Mesolithic Archaeology

NOW COMPLETE AS TWO pdf-Files:         

This huge study analyses the cultural conditions amongst late communities of hunter-gatherers in Central Europe. Considering the working technique of flint artefacts, a distribution-area of dorso-ventral base-retouched arrowheads emerged in the Late Pre-Boreal (since ca. 8,900 cal.BC) including France, Benelux and both Banks of the River Rhine up to Switzerland and clearly distict from neighbouring regions. This Major Zone remained stable in subsequent Millennia - during the Boreal and Atlantic periods. In the Late Mesolithic, local subtypes emerged, and three types of arrowheads showed dorso-ventral base-preparations ("Rhine-Meuse-Schelde-Culture-B", Danubian- and Bavans-Points). Taken together, these do not only confirm the stability of the distribution pattern over 4 millinnea, but their occurrence coincides with Mesolithic pottery of types Limbourg and La Hoguette. This pottery, until now concidered a derivate of the Western Meditteranean Cardial Culture, is now older than this and now connected with the Western French coast as regards its origin. Also during the Linear Pottery Culture the distribution (now called "Se-Sa-Rhe-tradition-area") remained stable, and notions of a cooperation between Mesolithic and Neolithic populations are discussed.

The monumental nature of Neolithic funerary rites is analysed by archaeologists in relation to its alleged links with the management of land by agro-pastoral communities. This article examines the social dynamics in the Neolithic of Western France, with a particular focus on how human populations mastered oceanic geographical and environmental characteristics. Numerous excavations during the
last fifteen years have significantly transformed the chronology. The evolution of the Mesolithic has been completely renewed and there is now a lack of reliable data between 5300 and 5000 BC (Mesolithic / Neolithic transition). Obviously dependent on a pioneer movement, the Late Bandkeramik of the Paris Basin and Villeneuve-Saint-Germain are well documented in villages that now cover the whole Breton peninsula up to the Loire river. Its early dates when compared to the Parisian Basin model could be due to bias within the calibration curve. South of the Loire, our knowledge of the Early Neolithic in the Centre-Atlantic
region, which is Mediterranean in origin, remains embryonic and centred on the chronological interval 4700-4500 BC. The analysis of social organization shows a clear difference between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic; it also applies to the technical traditions that are subject to an abrupt break. The issue of transmission of arrowhead technology between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic is no longer relevant, because of the revision of the chronology. Two technical domains are likely to have been inherited from the indigenous coastal communities: fisheries
and navigation. Their degree of respective control may have conditioned the socioeconomic foundations of the first agro-pastoral societies in Western France. The successive steps of the transmission of knowledge during the Atlantic Neolithic are discussed. It points to asset control and power in a few hands, which is best ‘embodied’ in the central tomb of the Tumulus Saint-Michel, dated around 4700-4600 BC. We do not know the economic foundations that ensure the ustainabilityof this social structure; their maritime dimension should not be overlooked.

Patterns in the Population History of Northern Eurasia from the Mesolithic to the Early Bronze Age, Based on Craniometry and Genetics In memory of Oleg Balanovsky This study examines the craniometric differentiation of Northern Eurasian groups with reference to genetic and partly linguistic facts. Measurements of 66 series of male crania from that territory, dating to various periods from the Mesolithic to the Early Bronze Age, were subjected to statistical methods especially destined for detecting spatial patterns, specifi cally gradients. Using the nonmetric multidimensional scaling of the matrix of D 2 distances corrected for sample size, a two-dimensional projection of group constellation was generated, and a minimum spanning tree, showing the shortest path between group centroids in the multivariate space, was constructed. East-west clines in Northern Eurasia, detected by both genetic and craniometric traits, likely indicate not so much gene fl ow as isolation by distance, resulting from an incomplete evolutionary divergence of various fi lial groups constituting the Boreal meta-population. The western fi lial component, which, in Siberia and Eastern Central Asia, is mostly represented by Afanasyevans, has evidently made little contribution to the genetic makeup of later populations. The eastern fi lial component, which had appeared in the Cis-Baikal region from across Lake Baikal no later than the Neolithic, admixed with the autochthonous Paleosiberian component. The latter's principal marker-the ANE autosomal component-had been present in Siberia since the Upper Paleolithic. Likewise autochthonous were both Eurasian formations-Northern and Southern; statis tical analysis has made it possible to make these more inclusive, whereby the former has been expanded in the eastern direction to include the Kuznetsk Basin, and the latter westwards, to the Middle Irtysh. Nothing suggests that Eastern European groups had taken part in the origin of either the Northern Eurasian formation or the proto-Uralic groups.

En los últimos cuarenta años, el conocimiento sobre el Epipaleolítico y el Mesolítico en la cuenca del Ebro ha aumentado considerablemente, constituyendo en la actualidad, una de las áreas peninsulares con mayor información sobre el periodo. Entre los cambios que se reconocen en los modos de vida de las últimas sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras, las modificaciones observadas en la industria lítica son notables, habiéndose definido tres tradiciones que se suceden: las industrias epipaleolíticas (microlaminares y sauveterroides), las del Mesolítico de muescas y denticulados, y las del Mesolítico geométrico. La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo el reconocimiento de las estrategias de producción y gestión de la industria lítica a las que responden cada uno de los complejos, y la valoración de la naturaleza y entidad de las transformaciones que se suceden en estos a lo largo del tiempo. Para ello se acomete el estudio de materias primas, tecnológico y tipológico del yacimiento de Atxoste (Álava). Este abrigo, que se enmarca en el modelo de ocupación territorial definido para este periodo en la cuenca del Ebro, ofrece una amplia secuencia estratigráfica que abarca desde finales del Paleolítico superior hasta el Calcolítico. El presente trabajo se centra en el análisis de las industrias líticas de los niveles Epipaleolíticos y Mesolíticos, contando con dos niveles arqueológicos para cada tradición: Epipaleolítico microlaminar (VIb2 y VIb); Mesolítico de muecas y denticulados (VI y V); Mesolítico geométrico (IV y IIIb2). Ello permite analizar en profundidad tanto el sistema lítico de cada una de las fases industriales y su evolución interna, así como las modificaciones que se operan entre ellas. El texto se ha estructurado en tres apartados: - Parte I: Se exponen además de los objetivos del trabajo y una presentación más detallada del yacimiento, el enfoque teórico-metodológico adoptado y un estado de la cuestión sobre las industrias epipaleolíticas y mesolíticas en el alto y medio Ebro; - Parte II: Se ofrece la caracterización y reconstrucción de las estrategias de producción y gestión de cada uno de los niveles, definiendo los objetivos productivos y el modo en que se llevan a cabo (abastecimiento de las materias primas, sistema de producción y configuración del utillaje retocado). Con todo ello, se atienden a las transformaciones internas que se operan en cada tradición, evaluándolas individualmente en el contexto más inmediato de la cuenca del Ebro y el de los territorios colindantes; - Parte III: Se analizan los cambios y continuidades que se producen entre las distintas tradiciones, reflexionando sobre la entidad y naturaleza de los mismos. La principal aportación del trabajo radica en el conocimiento más detallado que se ofrece de la organización del sistema lítico (de su abastecimiento, producción y gestión) de las distintas tradiciones industriales. En la comprensión de que cada una ellas responde a unos objetivos, a una forma de hacer, de gestionar y de concebir el material lítico particular. En este sentido, las transformaciones reconocidas entre los distintos complejos, los diferentes mecanismos mediante los cuales abastecían sus necesidades industriales, ofrecen un elemento más de aproximación y conocimiento a las últimas sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras.


Au cours des quarante dernières années, la connaissance de l’Épipaléolithique et du Mésolithique dans le bassin de l'Èbre a considérablement augmenté, constituant actuellement l'une des régions de la Péninsule Ibérique possédant le plus d'informations sur cette période. Parmi les changements reconnus dans les modes de vie de ces dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs, les transformations observées dans l'industrie lithique sont remarquables, trois traditions successives ont été définies: les industries épipaléolithiques (microlaminaires et sauveterroïdes), le Mésolithique des encoches et denticulés, et le Mésolithique géométrique. Cette thèse a pour objectif de reconnaitre des stratégies de production et de gestion de l'industrie lithique auxquelles chaque ensemble répond, ainsi que l'évaluation de la nature et de l'entité des changements qui s’y produisent tout au long du temps. Pour cela, nous avons effectué les études des matières premières, technologique et typologique du gisement d´Atxoste (Álava). Cet abri, qui correspond au modèle d'occupation territoriale défini pour cette période dans le bassin de l'Èbre, offre une large séquence stratigraphique allant de la fin du Paléolithique Supérieur au Chalcolithique. Ce travail se concentre sur l'analyse des industries lithiques des niveaux épipaléolithiques et mésolithiques, avec deux niveaux archéologiques par tradition: l´Épipaléolithique microlaminaire (VIb2 et VIb); le Mésolithique des encoches et denticulés (VI et V); et le Mésolithique géométrique (IV et IIIb2). Cela permet une analyse profonde autant du système lithique de chacune des phases industrielles et de son évolution interne, que des changements qui ont eu lieu entre elles. Le texte a été structuré en trois sections: - Partie I: Nous exposons, en plus des objectifs de ce travail et d’une présentation plus détaillée du site, l'approche théorique et méthodologique, ainsi qu’un état de la question sur les industries épipaléolithiques et mésolithiques du Haut et Moyen Èbre; - Partie II: Nous offrons la caractérisation et la reconstruction des stratégies de production et de gestion de chacun des niveaux, donnant la définition des objectifs de production et de la façon avec laquelle ils ont étés réalisés (l´approvisionnement en matières premières, le système de production et la configuration de l´outillage retouché). Avec tout cela, nous analysons les changements internes qui ont eu lieu à chaque tradition, et nous les évaluons de manière individuelle dans le contexte le plus proche du bassin de l'Èbre et de ses territoires adjacents; - Partie III: Nous analysons les transformations et les continuités qui se produisent entre les différentes traditions, tout en réfléchissant sur leur nature et leur entité. La principale contribution de cette recherche réside: dans la connaissance plus profonde qu’elle offre sur l'organisation du système lithique (son approvisionnement, sa production et sa gestion) des différentes traditions industrielles; dans la compréhension que chacune d’entre elles répond à des objectifs, à des façons de faire, de gérer et de concevoir le matériel lithique en soi. En ce sens, les transformations reconnues entre les divers complexes, et les différents mécanismes par lesquels ces sociétés approvisionnaient leurs besoins industriels, offrent un élément de plus pour une meilleure approche et de plus grandes connaissances des dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs.

The ‘Türk Altay Theory / Türk-Altay Kuramı’ is a true story of the early existence of the Türks in North Asia. Sayan-Altay’s successive indigenous cultures from 6000 BC to 6th-8th century AD, were connected each other by using archaeological methods. The Kuram has gone through hoops while it has pursued on the cultural traces of the Turks in North Asia. Indo-European hypotheses were the basis of the hoops. Such hypotheses ignored the existence of the Turks in the defined geographical area. It was not possible to make progress unless the claims that constitute the basis of such ignorance has been investigated. The Kuram did do it. This was the just reason for the struggle of the Kuram with a series of Indo-European hypotheses. The Kuram has been raised on the three basic footing interrelated to each other. 1) The Runic inscriptions that we have called as ‘historical texts’ representing the Classical Turkic Period-2 in Altay, are the basic data set that make up the fi rst footing of the Kuram. 2) The historical texts, on the other hand, also identify a certain group of archaeological material. Actually such group of material, representing Classical Turkic Period-2, spread throughout the Sayan-Altay region, Mongolian territory, and Eurasian steppes. The rich archeological material that is inclined to run to the much earlier times, has enlightened the path of the Culture. 3) Described archaeological material that we can pursue towards the early stages of history led us to the Neolithic period of Yesnisey-Lena region where is the micro climatic isolated territory surrounded by the Angara river in the North, Lena river in the East, Baykal lake in the South and Yenisey river in the West. This living place was the Urheimat of the ancient Türks: Yenisey-Lena. The examination of the material made us access to the Urheimat. According to the Kuram, Turkic speaking people originated from Yenisey-Lena and they grown up in Altay region. At the end of the Late Upper Paleolithic Age (c. 12,000 BC), the Culture with the identity of ‘Yenisy-Lena’, alredy spread to the World.

The Neolithic site Bondarikha ІІ was explored 70 years ago by D. Ya. Telegin. The materials of the site were not processed utilizing modern methods. The authors of the paper re-examined and analyzed the site’s materials using current methodologies. The Bondarikha II site is set along a natural boundary on what is now the south-eastern outskirts of the modern city of Izium, Kharkiv region. The location of the site is a section of an over-flooded terrace that stretches along the left bank of the River Siversky Donets, and a section of an older river bed named the Willow Pit. In the north, sections of the terrace were crossed by an unnamed stream, and its southern boundary defined by floodplains. The lowlands nearest the terrace are primarily comprised of wetlands. It is quite clear that the Willow Pit was once an active river and seasonally may have transformed into a lake during times of flooding. The site is located approximately 7 m above the current floodplain. The general site po...

Synchronous paleo-coastlines 7000-4000 BP (cal) in Central and Northern Uppland

by Jan Risberg, Göran Alm, Niclas Björck, Michel Guinard

Due to the regressive shore displacement, the geography of Uppland has changed dramatically over time. In order to understand the cultural development it is of impor- tance to describe this process as accurate as pos- sible. Therefore, we have combined geological observations with archaeological information to give data for GIS applications with the special aim to construct synchronous paleogeographical maps of the investigated area.
The geologic investigation includes the dating of the isolation events of sedimentary basins at different altitudes. The isolation event was determined by diatoms, which are supposed to reflect the transition from sedimentation in brackish- marine water to sedimentation in freshwater. Five AMS radiocarbon dates were performed on terrestrial macrofossil at each site in order to achieve an accurate age of the isolation. The isolation thresh- olds were interpreted from maps and in the field and levelled using RTK GPS.
Presumed shore bound settlement sites were included in the data base. Beside radiocarbon dating, the following criteria were considered for the sites: bone material, find composition, topography, phosphate degrees, find spreading and wave washing of ceramics and stones.
20 dated shore-bound settlement sites and 17 dated lake isolations, spanning the time interval 6810 and 6810 cal. BP, constitute the data base for the construction of the maps.
Since the investigated area is stretched in north- south direction it is not possible to apply one single shore displacement curve. It was concluded that the expected altitude could be explained by the following mathematical formula:
Height = k1· x2 + k · x + k · x + b
where: k =2,07823•10-6, k =-0,01109, k =7,63584•10-5,
b=-456,08, x1= years BP and x2= north coordinate
Based on these results palaeogeograpgical maps were constructed for seven 500 year intervals between 7000 and 4000 cal. BP. These maps are synchronous, which means that they are supposed to show “true” shore lines.
When we compared the archaeological and geological data it was noted that the regression line for the shore bound settlement sites was situated below the similar line for lake isolations. This could be explained as an effect of the relatively flat landscape in Uppland, which would allow input of brackish water relatively long after the topographical isolations of the basins. This would mean a too young age of the isolation event. For the archaeological material could the dating of remains of organic origin contain a reservoir effect causing too old ages.

Né le huit janvier 1922 à Charleville, le Docteur Rozoy a consacré la majeure partie de sa vie à l'archéologie. Son travail sur le Mésolithique est fondateur et ses travaux sur les âges du Fer reconnus pas tous les protohistoriens. Auteur de plus de 240 articles et ouvrages, il a été également un archéologue de terrain jusqu'à l'âge avancé de 82 ans.

Stone Age sites found by test pits .  The sites was demarcated with empty testpits, rock and shore. They are dated to meolithic an neolithic, bye the typology of artefacts and sealeveldiagrams. One of the sites, Lok.3,  have been under water after it was abandoned. Lok.8 is suggested to early neolithic (TN). Lok.5 is suggested to middle neolithid (MN).
A traditional boathouse environment , and coastal farm was also recorded.

Nous présentons le contexte de découverte des céramiques néolithiques de la couche 4 (attribuée au Mésolithique récent)
du Trou Al’Wesse. La répartition spatiale du matériel archéologique, ainsi que des données stratigraphiques, montrent que ces tessons n’appartiennent pas à l’ensemble mésolithique. Des processus post-dépositionels devant l’entrée ont mélangé ces tessons avec du matériel lithique mésolithique. La stratigraphie montre également que, contre les parois rocheuses, il n’y a pas de mélange entre les deux occupations.

Kniha Počátky zemědělství ve Starém světě nabízí globální
pohled na jeden z nevýznamnějších fenoménů vývoje lidstva.
Nejstarší prvky zemědělství byly přítomny u lovců a sběračů,
jimž je věnována značná pozornost. Na základě soudobých
znalostí popisuje autor dějiny řešení vzniku zemědělství
od 19. století do současnosti. Pozornost je věnována
ekologickým a společenským podmínkám, které panovaly
v přírodě a lidské společnosti na konci poslední doby ledové.
Jádrem knihy je pak líčení složitých dějů na Předním východě,
v Číně, v Africe a v Evropě tak, jak je zachycuje dnešní
bioarcheologie a paleoekologie.
Autor vidí počátky zemědělství jako dlouhodobý proces
s řadou etap, z nichž nejdůležitější bylo období pěstování
divokých rostlin na Předním východě a Číně, jež zde trvalo
řadu tisíciletí. Řada pozorování tehdejších společností
v centrech vývoje ukazuje, že sociální změny byly o něco
starší, než změny ekonomické. Pozdější plné zemědělství
charakterizuje vyšší míra sociální komplexity, vazba
na teritorium a přítomnost alespoň jedné domestikované
rostliny nebo zvířete.

A rare archaeological find from the Don River (Central Russia), a large dugout found in 1954 is described. The history of discovery, fieldwork and conservation are outlined. The key role at all stages belonged to Maria Voss, who did her best to unearth and preserve this dugout - the first Prehistoric one to be found, restored and exhibited in the USSR. She passed away before being able to describe the boat in detail. Its age is still under question, certain facts relating to the archaeological context contradict the  old dating version (Neolithic-Early Bronze Age) and no C14 analysis has been conducted. A brief review of Stone Age European dugouts is provided.

In 2016 during the inventory and transportation of the archaeological finds from temporary archaeological storage at Pheophania to the present-day storagefacility of the Institute of Archaeology, the materials
of the excavations of the expeditions of 1980 and 1985 were selected and processed. The excavations and surveys were conducted by expeditions under the leadership of O. G. Shaposhnikova and D. Ya. Telehin on the territory of the Starobilsk district of the Luhansk region.
The surveys in 1980 were conducted at only two locations located close to each other — the settlements of Aidar-Bila and Pidhorivka.
Aydar-Bila. Because the location plan is missing (it is also missing from the 1986 report), it was not possible to locate the settlement on the map. However, it can be assumed that the multilayered settlement of
Aydar-Bila is located in the eastern part of the village Pidhorivka of the Starobilsk district of the Lugansk region, on the low floodplain terrace of the right bank of the river Bila (the right tributary of the Aydar river).
At the location of the settlement, the width of the valley of both rivers is 2.23 km. In 1986, additional research was conducted and the site was named Hyrlo Biloyi. In fact, this name is more common and widely used in the scientific literature. The settlement is multilayered, as indicated by the code on the finds. The largest number of finds is associated with layer 4. Given the vertical distribution of the finds, it can be assumed that there are at least three episodes of occupation in the history of the settlement, two of which, given the peculiarities of the finds, occurred in the Neolithic Period and one in the Late Bronze Age. Pidhorivka. The multilayered settlement of Pidhorivka is located on the off-shore terrace of the right bank of the Aydar River, at the point where the coast recedes to the west, thus forming a sufficiently wide floodplain, on which the depressions of the old-aged lakes are noticeable. In total, about 10 different settlements were found within the specified floodplain, 5
of which are known from the research of S. O. Loktushev in 1939. In 1963, the Pidhorivka settlement was investigated by V. M. Gladilin, however, no report or publication on the results of the research appeared, as correctly pointed out by Y. G. Gurin in 1998. It is only
known that the expedition V. M. Gladilin cleaned up the coastline of the Aydar River, where the Neolithic materials were discovered. Some findings revealed by the expedition led by V. M. Gladilin appear in the
monograph V. M. Danilenko as an example of the material culture of the Azov culture he identified. In 1980, the expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR under the direction of O. G. Shaposhnikova laid out
an excavation area on the Pidhorivka settlement. The results of these studies are unknown (missing report, field documentation, and findings). In the same year, an expedition led by D. Y. Telegin excavated a trench
with a total area of 5 m2. Later (in 1984), the site was explored by an expedition under the general guidance of K. I. Krasilnikov and Y. G. Gurin.
The total number of findings revealed as a result of the research by O. G. Shaposhnikova reached 295 units. The material analysis demonstrates the settlement is multi-layered. The upper horizons with the Middle
and Late Bronze Age materials being the latest. In the conditional horizon of 0.8/0.9 m, a rather informative fragment of the Late Copper Age vessel was found, and at the same time, it is accompanied by a flint complex, which has the appearance of the Early Copper Age or Neolithic. The artifacts found in the conditional horizons of 0.9/1.0—1.1/1.2 m appear to be relatively «pure» in that the cultural and chronological terms clearly define their affiliation with the Early Neolithic Period and allow them to be associated with the Lower Don culture/Nizhnedonska culture of the Mariupol Cultural and Historical Area. At the same time, the presence of earlier artifacts, such as a conical single-platform core and multiple-truncated burin, makes one more cautious to interpret the complexes. Both the core and the burin look more logical in the flint complexes of the lower horizons of the site. In this sense, it is important to pay attention to the description of the stratigraphic section of the excavation area 2 of the settlement Pidhorivka, presented by Y. G. Gurin in a monograph about the Early Copper age sites of the Siversky Donets Basin. It states that, at a depth of 1.7/2.0 m and below, the layer of floodplain alluvium contains «Mesolithic materials». Y. G. Gurin did
not publish the materials themselves that he claimed were from the Mesolithic era. In 2006, O. F. Gorelik issued a publication dedicated to the interpretation of the materials of the lower layer of Pidhorivka. In this
work, he linked the affiliation of the flint complex with the early stage of Donetsk culture, and considered the site one of the centers of the Mesolithic industries with the yanishlavitsa type of projectile points. This conclusion is based on the similarity of the materials of the lower layer of Pidhoryvka with the flint complex of the site Shevchenko hamlet, one of the features of which is the presence of a yanislavitsa type of projectile point. In 1999, the materials of the site Zelena Hornitsa 5 were
published, which is located on the second floodplain terrace of the lake on the left bank of the Siversky Donets River. In the material culture of this site, even if there are multiple elements, they in no way affect the overall situation. The complex of projectile points of the site consists of trapezes, a yanislavitsa type, points with truncated edges, and so on. The presence of the collapse of the stucco vessel along with these flint products gave rise to criticism of the idea of O. F. Gorelik about the
The mesolithic character of complexes with a yanislavitsa type of projectile points. Later V. O. Manko, in a moreь detailed form, questioned the theory of O. F. Gorelik. To the present day, we can state that there has been some stagnation in this issue. The surveys in 1985 were conducted at the valley of Aidar river from v. Lyman to v. Losovivka. In this area, sites lots have been found, which in chronological terms date back to the Paleolithic—Medieval times. For this reason, we believe that the introduction into scientific circulation of even a small amount of archaeological materials allows the creation of a more complete
picture of the processes that took place in the basin of the middle stream of the Siversky Donets River during the Neolithic—Copper Age.

ABSTRACT Loteshwar (23º 36ʹ 1.8ʺ N; 71º 50ʹ 11.8ʺ E) is situated in the Sami Taluka of Patan District in North Gujarat, Western India. First excavated in 1990’s the site was re-excavated by the North Gujarat Archaeological Project during November/December 2009. The 2009 excavation unearthed two cultural periods namely Mesolithic (dated between the end of the eighth millennium cal BC and the middle of sixth millennium cal BCE) and Chalcolithic (dated to around 3600-3000 BC). The comparative analysis of the lithic assemblages associated with these periods is the main objective of the current study. Other artefacts and ecofacts recovered during the excavations suggest a changing economy at the site from hunting and gathering to agro-pastoralisam. However, the analysis of the lithic assemblage, in particular the cores show continuity in term of a tool technology (quartering technique of stone tool manufacturing) for over five thousand years. This technological continuity is associated to continuity in settlement patterns, characterized by the occupation of dune tops and the uninterrupted transmission of technological knowledge from one generation to another.

In light of a wetland creation project (www.sigmaplan.be) a geo-archaeological survey was
carried out in the are Wijmeers 2 (municipality of Wichelen, Flanders). This resulted in the
discovery of two archaeological find complexes, which were subsequently evaluated with a
test pitting survey. This report discusses the results of this evaluation campaign.
The first site entails a prehistoric find complex situated on two parallel point bar ridges,
directly adjacent to a former avulsion branch of the prehistoric river Scheldt. The combined
finds from an augering and subsequent test pitting survey indicate the presence of several
occupation phases, in the early/ middle Mesolithic, final Mesolithic/ early Neolithic, middle
Neolithic, and Final Neolithic periods. Overall, this palimpsest pattern demonstrates a rather
low density spread of finds, probably indicating mostly the presence of ‘special activity’ sites,
rather than settlement locations. By the end of the Neolithic period/ beginning of the Bronze
Age the fossil gully was completely filled up with organic and clastic sediments, ultimately
resulting in ‘drowning’ of the adjacent point bar ridges.
The second site is situated on a sandy (crevasse) plateau, covered by a thin layer of floodplain
sediments, directly to the north of a fossil branch of the Scheldt river. The evaluation testpit in
2008 revealed the presence of a waste layer sloping down in this gully. The finds in this waste
layer pointed towards an intensive Roman (2nd century) occupation in the immediate vicinity,
with pollen analysis indicating an almost completely deforested environment, and the
presence of pastures and agricultural practices. A preventive excavation campaign followed
this evaluation excavation in 2012, which indeed revealed the presence of a rural Roman
settlement from the 2nd century AD (Meylemans et al. in prep.). .

"""Content

AD GLORIAM 

N. A. Răileanu (Kishinev, Moldova)N. A. Chetraru: The Beginnings9
S. I. Covalenco (Kishinev, Moldova)The Leading Stone Age Researcher of Moldova11
N. K. Anisyutkin, G. V. Grigorieva (St. - Petersburg, Russia)N.A. Chetraru and the Palaeolithic of Moldova14
List of Published Works by N.A. ChetraruList of Published Works18

MAN – MAMMOTH – CULTURE 

Z. A. Abramova (St. - Petersburg, Russia)A Catalogue of Depictions of Mammoth in European Palaeolithic Miniature Art23
Z. A. Abramova (St. - Petersburg, Russia)A Catalogue of Depictions of Mammoth in European Palaeolithic Wall Art68
N. K. Anisyutkin (St. - Petersburg, Russia)Mammoth in the Middle Paleolithic of East Europe (on the problem of Mousterian living structures and the use of mammoth bones)114
S. A. Vasiliev (St. - Petersburg, Russia)Man and Mammoth in the Paleolithic of North America130
I. E. Kuzmina (St. - Petersburg, Russia)Late Anthropogenic Fauna of South-Western and Central Russian Plain141
V. V. Popov (Voronezh, Russia)Bones of Mammoth in Construction of Dwellings of Anosovka-Mezin Type on the Station Kostenki 11 (Anosovka 2)157

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS 

V. N. Stepanchuk (Kiev, Ukraine)The site of Mira in the Middle Dnieper area: On the question of homogeneity of Paleolithic layers187
A. V. Glavenchuk (Odessa, Ukraine)Study of a Manufacture Area on the Late Palaeolithic Settlement of Anetovka II206
A. P. Veselsky (Simferopol, Ukraine)Bodrak: A New Upper Paleolithic Site in South-Western Crimea228
S. P. Smolyaninova (Odessa, Ukraine)Some Groups of Retouched Stone Tools from Mesolithic Sites on the Northwest Coast of the Black Sea248
S. O. Remizov (Volgograd, Russia)A New Stone Age Station in Volgograd Oblast’267

PROBLEMS OF THE PALAEOLITHIC AND MESOLITHIC OF EUROPE 

Yu. E. Demidenko (Kiev, Ukraine)Problems of Epochal and Industrial Attribution for Kiik-Koba Rock-Shelter, Lower Layer Type Complexes in the Crimea271
S. I. Covalenco (Kishinev, Moldova)A Contribution to the Problem of the Dniester Epi-Aurignacien301
N. P. Olenkovskiy (Kherson, Ukraine)Nizhnedniprovska (Lower Dnieper) Epigravettian Culture307
I. V. Sapozhnikov (Odessa, Ukraine)The Ciobruci Station and Periodization of the Final Stage of the Late Palaeolithic in the Black Sea Steppes334

MONOGRAPH IN THE JOURNAL 

A. N. Sorokin (Moscow, Russia)The Mesolithic Stations on the Lower Moksha River359

ECO-SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONS 

E. V. Smyntyna (Odessa, Ukraine)Landscape in Archaeology and Primitive History: Main Approaches to Conceptualisation444
S. I. Medyanik (São Paulo, Brazil – Kishinev, Moldova), I. V. Sapozhnikov (Odessa, Ukraine)Natural Habitat of the Early Man in South-West of the Eastern Europe in Late Palaeolithic (based on palynological data and sections from the station Bolshaya Akkarzha)454
G. V. Grigorieva (St. - Petersburg, Russia)Planigraphy of Sew-on-Beads on the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Yudinovo (excavations of 1988 – 1990, 1995 – 1997 and 2000 – 2001)467

ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEOREMS 

L. S. Klejn (St. - Petersburg, Russia)How to Distinguish a Good Theoretical Archaeological Work of a Bad One?482
M. V. Anikovich (St. - Petersburg, Russia)Some Methodological Problems of Primitive Archaeology and Basic Generalizing Concepts: «Archaeological Stage», «Archaeological Culture», «Technical Complex», «Cultural-Historical Region»487

REVIEWS 

Yu. E. Demidenko, D. Yy. Nuzhnyi (Kiev, Ukraine)Upper Palaeolithic Problems in the North Black Sea Region and I.V. Sapozhnikov’s Book “Bolshaya Akkarzha. Upper Palaeolithic Economy and Culture of the Ukrainian Steppe”507
V. Ya. Shumkin (St. - Petersburg, Russia)The Death Again Has Chosen the Best One...To the Memory of Vladimir Ivanovich Timofeev (14.06.1947 – 08.08.2004)524

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

List of abbreviations527


Содержание

AD GLORIAM 

Н. А. Рэйляну (Кишинёв, Молдова)
Н.А. Кетрару: Начало большого пути Free!9
С. И. Коваленко (Кишинёв, Молдова)
Первый «каменщик» Молдовы Free!11
Н. К. Анисюткин, Г. В. Григорьева (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Н.А. Кетрару и палеолит Молдовы Free!14
Список опубликованных работ Н.А. Кетрару
Список опубликованных работ Free!18


ЧЕЛОВЕК – МАМОНТ – КУЛЬТУРА 

З. А. Абрамова (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Каталог изображений мамонта в европейском палеолитическом искусстве малых форм23
З. А. Абрамова (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Каталог изображений мамонта в палеолитическом настенном искусстве Европы68
Н. К. Анисюткин (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Мамонт в среднем палеолите Восточной Европы (к вопросу о мустьерских жилых структурах и использовании костей мамонта)114
С. А. Васильев (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Человек и мамонт в палеолите Северной Америки130
И. Е. Кузьмина (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Позднеантропогеновая териофауна юго-запада и центра Русской равнины141
В. В. Попов (Воронеж, Россия)
Кости мамонта в конструкции жилища аносовско-мезинского типа на стоянке Костёнки 11 (Аносовка 2)157


ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ И ПУБЛИКАЦИИ 

В. Н. Степанчук (Киев, Украина)
Стоянка Мира в Среднем Поднепровье: к вопросу o гомогенности палеолитических слоев187
А. В. Главенчук (Одесса, Украина)
Исследование производственного участка на позднепалеолитическом поселении Анетовке206
А. П. Весельский (Симферополь, Украина)
Бодрак – новый памятник верхнего палеолита в Юго-Западном Крыму228
С. П. Смольянинова (Одесса, Украина)
О некоторых группах изделий с вторичной обработкой ряда мезолитических стоянок Северо-Западного Причерноморья248
С. О. Ремизов (Волгоград, Россия)
Новая стоянка каменного века на территории Волгоградской области267


ПРОБЛЕМЫ ПАЛЕОЛИТА И МЕЗОЛИТА ЕВРОПЫ 

Ю. Э. Демиденко (Киев, Украина)
Проблемы эпохальной и индустриальной атрибуции комплексов находок типа нижнего слоя грота Киик-Коба в Крыму271
С. И. Коваленко (Кишинёв, Молдова)
К вопросу о днестровском эпиориньяке301
Н. П. Оленковский (Херсон, Украина)
Нижнеднепровская эпиграветтская культура307
И. В. Сапожников (Одесса, Украина)
Стоянка Чобручи и периодизация заключительного этапа позднего палеолита причерноморских степей334


МОНОГРАФИЯ В ЖУРНАЛЕ 

А. Н. Сорокин (Москва, Россия)
Мезолитические стоянки низовьев р. Мокши359


ЭКО-СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИИ 

Е. В. Смынтына (Одесса, Украина)
Ландшафт в археологии и первобытной истории: основные подходы к концептуализации444
С. И. Медяник (Сан-Паулу, Бразилия – Кишинёв, Молдова), И. В. Сапожников (Одесса, Украина)
Природная среда обитания древнего человека на юго-западе Восточной Европы в позднем палеолите (по данным палинологии стоянки Большая Аккаржа и опорных разрезов)454
Г. В. Григорьева (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Планиграфия бус-нашивок верхнепалеолитического поселения Юдиново (раскопки 1988–1990, 1995–1997, 2000–2001 гг.)467


ТЕОРЕМЫ АРХЕОЛОГИИ 

Л. С. Клейн (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Как отличить хорошую теоретическую работу по археологии от плохой?482
М. В. Аникович (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Некоторые методологические проблемы первобытной археологии и основные обобщающие понятия: «археологическая эпоха», «археологическая культура», «технокомплекс», «историко-культурная область»487


РЕЦЕНЗИИ 

Ю. Э. Демиденко, Д. Ю. Нужный (Киев, Украина)
Проблемы верхнего палеолита Северного Причерноморья и книга И.В. Сапожникова «Большая Аккаржа. Хозяйство и культура позднего палеолита Степной Украины» 507
В. Я. Шумкин (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Опять смерть лучших выбирает… Памяти Владимира Ивановича Тимофеева (14.06.1947 – 08.08.2004) 524


ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ИНФОРМАЦИЯ 

Список сокращений527