A chronological framework connecting the early Upper Palaeolithic across the Central Asian piedmont

In search of a Paleolithic Silk Road in Kazakhstan

“…The earliest sites, of the Qoshqorgan-Shoqtas complex, formerly known as Koshkurgan-Shoktas (Derevianko et al, 2000) are found in travertines in South Kazakhstan. In loess, there are the Upper Paleolithic sites of Valikhanova (Alpysbaev, 1979;Taimagambetov, 1990)) and Maibulaq (Taimagambetov and Ozherelyev, 2008;Taimagambetov, 2009), recently reviewed and re-dated by Fitzsimmons et al (2017) to the period between roughly 40 and 25 ka. The site of Rahat was discovered in the last decade and excavated only in the past several seasons (Ozherelyev et al, 2019), with an OSL chronology pending.…”

“…Alternating loess-paleosol (LP) sequences showcase climatic changes from relatively dry and cold periods (represented by the loess) and relatively humid and warm periods (represented by soil formation). Recent research in Kazakhstan has shown that this information can be combined with that drawn from human occupations to create a relatively nuanced picture of human-environment interactions (Machalett et al, 2008;Feng et al, 2011;Fitzsimmons et al, 2017;Sprafke et al, 2018). Moreover, sites appear to often be located in similar landscape locations, often at the beginning of alluvial fans created by intramontane rivers.…”

Preliminary results of the first lithic raw material survey in the piedmont zones of Kazakhstan

“…There are a number of Palaeolithic finds in the piedmont zones, which have been known since the 1950s (Alpysbaev, 1961a;1961b;1972a;1972b;1979). The most significant ones are Valikhanova (Alpysbaev, 1979;Taimagambetov, 1990), the chronology of which spans ̴ 43.5 -9ka (Fitzsimmons et al, 2017), and the Qoshqorgan-Shoqtas complex dated to 500 -90ka by ESR method (Derevianko et al, 2000;Derevianko, 2006). The abundant evidence for occupation in and around the Qaratau range makes this area especially interesting as a focus of raw material study, which has the potential to shed light on the wider land-use patterns and tool-use decisions of hominins.…”

“…Surveying exposed loess sections is the most promising technique in terms of locating new Palaeolithic sites in this region. Previously, two Upper Palaeolithic stratified loess sites (Maibulaq and Rahat) have been located and studied by local and international teams of archaeologists (Taimagambetov, 2009;Fitzsimmons et al, 2017;Ozherelyev et al, 2019).…”

“…Raw materials of lithic collections from this region differ from those at the Qaratau sites. The Palaeolithic of the south-eastern region is represented by two stratified open-air loess sites at Maibulaq and Rahat (Taimagambetov, 2009;Fitzsimmons et al, 2017;Dzhasybaev et al, 2018;Ozherelyev et al, 2019), both located in the foothills of the Ili Alatau range. The raw materials of the lithic assemblages are mainly composed of volcanic rocks, such as porphyry, rhyolites, diorites etc., however, tools made of chert and shales are present in limited quantities.…”