New Data for Asymmetric Core Reduction in Western Tian Shan Piedmonts: The Ertash Sai 2 Open-Air Site

ABSTRACT

This study describes a multi-proxy approach toward a newly discovered open-air loess site, Ertash Sai 2, located in the western piedmonts of the Tian Shan in Uzbekistan. Technological analyzes enabled the identification of an asymmetric core reduction scheme accompanied by a Levallois-like predetermined knapping scheme, along with the production of truncated-faceted pieces and burin-cores. Moreover, the results show a direct relationship between the presence of truncated-faceted pieces or burin-cores and both core reduction schemes, as long as truncated-faceted pieces were mostly produced from débordant blades and flakes. Chronostratigraphic studies enabled the precise chronology of the assemblage to be determined as 68–57 ka BP. This raises questions about the origins of traits usually associated with the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in Central Asia and their roots in local Levallois-based assemblages.

KEYWORDS:

• Central Asia
• truncated-faceted artefacts
• Levallois technology
• geoarchaeology
• Uzbekistan
• lithic artefacts

Acknowledgements

This study was supported equally by the National Science Centre, Poland (grant number 2017/25/B/HS3/00520), the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22-18-00568; interpretation of geological data), and Research Program no. FWZG-2022-0008, “Central Asia in Ancientry: Archaeological Cultures of the Stone Age in a Changing Natural Environment” (analysis of the archaeological collection). We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

MK, KP, KS – conceptualization; MK, GP, SK, GM, MKh, KS, KP, ML – archaeological fieldworks; MK and MTK – field sediment characterization and sampling; GB – micromorphology data analysis and interpretation; ML – GIS analyzes; MK, NG, GP, SK, KP – artefacts analyzes; MK – scar pattern analyzes; MK, ML, GB – visualization; PM – OSL data analysis and interpretation; all authors reviewed the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials. The corresponding author can provide additional data on request.

Data Availability Statement

Hereby on behalf of coauthors of the manuscript: “New data for asymmetric core reduction in western Tian Shan piedmonts: Ertash Sai 2 open-air site.” by Małgorzata Kot, Sergey Kogai, Galina Pavlenok, Natalia Gryczewska, Greta Brancaleoni, Maciej T. Krajcarz, Piotr Moska, Michał Leloch, Mukhiddin Khudjanazarov, Karol Szymczak, Gayrathon Muhtarov, Konstantin Pavlenok I declare that all the data that support the findings of this study are either are available within the article, its supplementary materials or from the corresponding author, MK, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Narodowe Centrum Nauki [grant number: 2017/25/B/HS3/00520]; Russian Science Foundation [grant number: 22-18-00568].