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

Abstract

The study of raw materials focuses on different aspects of hominin behaviour such as mobility strategies, land-use patterns and raw material transfer. They were comprehensively studied in the Palaeolithic of Europe and Africa. However, systematic studies of raw material sourcing have not been undertaken for the Palaeolithic of Kazakhstan, such surveys being embedded in reconnaissance works aimed at discovering new Palaeolithic sites. Our study presents preliminary results of the first lithic raw material survey in Kazakhstan. The study is based on outcrop surveying, collecting and sampling of potential sources of raw materials, and on a substantial literature review. The current study distinguishes the geographic patterns of land-use and their correlation with the lithic assemblages from stratified sites. Here, we describe primary and secondary sources of raw materials, and compare them macroscopically with the assemblages of stone tools. The survey results show a heterogeneous distribution of raw materials throughout the study regions. Macroscopic observations of lithic assemblages, and data extracted from literature suggest that hominins primarily selected locally occurring raw materials. Additionally, regional difference in the utilisation of a particular type of raw material which can be observed through the macroscopic examination of the lithic collections are confirmed by survey results.

Nazugum, a new 4000 year old rockshelter site in the Ili Alatau, Tien Shan

“…A small number of archaeological lithics (n=7) was sticking out of the sediment column and collected by our team. The majority of the lithics are bladelets (n=5), the remaining two are flakes knapped on various silica rocks (Namen et al, 2020b). All the lithics contain thick layers of calcareous concretions, and some of them are entirely covered by it.…”