A New Type of IUP Settlement in the Selenga River Basin, Northern Mongolia: The Kharganyn Gol-13 Short-Term Occupation Site
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.3.086-095
Abstract
Here we outline the results of excavations at a recently discovered Initial Upper Paleolithic site, Kharganyn Gol-13, located on a tributary of the Selenga River in northern Mongolia. The Selenga valley and those of its tributaries were key routes along which humans dispersed during the Initial Upper Paleolithic. The concentration of sites of that period is highest here. Most are situated near outcrops of lithic raw material and are classifi ed as relatively long-term quarry-workshops. Excavations at Kharganyn Gol-13 have revealed a single cultural layer in sediments damaged by bioturbation and slope processes. We describe the stratigraphy and spatial structure of the site and its lithic industry, which is shown to belong to the Initial Upper Paleolithic, being dominated by opposite platform bidirectional blade reduction. Analysis of the lithics reveals a lack of available raw materials nearby. Apparently, cores brought to the site were already prepared. All cores are heavily reduced and scarce, tools are frequent. The concentration of lithics is low. We conclude that the site, located at a distance from outcrops of suitable rocks on Selenga River tributaries, was a short-term camp associated with a specifi c activity.
Supporting agencies: This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 19-18-00198 “Development of the Culture of the Initial Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Central Asia and Southern Siberia: Polycentrism or Transfer of Cultural Traditions along the Northern Path of Distribution of Homo sapiens in Asia”.
About the Authors
E. P. Rybin
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
D. V. Marchenko
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
Ts. Bolorbat
Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Mongolia
Mongolia
Zhukov 77, Ulaanbaatar, 13343
A. M. Khatsenovich
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
A. M. Klementiev
Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Lermontova 128, Irkutsk, 664033
B. Gunchinsuren
Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Mongolia
Mongolia
Zhukov 77, Ulaanbaatar, 13343
References
1. Anoikin A.A., Pavlenok G.D., Kharevich V.M., Taimagambetov Z.K., Shalagina A.V., Gladyshev S.A., Ulyanov V.A., Duvanbekov R.S., Shunkov M.V. 2019 Ushbulak—A new stratified Upper Paleolithic site in Northeastern Kazakhstan. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, vol. 47 (4): 16–29.
2. Derevianko A.P. 2001 The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Altai. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, No. 7: 70–103.
3. Gillam C.J., Gladyshev S.A., Gunchinsuren B., Olsen J.W., Tabarev A.V., Rybin E.P. 2014 Update on Paleolithic research in Northern Mongolia. Legacy SCIAA, vol. 18 (2): 22–23.
4. Gladyshev S.A., Gunchinsuren B., Bolorbat T., Odsuren D., Tabarev A.V., Khatsenovich A.M. 2012 Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya v doline reki Kharganyngol (Severnaya Mongoliya). In Problemy arkheologii, etnografi i, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territoriy, vol. XVIII. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN, pp. 30–35.
5. Khatsenovich A.M., Rybin E.P., Zotkina L.V., Gunchinsuren B., Bolorbat T., Odsuren D., Olsen J.W., Shelepaev R.A., Popov A.Y. 2017 New evidence for Paleolithic human behavior in Mongolia: The Kharganyn Gol 5 Site. Quaternary International, vol. 442: 78–94.
6. Konstantinov M.V. 1994 Kamenniy vek vostochnogo regiona Baikalskoy Azii. Ulan-Ude, Chita: Izd. Inst. obshchestv. nauk BNC SO RAN: Chit. Ped. Inst.
7. Lbova L.V. 2000 Paleolit severnoy zony Zapadnogo Zabaikalya. Ulan-Ude: Izd. BNC SO RAN.
8. Li F., Kuhn S.L., Bar-Yosef O., Chen F.-Y., Peng F., Gao X. 2019 History, chronology and techno-typology of the Upper Paleolithic sequence in the Shuidonggou Area, Northern China. Journal of World Prehistory, vol. 32: 111–141.
9. Rybin E.P., Antonova Y.E., Tashak V.I., Kobylkin D.V., Khatsenovich A.M., Gunchinsuren B. 2022 Ranniye stadii verkhnego paleolita basseina Selengi: Variabelnost kamennoy tekhnologii, zhizneobespecheniye i poselencheskiye sistemy. Stratum plus. Arkheologiya i kulturnaya antropologiya, vol. 1: 285–328.
10. Rybin E.P., Khatsenovich A.M., Gunchinsuren B., Shelepaev R.A., Odsuren D., Bolorbat T., Margad-Erdene G., Popov A.Y. 2016 Rol spetsifi cheskogo kamennogo syrya v osvoyenii srednego techeniya reki Selengi paleoliticheskimi populyatsiyami. In Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territoriy, vol. XXII. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN, pp. 159–163.
11. Rybin E.P., Kogai S.A., Khatsenovich A.M., Gunchinsuren B., Angaragdulguun G., Volvakh A.O. 2018 Razvedka paleoliticheskikh pamyatnikov v srednem techenii reki Kharganyn-Gol (Mongoliya). In Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territoriy, vol. XXIV. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN, pp. 155–159.
12. Rybin E.P., Paine C.H., Khatsenovich A.M., Tsedendorj B., Talamo S., Marchenko D.V., Rendu W., Klementiev A.M., Odsuren D., Gillam J.C., Gunchinsuren B., Zwyns N. 2020 A New Upper Paleolithic occupation at the site of Tolbor-21 (Mongolia): Site formation, human behaviour and implications for the regional sequence. Quaternary International, vol. 559: 133–149.
13. Tashak V.I. 2011 Khronologiya rannego etapa verkhnego paleolita Zapadnogo Zabaikalya (po materialam Podzvonkoy). Rossiyskiy arkheologicheskiy yezhegodnik, No. 1: 100–110.
14. Zwyns N. 2021 The Initial Upper Paleolithic in Central and East Asia: Blade technology, cultural transmission, and implications for human dispersals. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, vol. 4: 19.
15. Zwyns N., Paine C., Bolorbat T., Talamo S., Fitzsimmons K., Gantumur A., Guunii L., Davakhuu O., Flas D., Dogandzic T., Doerschner N., Welker F., Gillam J.C., Noyer J.B., Bakhtiary R.S., Allshouse A.F., Smith K.N., Khatsenovich A.M., Rybin E.P., Gunchinsuren B., Hublin J.-J. 2019 The Northern route for human dispersal in Central and Northeast Asia: New evidence from the site of Tolbor-16, Mongolia. Scientifi c Reports, vol. 9: 11759.
Review
For citations:
Rybin E.P., Marchenko D.V., Bolorbat Ts., Khatsenovich A.M., Klementiev A.M., Gunchinsuren B. A New Type of IUP Settlement in the Selenga River Basin, Northern Mongolia: The Kharganyn Gol-13 Short-Term Occupation Site. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2023;51(3):86-95. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.3.086-095
Views:
262
Email this article 