The geoarchaeology and archaeology of Stud'onoye, an Upper Paleolithic site in Siberia

Abstract

In 1998 geoarchaeological research was carried out at Stud'onoye, a late Upper Paleolithic site in the Transbaikal region of Russia. The site is situated on two terraces. The oldest terrace (T₂) is composed of three depositional units. Moreover, T₂ consists of at least 43 fining-upward sequences with no paleosol formation. T₂ began forming prior to 18,000 years ago. The first terrace (T₁) ranges in age from ca. 13,000 to ca. 2000 years ago. T₁ is divided into four depositional units, but they consist of at least 12 fining-upward sequences and 12 distinct paleosols. Granulometric analyses confirm the alluvial origin of the deposits at Stud'onoye. They consist mainly of fine sands and coarse silts with little clay. Histograms of particle size distributions are bimodal for soils, which indicates slight increases in the relative amounts of loess or colluvium, and unimodal for unaltered sediments, evidence of a single depositional source. Stable isotope analyses on organic horizons from the paleosols were conducted to reconstruct changing vegetation and climate of the site. However, this technique yielded inconclusive results. Although []¹³C values are all within the range for C₃ plants, there is a trend for the values to increase with depth and age in the profile. []¹⁵N values, on the other hand, decrease with depth and age. To draw any definitive conclusions from these data, more isotopic studies need to be conducted, and their results should be combined with the results of other stable isotope analyses such as []³⁴S. Archaeological material from both terraces includes dwellings, hearths, and thousands of bone and stone artifacts assigned to late Upper Paleolithic through Bronze Age cultures. Excavations continue at T₂ and recent finds include mobiliary art, bone needles, and a large Paleolithic dwelling with at least five hearth features. Finally, microblade technology is present in all components of the site, from the Paleolithic through the Bronze Age.