The Initial Upper Paleolithic from Tolbor-16, Mongolia: Characteristics of the Lithic Assemblage and Their Evolutionary Implications

Abstract

According to fossil evidence, the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) refers to archaeological assemblages associated with the early dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia. These assemblages are often described as exhibiting a combination of Middle and Upper Paleolithic typo-technological features or, more broadly, as a technology in progression from the former to the latter. Genetic evidence indicates that as members of our species moved across Europe and Asia, they encountered Neanderthal, Denisovan, and possibly other local populations. At the Eurasian scale, the IUP shows considerable variation, but to what extent this corresponds to a relatively unified cultural package strictly associated with our species, or a suite of unrelated technologies reflecting the complex dynamics of a global population turnover, remains unclear. Like most archaeological assemblages, however, the IUP illustrates a combination of adaptive and normative behaviors, along with some stochastic variation. Here, we investigate what drives typo-technological variation within an IUP assemblage to identify traits relevant for larger scale inter-regional comparisons. Specifically, we describe a lithic assemblage dated to ca. 45 ka cal BP from the site of Tolbor-16 in northern Mongolia. We identify three defining aspects of the IUP at the site, namely variation in core shape and size, patterns of blade core reduction, and the presence of Middle Paleolithic typo-technological features. Our goal is to clarify the influence of dynamic reduction processes on assemblage composition and, within the variation observed, to identify typo-technological features that are relevant for inter-regional comparisons and scenarios of population dispersal.