Evolution of the Lithic Industry in Central Dagestan During the Early Pleistocene: The Rising Occurrence of Flake Blanks
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.1.003-008
Abstract
Archaeological data from stratified Early Pleistocene sites in Central Dagestan are arranged in a direct stratigraphic sequence, making it possible to reconstruct the changes in lithic industry over a span of 1.2 mln years, from ~2.0 to 0.8 Ma BP, and to separate the principal stages in the Early Paleolithic culture of the Caucasus. This study examines blanks found at sites of the Ainikab-Mukhkay group, such as Ainikab-1, and Mukhkay-1, -2, and -2a. Occurrences of large flake blanks (>10 cm) at the Oldowan and the Oldowan to Acheulean transitional stage are provided. Such blanks appear at the beginning of the Jaramillo paleomagnetic episode (~1.07 Ma BP). By the end of the Early Pleistocene, their share attains 25.77 % of the total number of blanks for morphologically distinct tools. They are absent in Oldowan deposits (~2 Ma BP). The totality of statistical data justifies the separation of the transitional Oldowan to Acheulean stage in the region, dating to 1.0–0.8 Ma BP.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 18-09-40026).
About the Author
H. A. Amirkhanov
Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Department Head
Dm. Ulyanova 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia
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Review
For citations:
Amirkhanov H.A. Evolution of the Lithic Industry in Central Dagestan During the Early Pleistocene: The Rising Occurrence of Flake Blanks. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2021;49(1):3-8. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.1.003-008
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