The Site of Shapi: A New Eneolithic Monument in the Ryn-Peski Desert (Northern Caspian)

Abstract

Introduction. A continental stage in the Northern Caspian geological history began with the Mangyshlak regression when sands that would shape the Ryn Desert were freed from marine waters, and the region started being actively invaded by humans, which is evidenced by numerous Stone Age sites. The bulk of the latter are represented by ‘open-air’ materials — some mixed complexes with few ceramic remains — and this does complicate chronological attributions of such archaeological collections. So, the study of monuments with preserved ‘cultural layers’ instrumental in obtaining a series of absolute dates is a primary task in understanding historical and cultural processes of the Mesolithic/Eneolithic in the Northern Caspian. Goals. The article aims to introduce into scientific circulation some materials discovered at the site of Shapi in the Ryn-Peski Desert. Materials and methods. The site of Shapi is located in the north-northwest of the Ryn Desert, 30 km south of Lake Aralsor in present-day Bokey Orda District of West Kazakhstan Region. The stone artefacts obtained are few enough, mainly of quartzitic sandstone, and number 67, e.g., 6 items are tools — arrowheads, an arrowhead fragment, a notched piece, a flake with a distinguished point, and a flake with retouch. There are 8 flint artefacts, including 5 tools — an arrowhead, fragments of blades with retouch, and two flakes with retouch. A pit was dug out on the spot abundant in finds, and it yielded bone remains of cattle, goats and sheep, a horse, a camel, and a dog (wolf). Results. Despite tool forms are few enough, one can note the presence of pieces with bifacial retouch and concave-based arrowheads with small wings. Species composition analysis of the bone remains shows those are dominated by cloven-hoofed animals, essentials of the examined bone complex attest to these are kitchen waste. Bone remains at depths of 20–40 and 40–60 cm yielded a series of calibration dates between 4048 and 3956 BCE. Conclusions. Chronologically, the site clusters with Late Eneolithic ones, and may be attributed to the late Khvalynsk and Altata cultures.

Keywords

• ryn-peski
• west kazakhstan
• archaeology
• stone age
• prospecting
• bone remains
• stone artefacts
• khvalynsk culture
• altata culture