Early Paleolithic Sites on the 145-Meter Terrace of the Usisha River in Central Dagestan

Abstract

The article considers the characteristics of the stone inventory from the sites Ainikab 3, Ainikab 4 and Ainikab 6 of the Early Paleolithic located on the 145-meter terrace of the Usisha River in Central Dagestan. Based on the generalization of paleogeographic data, the age of the terrace deposits has been established in a wide range within the first half of the Middle Pleistocene. The stone industries of the sites are mono raw material, based on the use of local Cretaceous flint of various shades of gray. Knapping of raw materials is characterized by the simplest methods of obtaining flakes mainly by unidirectional longitudinal removal without preliminary cores preparation. Flakes were the main type of blanks for tools, including for large cutting, splitting and crushing tools. In addition, flint fragments and nodules were used as blanks. The tools include unifacial and bifacial choppers, heavy-duty picks of triangular cross-section or a pointed end, flat picks, various retouched tools on flakes and fragments (scrapers, knives, notched tools, points, retouched flakes). The most significant feature of the industry under consideration, which distinguishes it from the older Oldowan complexes of Central Dagestan, is the presence of archaic forms of bifaсes in the tool set. These finds are the earliest known bifaсes in inner Dagestan and one of the oldest in the North Caucasus. The bifaсes are diagnostic for Acheulean. The presence of these tools together with piсks and other cutting tools in the stone inventory of the sites makes it possible to define the stone industry of these sites as Acheulean. These finds make it possible to include the inner Dagestan in the spread area of the Acheulean culture of the North Caucasus thereby expanding its territory.

Keywords

• early paleolithic
• acheulean
• middle pleistocene
• central dagestan
• biface
• chopper
• pick
• scraper