nscArchaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of EurasiaАрхеология, этнография и антропология Евразии1563-0110IAET SB RAS10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.047-057nsc-1835Research ArticlePALEOENVIRONMENT. THE STONE AGEПАЛЕОЭКОЛОГИЯ. КАМЕННЫЙ ВЕКNewly Discovered Remains of a Late Upper Paleolithic Dwelling in the Northern Baikal Area: Cultural Horizon 3/2 at Kovrizhka IV on the Vitim RiverTetenkinA. V.

Lermontova 83, Irkutsk, 664074

HenryA.

24 Avenue des Diables Bleus, Nice, 06300

Gauvrit RouxE.

194 rue de Rivoli, Paris, 75001

DemonterovaE. I.

Lermontova 128, Irkutsk, 664033

RazgildeevaI. I.

Aleksandro-Zavodskaya 30, Chita, 672039

Irkutsk National Research Technical UniversityRussian FederationUniversité Côte d’Azur, CNRS UMR 7264 CEPAMFranceFondation FyssenFranceInstitute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of SciencesRussian FederationTransbaikal State UniversityRussian Federation2024040420245214757Copyright © Tetenkin A.V., Henry A., Gauvrit Roux E., Demonterova E.I., Razgildeeva I.I., 20242024Tetenkin A.V., Henry A., Gauvrit Roux E., Demonterova E.I., Razgildeeva I.I.Tetenkin A.V., Henry A., Gauvrit Roux E., Demonterova E.I., Razgildeeva I.I.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1835

We describe a new complex of remains in cultural horizon 3/2 of the Kovrizhka IV site on the Vitim River in the Baikal-Patom Highlands. This feature is a cluster of archaeological remains near the hearth, enclosed by an oval pavement 4.7 m by 3.2 m, consisting of eight slabs. The feature is interpreted as the remains of a dwelling. The spatial arrangement of finds is described. Rather than taking a central position, the hearth is shifted to the probable entrance in the northeastern part. Under one of the slabs of the pavement, an ocher spot was found. Qualitative and typological characteristics of the artifact assemblage are provided. The feature yielded about 2400 lithic artifacts. On the basis of the use-wear study of selected artifacts, four retouched and unretouched flakes are identified as knives. Other tools include a biface-wedge-shaped core, a bifacial scraper-knife, two fragments of unifacial scraper-like tools, a cutting tool, and retouched flakes (altogether 12 spec.). There are also three wedge-shaped narrow-faced microcores, one of which was knapped from a bifacial preform, and two from flakes. The comparison with two dwellings and a hearth complex previously discovered at Kovrizhka IV, the results of AMS-dating (the age of the complex is estimated at ca 18.9–18.6 ka BP), and the analysis of lithics have shown that the site belongs to the early stage of the Late Upper Paleolithic of the Lower Vitim. Anthracological data indicate a tundra-steppe landscape with islets of shrubs (dwarf or shrubby willow). We conclude that the dwelling evidences a short-term occupation episode. Along with the previously excavated features of Kovrizhka IV, the complex in cultural horizon 3/2 gives an idea of the culture and subsistence strategies of the Late Upper Paleolithic people at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum.

Late Upper PaleolithicLast Glacial Maximumdwellinghearthmicroblade knappingocherThe field studies were partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 21-59-93002); the analytical studies were sponsored by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 19-78-10084, https:// rscf.ru/project/19-78-10084). The French researchers were supported by Fondation Maison Sciences de l’Homme (Project “LicHENS”: Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations to Tundra Environments in North-Baikal Siberia).ReferencesAksenov M.P. 1974 Mnogosloinyi arkheologicheskiy pamyatnik Makarovo II. In Drevnyaya istoriya narodov yuga Vostochnoi Sibiri, iss. 1. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkutsk. Gos. Univ., pp. 91–126.Aksenov M.P. 1974 Mnogosloinyi arkheologicheskiy pamyatnik Makarovo II. In Drevnyaya istoriya narodov yuga Vostochnoi Sibiri, iss. 1. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkutsk. Gos. Univ., pp. 91–126.Aksenov M.P. 2009 Paleolit i mezolit Verkhnei Leny. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkutsk. Gos. Tekh. 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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.