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Tolbor-15 lithic assemblage. Tools. AH 6, 7: 1epointed tool (AH 6); 2eend scraper (AH 6); 3ebacked bladelet (AH 6); 4eskreblo (AH 6); 5eplain (AH 6); 6, 9, 10eend scrapers (AH 7); 7eplain (AH 7); 8, 15, 16, 17epointed tools (AH 7); 11ebiface (AH 7); 12, 13epoints (AH 7); 14eskreblo (AH 7).
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This article reports on materials excavated and analyzed since 2008 at the multi-component open-air Tolbor-15 Site (Selenge River basin, northern Mongolia). Also discussed are problems of chronology and periodization of the Mongolian Upper Paleolithic based on radiocarbon dating, including new determinations available for the Tolbor-4 and 15 sites,...
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... In the neighboring eastern Eurasian Steppe, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Siberian Altai, Trans-Baikal, and North Mongolia, the Upper Paleolithic is characterized by the prevalence of blade/bladelet production, which is clearly distinct from the irregular flake production of CAFs in the south (Fig. 2) (Anikovich, 2007;Derevianko & Shunkov, 2009;Derevianko et al., 2013;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Rybin et al., 2016;Zwyns et al., 2014). Such traditions emerged as early as 48-45 ka cal BP, with the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) being recognized by specific technological traits such as the coexistence of burin-core and asymmetrical core reduction methods to produce blades (Derevianko, 2010;Derevianko et al., 2004;Goebel & Aksenov, 1995;Goebel et al., 1993;Kuhn & Zwyns, 2014;Zwyns et al., 2012). ...
... However, the lack of evidence for an antecedent lithic technology or any stable human population on the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding lowland regions, we consider an external origin more likely. The clusters of BBAs distributed in the neighboring Siberian Altai, Trans-Baikal, and northern Mongolia around 48-40 ka cal BP represent some of the earliest and also the densest occurrence of blade technology in eastern Asia (Goebel, 1994;Anikovich, 2007;Derevianko et al., 2013;Derevianko & Shunkov, 2009;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Kuhn & Zwyns, 2014;Rybin, 2014;Zwyns et al., 2014;Zwyns, 2021). The BBAs in the north are slightly older than those from Shuidonggou and Nwya Devu, and they are also geographically proximate to North China and the Tibetan Plateau, indicating some of these BBA cultural connections between the two regions in the broad sense. ...
How and why early hunter–gatherers expanded into the challenging environments of the Tibetan Plateau during the Pleistocene remain largely unexplained. The discovery of the archaeological site of Nwya Devu, characterized by lithic blade production, brings new evidence of human expansion to high elevations ca. 40–30 ka. The blade assemblage currently lacks technological antecedents in East Asia. During Marine Isotope Stage 3, the surrounding lowlands to the Plateau were dominated by a distinct type of industry broadly named “core and flake.” It is suggested that the Nwya Devu blade assemblage derives from traditions in the eastern Eurasian Steppe, a clustered hub for Upper Paleolithic blade technology. In contrast to the East Asian lowlands, the Tibetan Plateau shares a number of environmental similarities with North and Central Asia such as low temperature and humidity, long winters, strong seasonality, and grassland landscapes. Blade and core-and-flake technologies tend to be associated with different environments in eastern Asia. We hypothesize that this geographic distribution indicates different sets of behavioral adaptations that map onto distinct ecozones and are relevant to human expansion to the Tibetan Plateau during Marine Isotope Stage 3. To evaluate the working model, we characterized the environmental parameters for both blade and core-and-flake technologies in eastern Asia during the period. The results show that environmental conditions on the Plateau and at the Nwya Devu site align with those of blade assemblages documented in the Eurasian Steppe and contrast with those of core-and-flake assemblages. Blade technology is strongly associated with low-temperature environments. These findings suggest that hunter–gatherers from the steppe belt may have benefited from their behaviorally adaptive advantages when moving into the highland environments of the Tibetan Plateau, 40–30 ka.
... ka) [11] have described population movements across regions of Northeast Asia. One scenario that has garnered attention is that microblade technology (this technology is referred by researchers in different ways, for example, morphometrically, technologically and functionally) that was distributed across North Asia (Siberia and Mongolia) during the latter half of MIS 3 [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] spread southward as a result of environmental changes taking place from the beginning of MIS 2 that led to the emergence of the Northeast Asian initial microblade assemblages (NAIMA) in Northern China, on the Korean Peninsula and on the Palaeo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril (PSHK) Peninsula [2][3][4], although this has been disputed [7,23]. A similar scenario regarding large-scale human migration from the beginning of MIS 2 caused by environmental changes is also hypothesised for Western Europe, where human populations moved southward from high-latitude regions [24][25][26][27]. ...
The widespread distribution of microblade assemblages has been discussed in connection with human migration and cultural transmission across Northeast Asia during MIS 2. However, there has been no clear consensus among researchers on the interrelationships between the emergence of microblade assemblages and the construction of human population dynamics in Northeast Asia. Recent evidence makes systematic verification still necessary to determine whether the scenario of simple migration from North Asia is sufficient to explain spatiotemporal variation in lithic assemblages in different regions of Northeast Asia. Elucidating the diversity of reduction processes and knapping techniques among lithic assemblages across Northeast Asia is important for understanding of human population dynamics. This chapter reviews the current state of the study of microblade technology in Northeast Asia, focusing on the issues of the definition of microblades and microblade technology and their impacts on the current interpretations.
... Cores with such morphologies were found in some sites such as Chikhen-2 (dated to 30.9 -33.8 kaBP cal ) [18] , Tsagaan Agui [6] , and in the Nariin Gol, Baidrag Gol, and Tuin Gol basins [5] that were dated to the Early Upper Paleolithic and that are located in areas such as Tsatsiin Ereg-2 [19,20] , Khuruugiin Uzuur [21] , Moiltyn Am, and Orkhon [22] . Second, faceted striking platforms were prepared by means of unidirectional parallel reduction ( Fig.3: 1, 2 [23][24][25][26] and Kharganyn ...
Mongolia’s unique geographical location between northern China and the Siberian
Plateau of Russia has facilitated its role as a corridor of regional cultural connection since the Pleistocene. It is evident that the Early Upper Paleolithic of Mongolia dates to 33-27 kaBP from the archaeological studies of those Upper Paleolithic sites at Tsagaan Agui and Chikhen Agui in Bayankhongor Province (Southwest Mongolia). Here, we present the results of archaeological analysis of Paleolithic remains from the six sites in the Tsagaan Turuut River Valley located in Galuut district, northern Bayankhongor Province. These newly discovered sites significantly expand our knowledge of the prehistory of central Mongolia and most of Central Asian region.
The knapping technology at these sites is based on radial cores and unidirectional prismatic cores. By analyzing the lithic artifacts from these six sites, we believe that these cultures have continuity from early to late stages of the Early Upper Paleolithic. Special tools such as points and large bifaces were recovered. The 14C dating results of a bone sample from the lower layer of a test pit indicate that the Tsagaan Baast Valley sites are no later than 43500 BP cal (β-TSTC1).
蒙古国位于中国北方和俄罗斯西伯利亚高原之间，这一独特地理位置促使它成为了自更新世以来 的区域文化的联系走廊。蒙古国西南部的巴彦洪格尔省察干阿贵和奇肯阿贵旧石器时代晚期遗址的考 古研究表明，蒙古国旧石器时代早期可追溯到距今3.3~2.7 万年前。本文对巴彦洪格尔省北部Galuut 区 Tsagaan Turuut 河谷6 处旧石器时代遗址与遗迹进行了考古分析。结果显示，这些遗址的剥片技术主要基 于盘状石核和棱柱状石叶石核，新发现的这些遗址极大地扩展了我们对蒙古国中部以及更大的中亚地区 史前史的了解。对这6 处遗址的石制品组合分析表明，这些遗址从旧石器时代早期到晚期具有文化的连 续性，同时我们还发现了一些尖状器与大型两面器。Tsagaan-Baast 谷地中从石器样本层位下出土的骨样 本的14C 测年结果显示, 其年代不晚于距今43500 年前。
... Flake scars show clear traces of bidirectional blade knapping. Similar bidirectional cores have been found in Tolbor 4, 15, 16, and 21 (Derevianko et al., 2013;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Zwyns et al., 2013Zwyns et al., , 2014aZwyns et al., , 2014bZwyns et al., , 2019, Khatsenovich et al., 2017 and at Tsatsyn Ereg 2 ( Fig. 1.74) (Simonet et al., 2013) in central Mongolia. These are usually associated with the IUP. ...
Many recent publications have discussed the development and distribution of Initial and Early Upper Palaeolithic (IUP/EUP) technologies in East Asia, with a special emphasis on the Siberian Altai, Transbaikal, and northern Mongolia as the epicentre of Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. These studies largely associate the IUP with the arrival of anatomically modern Homo sapiens from the west. Two major gaps in our understanding of this period are as follows: (1) the relationship between blade-based reduction with earlier flake-based and Levallois-type reduction strategies and (2) the nature of IUP/EUP technological traditions beyond the north-western edge of East Asia. Here we report on new archaeological finds from two open-air sites in the Ögöömöriin Govi Valley of eastern Mongolia and contextualize them within the broader scope of region-wide technological change. Lithic assemblages post-date 40 ka but are consistent with the IUP, revealing evidence for Levallois-flake based methods, bidirectional Levallois-like core reduction, and bidirectional prismatic core blade-based techniques, in addition to symbolic or ritual behaviour. Findings from these and other sites in southern and eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia suggest that IUP methods, including the use of Levallois-flake and bidirectional Levallois-like core technology, were widely adopted and continued to be used for many millennia. The broader data likewise suggests adoption by existing groups who were already familiar with Levallois methods of core preparation. New data from Ögöömöriin Govi sites shows that IUP reduction strategies continued to be used until they were replaced by bladelet production from volumetric cores.
... Many sites appear to represent relatively short-term habitation events, whereas some appear as palimpsests of seasonally recurring and partly overlapping sites (e.g., Houle, 2010: Chapter 3;Seitsonen et al., 2018). Only occasionally thicker deposits have been encountered at open-air localities (e.g., Fitzhugh, 2004:10-12;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Houle, 2016;Taylor et al., 2020;Vella, 2017; and just beyond the border in Tuva, see Semenov, 2018). In the summer of 2018, we located two such sites with over one-meter-thick archaeological deposits in Züünkhangai, Uvs province, northwestern Mongolia (sites ZK513 and ZK554) (Fig. 1). ...
Currently, the development of mobile pastoralism in Mongolia is known almost exclusively from burial and ritual contexts. Here we present the results of archaeological excavations and geoarchaeological work carried out at a deeply stratified multiperiod habitation site in northwestern Mongolia. Data include an unprecedented number of well-preserved artifacts, faunal and botanical remains, sedimentary information, and chronology that document the development of pastoralism in this region. Our findings index the local durability of pastoralist occupation over 4000 years, as well as the adaptive resilience of the herders here, indeed up to the present day, and this despite major changes in the sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and environmental conditions through time.
... Таблица 4. Морфологические характеристики сколов из комплексов НВП-РВП бассейна Селенги делах нескольких сотен метров от расположения стоянок находятся выходы сырья. В этих условиях представлена наиболее полная и надежно датированная хроностратиграфическая колонка комплексов палеолита Монголии от среднего палеолита до финала позднего палеолита (Gladyshev et al. 2012;Гладышев и др. 2010Zwyns et al. 2019;Rybin et al. 2020). ...
Northern Mongolia and southwest Transbaikalia, encompassing the Selenga River Basin, constitute the geographical core of the earliest known Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) laminar industries. Comparison of the broad spectrum of criteria presented here allows reconstructing variability within these IUP industries, determining regional traits in settlement systems, and the character of population mobility. Workshops were the main site-type identified, visible as several short-term occupational episodes. One of our foci is illuminating the role of the Selenga River Valley and its tributaries as the principal migration corridors for population diffusion in the Upper Paleolithic. Although some unique regional features are apparent, the technology and typology of the lithic industries demonstrate great similarity. We suggest that the cumulative evidence indicates the recent divergence of Mongolian and Transbaikalian IUP populations stemming from a common ancestral group of humans.
... The earliest blade-based Upper Paleolithic technocomplex is documented at the lowest cultural horizons of Tolbor-4 in northern Mongolia, radiocarbon dated to ca. 41,000 cal BP (Horizon 6) or as old as ~45,000 cal BP (Horizon 5) (Gladyshev et al. 2010). Some researchers suggest that this Mongolian form of blade technology was transmitted originally from the Altai region of Siberia and further dispersed into northern China (Brantingham et al. 2001;Gladyshev et al. 2012;Li et al. 2013;Zwyns et al. 2012). ...
... The Ikh-Tolborin-Gol is part of the Selenga drainage system, the main river feeding Lake Baikal (Fig 1) [68]. This river valley preserves a wealth of Upper Paleolithic (UP) locales including Tolbor-4, Tolbor-15, Tolbor-16, and Tolbor-21 [68][69][70][71]. Most of the sites document periodic human o ccupations starting with the Initial Upper Paleolithic, ca. ...
Structural and thermodynamic factors which may influence burnt bone survivorship in archaeological contexts have not been fully described. A highly controlled experimental reference collection of fresh, modern bone burned in temperature increments 100–1200˚C is presented here to document the changes to bone tissue relevant to preservation using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Specific parameters investigated here include the rate of organic loss, amount of bone mineral recrystallization, and average growth in bone mineral crystallite size. An archaeological faunal assemblage ca. 30,000 years ago from Tolbor-17 (Mongolia) is additionally considered to confirm visibility of changes seen in the modern reference sample and to relate structural changes to commonly used zooarchaeological scales of burning intensity. The timing of our results indicates that the loss of organic components in both modern and archaeological bone burnt to temperatures up to 700˚C are not accompanied by growth changes in the average crystallite size of bone mineral bioapatite, leaving the small and reactive bioapatite crystals of charred and carbonized bone exposed to diagenetic agents in depositional contexts. For bones burnt to temperatures of 700˚C and above, two major increases in average crystallite size are noted which effectively decrease the available surface area of bone mineral crystals, decreasing reactivity and offering greater thermodynamic stability despite the mechanical fragility of calcined bone. We discuss the archaeological implications of these observations within the context of Tolbor-17 and the challenges of identifying anthropogenic fire.
... In recent years, it has often been argued that microblade technology emerged in the form of carinated, prismatic and narrowed prismatic cores, including wedge-and boat-shaped varieties in the latter half of MIS 3 in Siberia and Mongolia before spreading to other parts of Northeast Asia, including Northern China, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago (Derevianko, 2001(Derevianko, , 2005Shunkov, 2002, 2004;Keats, 2007;Kuzmin, 2007;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Zwyns, 2012;Kozyrev et al., 2014;Yi et al., 2016). Interestingly, similar techno-morphological characteristics of microblade technology-frequently referred to as bladelet technology-have been confirmed in various lithic industries belonging to the latter half of MIS 3, such as the Kulbulakian in Central Asia (e.g., Kolobova et al., 2013;, the Ahmarian, Levantine Aurignacian and Baradostian in West Asia (e.g., Olsezewski and Dibble, 1994;Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris, 2002;Goring-Morris and Davidzon, 2006;Otte and Kozlowski, 2007;Otte et al., 2011;Tsanova, 2013). ...
Until recently, several hypotheses on the origin(s) and dispersion of microblade technology in Northeast Asia have been presented and discussed. Although various definitions of microblade and bladelet have been proposed in diverse geographic and chronological contexts, several researchers may agree that the pressure knapping technique for microblade production plays a paramount role in the process of significant changes in lithic technology and human behaviours between marine isotope stages (MIS) 3 and 2. One of the main topics in the study of microblade technology in Northeast Asia is establishing a systematic and reliable method for identifying microblade knapping techniques that are quantitatively verified. This paper attempts to present a more improved method for identifying microblade knapping techniques by dealing with the analysis of fracture wings which are the reliable indicators of the crack velocity. The focus of this paper is on identifying obsidian microblade-like debitage knapping techniques in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) assemblage of Kawanishi-C in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The results of fracture wing analysis show that the microblade-like longitudinal debitage production at the Kashiwadai-C site was employed by not pressure but percussion techniques. This gives new insights into the diversity of microblade and microblae-like debitage reduction sequences in the LGM Hokkaido and complex process of significant changes in lithic technology, especially in relation to the emergence of microblade technology. In addition, this study shows that the analysis of fracture wings can allow appropriate technological evaluation of the microblades and microblade-like longitudinal debitage production in the period before and around the LGM in Northeast Asia.
... The most recent investigations of the Upper Paleolithic in Mongolia are the stratigraphic excavations at the Tolbor complex of localities in the valley of the Ikh Tulberiin Gol, particularly Tolbor 15. The research has concentrated on the Pleistocene terraces of a pair of north-flowing tributary valleys of the Selenge River (Gladyshev et al. 2012;Khatsenovich et al. 2017;Zwyns et al. 2014a a deep stratigraphy and initial Upper Paleolithic stone tool industries dating from before 40,000 years ago to the Epipaleolithic, spanning the change from large bladebased industries to flake-based ones at c. 25,000 and ultimately to pressure-flaked microliths (see below). At the nearby site of Dorolj 1, drilled ostrich eggshell beads were found in the same layers as large blade tools (Jaubert et al. 2004; see also Janz et al. 2009). ...
There has been a great increase in archaeological research in Mongolia since 2000. Increasingly precise chronologies, regional studies, and the growth of development-driven archaeology are transforming our knowledge of this key region of northeastern Asia. This review summarizes recent work and provides a narrative of the prehistoric and medieval cultural sequences as presently understood. I focus on long-standing key topics: early human habitation, the adoption of food-producing economies, Bronze Age social transformations, and the emergence of central places and large polities. I argue that, on the one hand, Mongolia has unique data and new examples to offer the archaeological community and, on the other, that the prehistory of Mongolia and the steppe are not so different from the rest of the world in its history of research and key questions. This review provides general overviews covering the Upper Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic or Neolithic, and Bronze Age to the Xiongnu period; specific data related to each period provide jumping-off points for comparative analysis and further examination.
