithic technologies. In Thinking Small: Global Perspectives on Microlithization. Arlington: American Anthropol. Association, 2002, pp. 45-55.

Nuzhnyi D.Yu. Rozvitok mikrolitichnoi tekhniki v Kam’yanomu vitsi: udoskonalennya zbroi pervisnikh mislivtsiv (vidannya druge, dopovnene). Kiiv: Vidavnitstvo KNT, 2007, 306 p. (In Ukrain.).

Okladnikov A.P. Izuchenie pamyatnikov kamennogo veka v Turkmenii (po dannym rabot IX otryada YuTAKE v 1952 g.). IAN TSSR, 1953, No. 2, pp. 3-22. (In Russ.).

Ranov V.A. Gissarskaya kul’tura - neolit gornykh oblastei Srednei Azii (proiskhozhdenie, rasprostranenie, osobennosti). In Istoriya i kul’tura vostoka Azii: Kamennyi vek Severnoi, Srednei i Vostochnoi Azii, 1985, pp. 23-31. (In Russ.).

Ranov V.A., Davis R. Toward a new outline of Soviet Central Asian Paleolithic. Current Archeology, 1979, No. 20, pp. 249-262.

Ranov V.A., Karimova G.R. Kamennyi vek Afgano-Tadzhikskoi depressii. Dushanbe: Devashtish, 2005, 252 p. (In Russ.).

Ranov V.A., Korobkova G.F. Tutkaul - mnogosloinoe poselenie gissarskoi kul’tury v Yuzhnom Tadzhikistane. Sovetskaya arkheologiya, 1971, No. 2, pp. 133-147. (In Russ.).

Ranov V.A., Shnaider S.V., Pavlenok G.D. Mezoliticheskie kompleksy pamyatnika Tutkaul (Tadzhikistan). Russian Archaeology, 2015, No. 2, pp. 3045. (In Russ.).

Shnaider S.V., Kolobova K.A., Filimonova T.G., Taylor W., Krivoshapkin A.I. New insights into the Epipaleolithic of western Central Asia: The Tutkaulian complex. Quaternary International, 2020, No. 535, pp. 139154. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.10.001

Shnaider S.V., Krajcarz M.T., Viola T.B., Abdykanova A., Kolobova K.A., Fedorchenko A.Yu., Alisher-kyzy S., Krivoshapkin A.I. New investigations of Epipaleolithic in western Central Asia: Obishir-5. Antiquity, 2017, vol. 91, iss. 360, pp. 1-7.

Szymczak K., Khudzhanazarov M. Bullet-shaped core reduction in Kelteminar culture (Neolithic of Central Asia). In The Stone: Technique and Technology. Wroclaw: Institute of Archaeol., Univ. of Wroclaw, 2006, pp. 191-198.

Tixier J. Typologie de l’Epipaleolithique du Maghreb. Memories du centre de recherches anthropologiques, prehistoriques et ethnographiques. Argelia-Paris: A. M. G., 1963, vol. 2, 209 p.

Torrence R. Retooling: towards a behavioral theory of stone tools. In Time, Energy and Stone Tools. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989, pp. 57-66.

Vinogradov A.V. Neoliticheskie pamyatniki Khorezma. Moscow: Nauka, 1968, 180 p. (In Russ.).

Wedage O., Picin A., Blinkhorn J., Douka K., Deraniyagala S., Kourampas N., Perera N., Simpson I., Boivin N., Petraglia M., Roberts P. Microliths in the South Asian rainforest ~45-4 ka: New insights from Fa-Hien Lena Cave, Sri Lanka. PLoS ONE, 2019, No. 14 (10): e0222606.

Yaroshevich A., Kaufman D., Nuzhnyy D., Bar-Yosef O., Weinstein-Evron M. Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence. J. of Archaeol. Sci., 2010, No. 37, pp. 368-388.

Список литературы

Абдыканова А.К., Табалдиев К. Т., Чаргынов Т. Т., Рашит-уулу Н., Алишер-кызы С. Результаты исследований памятника каменного века Аламышык в 2012-2013 гг. // Возвращение к истокам: сб. памяти В.А. Ранова. - Новосибирск: Изд-во ИАЭТ СО РАН, 2015. - С. 207-214.

Алишер кызы С., Шнайдер С.В., Колобова К.А., Кривошапкин А.И. Новые данные по мезолиту Восточного Прикаспия: каменная индустрия грота Дам-Дам -Чешме-2 (по материалам раскопок А.П. Окладникова) // Stratum Plus. - 2020. - № 1. - C. 257-278.

Астафьев А.Е. Неолит и энеолит полуострова Мангышлак // Материалы и исследования по археологии Казахстана. - Астана: Полиграфкомбинат, 2014. - Т. VI. -359 с.

Виноградов А.В. Неолитические памятники Хорезма. - М.: Наука, 1968. - 180 с.

Исламов УИ., Тимофеев В.И. Культура каменного века Центральной Ферганы. - Ташкент: ФАН. - 1986. -304 с.

Колобова К.А. Верхний палеолит Западного Памиро-Тянь-Шаня: автореф. дис. ... д-ра ист. наук. - Новосибирск, 2014. - 38 с.

Колобова К.А., Кривошапкин А.И., Шнайдер С.В., Шалагина А.В. Обоснование возраста ранних геометрических микролитов в западной части Центральной Азии // Теория и практика археологических исследований. - 2018. - № 1 (21). - С. 155-164.

Колобова К.А., Фляс Д., Деревянко А.П., Павленок К.К., Исламов У.И., Кривошапкин А.И. Кульбулакская мелкопластинчатая традиция в верхнем палеолите Центральной Азии // Археология, этнография и антропология Евразии. - 2013. - № 2. - С. 2-25.

Коробкова Г.Ф. Орудия труда и хозяйство неолитических племен Средней Азии. - М.: Наука, 1969. - 216 с.

Коробкова Г.Ф. Мезолит средней Азии и Казахстана // Мезолит СССР. - М.: Наука, 1989. - С. 149-174.

Коробкова Г.Ф. Средняя Азия и Казахстан // Неолит Северной Евразии. - М.: Наука, 1996. - С. 87-135. - (Археология СССР).

Марков Г.Е. Грот Дам-Дам-Чешме-2 в Восточном Прикаспии // СА. -1966. - № 2. - С. 104-125.

Марков Г.Е. Материалы по каменному веку Прибал-ханья // Материальная культура Туркменистана. - Ашхабад: Изд-во АН ТССР, 1971. - С. 23-59.

Массон В.М. Поселение Джейтун (проблема становления производящей экономики). - М.; Л.: Наука, 1971. - 208 с.

Нужный Д.Ю. Розвиток мшрол1тично1 техшки в Кам’яному вщг удосконалення збро! перв1сних мисливщв (видання друге, доповнене). - Ки1в: Видав-ництво КНТ, 2007. - 306 c.

Окладников А.П. Изучение памятников каменного века в Туркмении (по данным работ IX отряда Южно-Туркменист. археол. комплекс. экспед. в 1952 г.) // Изв. АН ТССР. - 1953. - № 2. - С. 3-22.

Ранов В.А. Гиссарская культура - неолит горных областей Средней Азии (происхождение, распространение, особенности) // История и культура востока Азии: Каменный век Северной, Средней и Восточной Азии. -1985. - С. 23-31.

Ранов В.А., Каримова Г.Р. Каменный век Афгано-Таджикской депрессии. - Душанбе: Деваштич, 2005. - 252 с.

Ранов В.А., Коробкова Г.Ф. Туткаул - многослойное поселение гиссарской культуры в Южном Таджикистане // CA. - 1971. - № 2. - С. 133-147.

Ранов В.А., Шнайдер С.В., Павленок Г.Д. Мезолитические комплексы памятника Туткаул (Таджикистан) // РА. - 2015. - № 2. - С. 30-45.

Bamforth B.D., Bleed P. Technology, Flaked Stone Technology, and Risk // Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 1997. - N 7 (1). - P. 109-139.

Belfer-Cohen A., Goring-Morris A.N. Why microliths? Microlithization in the Levant // Thinking Small: Global Perspectives on Microlithization. - Arlington: American Anthropol. Association, 2002. - P. 57-68.

Brown K.S., Marean C.W., Jacobs Z., Schoville B.J., Oestmo S., Fisher E.C., Bernatchez J., Karkanas P., Matthews T. An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa // Nature. - 2012. - Iss. 491. - P. 590-593.

Brunet F. Asie centrale: vers une redefi nition des complexes culturels de la fi n du Pleistocene et des debuts de l’Holocene // Paleorient. - 2002. - N 28 (2). - P. 9-24.

Brunet F. The Technique of Pressure Knapping in Central Asia: Innovation or Diffusion? // The Emergence of Pressure Blade Making. From Origin to Modern Experementation. - N. Y.: Springer, 2012. - P. 307-328.

Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I., Derevianko A.P., Islamov U.I. The upper Paleolithic site of Dodekatym-2 in Uzbekistan // Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia. - 2011. - N 4 (48). - P. 2-21.

Kolobova K.A., Krivoshapkin A.I., Shnaider S.V. Early geometric microlith technology in Central Asia // Archaeol. and Anthropol. Sci. - 2019. - Vol. 14. - P. 14071419. - URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0613.

Neeley M.P. Going microlithic: a Levantine perspective on the adoption of microlithic technologies // Thinking Small: Global Perspectives on Microlithization. - Arlington: American Anthropol. Association, 2002. - P. 45-55.

Ranov V.A., Davis R. Toward a new outline of Soviet Central Asian Paleolithic // Current Archeology. - 1979. -N 20. - P. 249-262.

Shnaider S.V., Kolobova K.A., Filimonova T.G., Taylor W., Krivoshapkin A.I. New insights into the Epipaleolithic of western Central Asia: The Tutkaulian complex // Quaternary International. - 2020. - N 535. - P. 139— 154. - doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.10.001

Shnaider S.V., Krajcarz M.T., Viola T.B., Abdykanova A., Kolobova K.A., Fedorchenko A.Yu., Alisher-kyzy S., Krivoshapkin A.I. New investigations of Epipaleolithic in western Central Asia: Obishir-5 // Antiquity. - 2017. - Vol. 91, iss. 360. - P. 1-7.

Szymczak K., Khudzhanazarov M. Bullet-shaped core reduction in Kelteminar culture (Neolithic of Central Asia) // The Stone: Technique and Technology. - Wroclaw: Institute of Archaeol., Univ. of Wroclaw, 2006. - P. 191-198.

Tixier J. Typologie de l’Epipaleolithique du Maghreb. Memories du centre de recherches anthropologiques, prehistoriques et ethnographiques. - Argelia-Paris: A. M. G., 1963. - Vol. 2. - 209 p.

Torrence R. Retooling: towards a behavioral theory of stone tools // Time, Energy and Stone Tools. - Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989. - P. 57-66.

Wedage O., Picin A., Blinkhorn J., Douka K., Deraniyagala S., Kourampas N., Perera N., Simpson I., Boivin N., Petraglia M., Roberts P. Microliths in the South Asian rainforest ~45-4 ka: New insights from Fa-Hien Lena Cave, Sri Lanka // PLoS ONE. - 2019. - N 14 (10): e0222606.

Yaroshevich A., Kaufman D., Nuzhnyy D., Bar-Yosef O., Weinstein-Evron M. Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence // J. of Archaeol. Sci. - 2010. -N 37. - P. 368-388.