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Ten millennia without the Levallois technique: primary knapping methods in Initial Upper Paleolithic industries at the Ushbulak site, eastern Kazakhstan

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Abstract

The appearance of Upper Paleolithic techniques of blade production is the key signal of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) industries throughout Eurasia and, particularly, in Central Asia. Here, we present the results of a detailed reconstruction of the principal knapping method targeting blade production at the Ushbulak site in eastern Kazakhstan that currently marks the southwestern extent of the distribution of Asian IUP industries. Based on the typology of IUP cores at Ushbulak, we carried out experimental blade production using three main knapping methods that have been described in IUP complexes across northern Eurasia. Each technique was applied to the production of blades and core management elements morphologically similar to artifacts from the Ushbulak assemblage. Experimental approaches and attribute analysis established the dominance of the sub-prismatic bidirectional laminar method, based on well-prepared pre-core knapping. The reconstructed bidirectional method for blade production reflects traits in common with Moravian Bohunician IUP complexes, but the closest analogies can be found in IUP complexes of the Russian Altai Region (Kara Bom) and Mongolia (Tolbor 4). The most pronounced traits distinguishing the Ushbulak IUP industries from those of neighboring regions are the dominance of only one method of bidirectional blade production and the absence of Levallois technology. No changes in primary knapping methods and tool assemblages were revealed in Ushbulak IUP complexes over a period of roughly 10,000 years. This industry first appeared in its complete form in eastern Kazakhstan ca. 49–47 ka and existed without detectable changes until its disappearance ca. 37–35 ka.

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Notes

  1. Most blocks were discarded after initial knapping because of internal flaws and other imperfections in the raw material.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate feedback provided by K.A. Kolobova and A.M. Khatsenovich on our results and discussion.

Funding

Archaeological investigations were supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No.19–18-00198) “The formation of Initial Upper Paleolithic culture in eastern Central Asia and South Siberia: polycentrism or transfer of cultural traditions along the northern route of Homo sapiens dispersal in Asia”. Analysis of experimental studies was supported by the Russian Science Foundation Project (Project No. 21–78-10146) “The Upper Paleolithic mosaic—cultural and technological lithic industry variability in the piedmont regions of northern Central Asia in the second half of the Late Pleistocene.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    Vladimir Kharevich, Alena Kharevich, Galina Pavlenok, Ekaterina Bocharova & Anton Anoikin

  2. National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur Sultan, 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan

    Zhaken Taimagambetov

  3. Altai State University, Barnaul, 656049, Russia

    Anton Anoikin

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  1. Vladimir Kharevich
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Correspondence to Vladimir Kharevich.

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Kharevich, V., Kharevich, A., Pavlenok, G. et al. Ten millennia without the Levallois technique: primary knapping methods in Initial Upper Paleolithic industries at the Ushbulak site, eastern Kazakhstan. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 14, 207 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01672-6

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