The late pleistocene deposits and the small mammals’ fauna of the Middle Palaeolithic site Betovo (Desna River basin)

Abstract

The Middle Palaeolithic site Betovo was discovered in the early 1970s by L.M. Tarasov, who summarized data on paleoecology and habitat conditions on this site in a number of publications. However, the stratigraphic position of the deposits containing the cultural layer remained rather uncertain due to the fact that in the sections of the site it was not possible to identify the reference loess-soil horizons and data on the age of the cultural layer were not obtained. A comprehensive study of the site, renewed since 2007 under the direction of archaeologist A. K. Ocherednoi in the frame of the Verkhnyaya Desna expedition of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, permit to detail the deposition rhythmic during the Late Pleistocene and the stratigraphic position of the cultural layers in different parts of the site. By received 14 C data, the site was inhabited in the range of 28.5–36.0 cal kyr BP (calibrated dates), i.e., belongs to the end of the Valdai megainterstadial (the end of MIS 3). The small mammal fauna found in the 2 cultural layer of the Betovo site includes only the tundra and steppe species. The forest species are absent. The species richness of the Betovo fauna is very low, what also indicates the very severe climate during the end of MIS 3 in the Desna River basin. The received mammalian data clearly indicate the extremely harsh natural-climatic conditions of the time of habitation of the ancient man in the site – the conditions of tundra-steppe (“mammoth steppe”).

On the Question of Palaeographic Features relating to the distribution of Large Sites of the Palaeolithic in the basin of the River Desna

“…A series of capes, to one of which the Betovo site is linked, is bordered to the West and East by two small flat-bottomed valleys -Betovo and Korshevo valleys -which are transitional forms of such river valleys, in which there is a constant flow of water along their deepest part. Apart from large valleys of this kind, the southern slope of the cape is intersected by a series of small gullies, two of which form edges of the site area (Voskresenskaya, Markova, 2019). (Voskresenskaya, Markova, 2019).…”

“…Apart from large valleys of this kind, the southern slope of the cape is intersected by a series of small gullies, two of which form edges of the site area (Voskresenskaya, Markova, 2019). (Voskresenskaya, Markova, 2019).…”

“…The gleyization levels in the lower part of the Desninsky loess match the short periods of rising temperatures and the slo wing down of loess accumulation. (Voskresenskaya, Markova, 2019).…”

“…Middle Palaeolithic sites such as Khotylevo I and Betovo (Zavernyaev 1972;Tarasov 1989;Ocherednoi, Voskresenskaya 2009;Voskresenskaya, Markova 2019) represent the Late Pleistocene in the basin of the River Desna, but most of the well-known Palaeolithic sites are those of the Late Palaeolithic. In this area sufficient work has not yet been carried out to identify adequately substantiated features indicating the presence of man during the early phase of the Palaeolithic.…”