Materials of the 9-9A cultural layers of Ust-Khayta I site in context of the archeology of Mesolithic - Early Holocene of the south of Cis-Baikal

   Ust-Khaita I site was excavated during a rescue project in 2000.

   This article aims to introduce and analyze materials of cultural layers 9 and 9A, thus opening a series of publications on Ust-Khaita I.

   These cultural components dated back to 12-10.7 thousand years (Middle Mesolithic) and contain a representative collection of stone and osseous artifacts, as well as faunal remains preserved within identifiable spatial structures, such as hearths and compact clusters of debitage. The analysis of materials from cultural layers 9-9A provides data on the subsistent economic complex of early Holocene hunter-gatherers of southern Eastern Siberia, including specialized hunting of medium-sized ungulates, the earliest evidence of domestic dogs in the region, as well as hunting of large ungulates, including horse and bison, common for the Pleistocene, and fishing, which had a secondary role. Fishing has no well-defined specialization, distinguishing 9-9A cultural layers of the Ust-Khaita from the Mesolithic subsistent economic complexes described at the Ust-Belaya site. The characterization of the subsistent economic complex together with the analysis of technological qualities of stone industries of 9-9A cultural layers, such as the techno-morphological variability of microblade cores and diversity of slotted tools, sheds light on the specificity of post-Pleistocene adaptation of the ancient population. From our point of view, the presence of three main techno-morphological groups of microblade cores indicates changes in the mobility strategy and adaptation of hunter-gatherers to the conditions of the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene.

1. Berdnikov I.M., Berdnikova N.E., Vorobieva G.A. (2017) Multilayered sites as a basis for paleogeographic and cultural reconstructions in the Middle Holocene of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, ethnology, anthropology series. Vol. 21. P. 5-32. (In Russ.). EDN: YPOVYZ.

2. Berdnikov I.M. Berdnikova N.E., Vorobyova G.A., Rogovskaya E.O., Klement'ev A.M., Ulanov I.V. et al. (2014) Geoarchaeological complexes of the Early Holocene in the south of Middle Siberia. Data evaluation and research prospects. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, ethnology, anthropology series. Vol. 9. P. 46-76. (In Russ.). EDN: TMMAYH.

3. Berdnikov I.M., Goryunova O.I., Novikov A.G., Berdnikova N.E., Ulanov I.V., Sokolova N.B. et al. (2020) Chronology of the Neolithic ceramics of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia: basic ideas and new data. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, ethnology, anthropology series. Vol. 33. P. 23-53. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.26516/2227-2380.2020.33.23. EDN: DEELAA.

4. Berdnikova N.E. (2001) Geoarchaeological site Ust-Belaya. Cultural complexes. Stone Age of the Southern Angara Region: International Guide. Symposium “Modern problems of Paleolithic studies of Eurasia, August 1-9, 2001. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. Vol. 2. Belsky Geoarchaeological Region. P. 113-146, 208-240. (In Russ.). EDN: XVOTWT.

5. Vorobyova G.A. (2010) Soil as a chronicle of natural events in the Baikal region: problems of evolution and classification of soils. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. 205 p. (In Russ.). EDN: QLBDAX.

6. Goryunova O.I., Novikov A.G. (2000) Non-ceramic complexes of the Olkhon region (Lake Baikal). Archaic and traditional cultures of North-East Asia. Problems of origin and transcontinental connections. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. P. 51-57. (In Russ.).

7. Igumnova E.S., Kudelya M.V. (1996) The archaeological settlement of the Gorelyi Les: new data. Archeology, paleoecology and ethnology of Siberia and the Far East: Abstracts of RASK XXXVI. Irkutsk. Pt. 1. P. 82-85. (In Russ.).

8. Igumnova E.S., Saveliev N.A., Tetenkin A.V., Batrakova N.A., Samarina I.V. (2001) A new multi-layered site in the valley of the Belaya River - Ust-Khaita. Istoriko-kul'turnoe nasledie Severnoi Azii: Itogi i perspektivy izucheniya na rubezhe tysyacheletii : materialy XLI Region. arkheol.-etnogr. konf. Barnaul, 25-30 marta 2001 g = The historical and cultural heritage of North Asia: The results and prospects of studying at the turn of the millennium. Proceedings of the Regional Archaeological and Ethnographic Conference, Barnaul, March, 25-30, 2001. Barnaul: Altai State University. P.153-155. (In Russ.).

9. Klementyev A.M., Igumnova E.S., Savelyev N.A. (2005) Predators (Carnivora,Mammalia) Ust-Khaitinsky archaeological site. Istoki, formirovanie i razvitie evraziiskoi polikul'turnosti. Kul'tury i obshchestva Severnoi Azii v istoricheskom proshlom i sovremennosti. Materialy I (XLV) Rossiiskoi s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem arkheologicheskoi i etnograficheskoi konferentsii studentov i molodykh uchenykh (RAESK-XLV). Irkutsk, 12-16 aprelya 2005 g. = The origins of the formation and development of Eurasian multiculturalism. Cultures and societies of North Asia in the historical past and present. Proceedings of the I (XLV) Russian Archaeological and Ethnographic Conference of Students and Young Scientists with international Participation, Irkutsk, April, 12-16, 2005. Irkutsk: Radian. P. 26-29. (In Russ.). EDN: DPKOKE.

10. Kuznetsov A.M., Rogovskoy E.O., Tarakanovsky S.P. (2017) Slotted arrowhead from early Holocene layer of Ostrov Listvenichnyi site (Northern Angara region). Evraziya v kainozoe. Stratigrafiya, paleoekologiya, kul'tury = Eurasia in the Cenozoic. Stratigraphy, Paleoecology, Cultures. No. 6. P. 207-214. (In Russ.). EDN: TAUVZT.

11. Medvedev G.I. (1971) The economic structure of the Mesolithic population of Ust-Belaya. Mesolithic of the Upper Angara region: Sites of Angara-Belsky and Angara-Idinsky Districts. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. Pt. 1. P. 111-126. (In Russ.).

12. Medvedev G.I., Generalov A.G., Drozdov N.I., Lbova L.V., Akimova E.B., Berdnikova N.E. et al. (1996) Problems of scientific expertise and practice of studying geoarchaeological sites of Baikal Siberia (methodology, methods, recommendations). Krasnoyarsk; Irkutsk; Ulan-Ude: Arkom. 53 p. (In Russ.). EDN: WJPNTV.

13. Medvedev G.I., Georgievskii A.M., Mikhnyuk G.N., Lezhnenko I.L., Savel’ev N.A. (1971) Mesolithic sites of the Upper Angara region. Mesolithic of the Upper Angara region: Sites of Angara-Belsky and Angara-Idinsky Districts. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. Pt. 1. P. 26-110. (In Russ.).

14. Nikulina E.D. (2019) Utilization of roe deer bones by Ust-Khaita site population based on materials 8 and 9 layers. Materialy LIX Rossiiskoi arkheologo-etnograficheskoi konferentsii studentov i molodykh uchenykh, Blagoveshchensk - Kheikhe, 08-12 aprelya 2019 g. = Materials of the LIX Russian Archaeological and Ethnographic Conference of Students and Young Scientists. Blagoveshchensk - Heihe, April 08-12, 2019. Blagoveshchensk: Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University. P. 33-35. (In Russ.). EDN: ZPHFIE.

15. Novikov A.G., Vorob’eva G.A., Goryunova O.I., Weber A.V. (2023) Multilayer geoarchaeological site Sagan-Zaba II on Lake Baikal: archeology and paleoecology. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. 278 p. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.26516/978-5-9624-2149-0.2023.1-278. EDN: ZOYEJK.

16. Nomokonova T.Yu., Goryunova O.I. (2004) Neolithic complexes of multilayer settlement Katun’’ I (Chivyrkuiscky Bay, Lake Baikal). Reports of the Laboratory of Ancient Technologies. Iss. 2. P.117-123. (In Russ.). EDN: VYXGAF.

17. Osadchii S.S., Teten’kin A.V., Savel’ev N.A., Igumnova E.S. (2000) Geomorphology and stratigraphy of the new multilayer archaeological site of Ust-Khayt. Problems of archeology, ethnography, anthropology of Siberia and adjacent territories. Novosibirsk: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS. Vol. VI. P. 192-197. (In Russ.).

18. Savel’ev N.A., Goryunova O.I., Generalov A.G. (1974) Excavations of the multi-layered Gorely Les site (preliminary report). Ancient History of the Peoples of the South of Eastern Siberia. Irkutsk: Irkutsk State University. Iss. 1. P. 160-199. (In Russ.). EDN: SLIAXH.

19. Savel’ev N.A., Teten’kin A.V., Igumnova E.S., Abdulov T.A., Ineshin E.M., Osadchii S.S., et al. (2001) Multilayer geoarchaeological site of Ust-Khaita (preliminary data). Sovremennye problemy Evraziiskogo paleolitovedeniya : materialy dokl. Mezhdunarod. simpoziuma, posvyashch. 130-letiyu otkrytiya paleolita v Rossii (g. Irkutsk, 1-9 avg. 2001 g.). = Modern Problems of Eurasian Paleolithic Studies. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the 130^th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Paleolithic in Russia, Irkutsk, August, 1-9, 2001. Novosibirsk. P. 338-352. (In Russ.).

20. Savel’ev N.A., Ulanov I.V. (2019) Early Neolithic pottery of the multilayered site Ust-Khaita (Southern Angara region). Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, Anthropology series. Vol. 29. P. 38-72. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.26516/2227-2380.2019.29.38. EDN: BQIRQR.

21. Savel’ev N.A., Ulanov I.V. (2020) Posolskaya-type ceramics of the multilayered site Ust-Khaita (Southern Angara region). Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ehnology, Anthropology Series. Vol. 34. P. 38-48. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.26516/2227-2380.2020.34.38. EDN: WBEIVR.

22. Ulanov I.V., Berdnikov I.M. (2015) Ceramic complexes of Ust-Belaya: systematization, chronometry, chronology. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, Anthropology series. Vol. 12. P. 47-80. (In Russ.). EDN: UIWOTL.

23. Bettinger, R.L., Baumhoff, M.A. (1982) The Numic spread: Great Basin cultures in competition. American Antiquity. Vol. 47. No. 3. P. 485-503.

24. Binford, L.R. (1980). Willow smoke and dogs’ tails: hunter-gatherer settlement systems and archaeological site formation. American Antiquity, 45(1), pp. 4-20. DOI: 10.2307/279653.

25. Fischer, A., Vemming, P. and Rasmussen, P. (1984) Macro and micro wear traces on lithic projectile points: Experimental results and prehistoric samples. Journal of Danish Archaeology. Vol. 3. P. 19-46. DOI: 10.1080/0108464X.1984.10589910.

26. Gauvrit Roux E., Teten’kin A.V., Henry A. (2021) Which uses for the Late Glacial microblades of Eastern Siberia? Functional analysis of the lithic assemblage of Kovrizhka IV, level 6. Reports of the Laboratory of Ancient Technologies. Vol. 17. No. 2. P. 9-22. URL: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?edn=GBXXXU. EDN: GBXXXU.

27. Gauvrit Roux E.G., Coutouly Y.A.G., Holmes C.E., Hirasawa Y. (2024) Early Beringian Traditions: Functioning and Economy of the Stone Toolkit from Swan Point CZ4b, Alaska. American Antiquity, 89(2), pp. 279-301. DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2024.10.

28. Goebel T. (2002) The “microblade adaptation” and recolonization of Siberia during the Late Upper Pleistocene. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 12(1), pp. 117-131. DOI: 10.1525/ap3a.2002.12.1.117.

29. Gomez Coutouly Y.A. (2018). The emergence of pressure knapping microblade technology in Northeast Asia. Radiocarbon, 60(3), pp. 821-855. DOI: 10.1017/RDC.2018.30.

30. Grove M. (2009). Hunter-gatherer movement patterns: causes and constraint. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 28(2), pp. 222-233. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2009.01.003.

31. Hamilton M.J., Lobo J., Rupley E., Youn H., West G.B. (2016). The ecological and evolutionary energetics of hunter-gatherer residential mobility. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(3), pp. 124-132. DOI: 10.1002/evan.21485.

32. Kelly R.L. (1983). Hunter-gatherer mobility strategies. Journal of anthropological research. Vol. 39, Nr. 3. P. 277-306. DOI: 10.1086/jar.39.3.3629672.

33. Kuznetsov, A.M., Rogovskoi, E.O., Klementiev, A.M., & Mamontov, A.M. (2022). North Angara Early Holocene hunter–gatherers: Archaeological evidence of the collector strategy. Archaeological Research in Asia, 31(5), 100369. DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2022.100369.

34. Losey R.J., Fleming L., Nomokonova T., Bazaliiskii V.I., Klemen’tev A.M., Savel’ev N.A. (2017) Angara-Southwest Baikal // Holocene Zooarchaeology of Cis-Baikal / eds. Losey R., Nomokonova T. German Archaeologial Institute, Darmstadt. Pp. 27-52.

35. Losey R.J., Nomokonova T., White D. (2012) Fish and fishing in Holocene Cis-Baikal, Siberia : a review. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 7(1), pp. 126-145. DOI: 10.1080/15564894.2011.611854.

36. Mamontov А.М., Savel’ev N.A., Igumnova E.S. (2006) Species composition of fish from archeological site Ust’-Haita (Belaya River - tributary of Angara River). Hydrobiologia 568 (Suppl 1), pp. 273-276. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-006-0303-0.

37. McKenzie H.G. (2009) Review of Early Hunter-Gatherer Pottery in Eastern Siberia // Ceramics before farming. The dispersal of pottery among Prehistoric Eurasian Hunter-Gatherers. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California. P. 167-208.

38. Nakazawa Y., Akai F. (2017) Late-Glacial bifacial micro-blade core technologies in Hokkaido: An implication of human adaptation along the northern Pacific Rim // Quaternary international. Vol. 442. Part B, pp. 43-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.019.

39. Takakura J. (2020) Rethinking the disappearance of microblade technology in the Terminal Pleistocene of Hokkaido, northern Japan: Looking at archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence. Quaternary, 3(3), p. 21. DOI: 10.3390/quat3030021.

40. Yi M., Gao X., Li F., Chen F. (2016). Rethinking the origin of microblade technology: A chronological and ecological perspective. Quaternary International, 400, pp. 130-139. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.009.

41. Zhang M. (2020) Microblade-based societies in North China at the end of the Ice Age. Quaternary, 3(3), p. 20. DOI: 10.3390/quat3030020.

42. Zhang M. (2021). Rethinking microblade technology research in northeastern Asia. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 4(3), p. 17. DOI: 10.1007/s41982-021-00095-4.

43. Reitz E.J., Wing E.S. (2008) Zooarchaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Second edition. 533 p.