Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:35:07.578Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Microlithic Sites in the Asiatic USSR

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

A. A. Formozov
A. A. Formozov*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Moscow, USSR
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Microlithic cultures of the steppe and desert zone of Asia include the Kel'teminar of the Aral Sea region and comparable cultures in Kazakhstan, Turkmenia, Trans-Baikal, Mongolia and China. This microlithic industry is characterized not by the size of the tools, but by the use of blades rather than flakes for the manufacture of stone tools. The prismatic core, often small and pencil-shaped, is very common; bifacial retouch is rare. The microliths are consistently found in association with pottery and bifacially worked projectile points of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of the third and second millennia B.C. The tendency of Soviet archaeologists to seek the ethnic affiliations of archaeological complexes may explain the considerable regional variation in pottery and stone tool inventories, but adjustment to environment is a more likely explanation for the wide-spread occurrence of the basic features of the microlithic industry. A way of life based on migratory hunting of small game and collecting developed as a result of refinements in missile weapons which included the bow and arrow. These developments can be correlated with the introduction of the microlithic blade technology. This way of life and the use of microliths survived in the steppe and desert areas, but in the regions to the south where farming developed the microliths were rapidly replaced by heavy tools such as hoes and pestles, and in the northern forests harpoons, fishhooks, and heavy wood-working tools indicate a shift to a more sedentary life based on intensive fishing. The widespread microlithic survivals in northern Asia demonstrate similar subsistence patterns in similar ecological zones rather than basic ethnic unity. Suggestions concerning origins, historical and cultural ties, and possible population movements are gradually emerging from detailed studies of the boundaries between the microlithic zone and the pottery and forest areas as well as from broader comparative analyses.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , July 1961 , pp. 82 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1961

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bader, O. N. 1950 Ocherk Rabot Azovo-Chernomorskoi Ekspeditsii [Outline of the Work of the Azov-Black Sea Expedition]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia Instituta htorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 31, pp. 174–80. Moscow.Google Scholar
Bader, O. N. 1953 Ocherk Shestiletnikh Rabot Kamskoi Arkheologicheskoi Ekspeditsii [Outline of Six Seasons' Field Work by the Kama Archeological Expedition]. Uchenye Zapiski, Perm Gosud. Universitet, Vol. 9, Vyp. 3. Perm.Google Scholar
Boriskovskii, P. I. 1953 Paleolit Ukrainy [Paleolithic of the Ukraine]. Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, No. 40. Moscow.Google Scholar
Braidwood, R. J. 1952 The Near East and the Foundations for Civilization. The Condon Lectures. Oregon State System of Higher Education, Eugene.Google Scholar
Briusov, A. IA. 1952 Ocherki po Istorii Plemen Evropeiskoi Chasti SSSR v Neoliticheskuiu Epokhu [Outline History of the Tribes of the European Part of the USSR in the Neolithic Epoch]. Moscow.Google Scholar
Chernetsov, V. N. 1953 Drevniaia Istoriia Nizhnego Priob'ia [Ancient History of the Lower Ob Region]. Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, No. 35. Moscow.Google Scholar
Debets, G. F. 1930 Opyt Vydeleniia Kul'turnykh Kompleksov v Neolite Pribaikal'ia [An Attempt at Distinguishing Cultural Complexes in the Neolithic of the Baikal Region]. Izvestiia Assotsiatsii Nauchno-Issledovatel'nykh lnstitutov pri Fiz.-Mat. Fakul'teta, I, Mosk. Gosud. Universitet, Vol. 3, No. 2-A, pp. 151–69. Moscow.Google Scholar
Debets, G. F. 1948 Paleoantropologiia SSSR [Paleo-anthropology of the USSR]. Trudy Instituta Etnografii, n.s., Vol. 4. Moscow and Leningrad.Google Scholar
Formozov, A. A. 1949 Kel'teminarskaia Kul'tura v Zapadnom Kazakhstane [The Kel'teminar Culture in Western Kazakhstan]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia Instituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 25, pp. 49–58. Moscow.Google Scholar
Formozov, A. A. 1950a Novye Materialy o Stoiankakh s Mikroliticheskim Inventarem v Kazakhstane [New Materials Regarding Sites with Microlithic Assemblages in Kazakhstan]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia Instituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 31, pp. 141–7. Moscow.Google Scholar
Formozov, A. A. 1950b Eneoliticheskie Stoianki Kustanaiskoi Oblasti i Ikh Sviaz's Landschaftom [Eneolithic Sites of Kustanai Province and Their Relationship with the Terrain]. Biulleten', Komissiia po Izucheniiu Chetvertichnogo Perioda, No. 15. Moscow.Google Scholar
Formozov, A. A. 1951 K Voprosu o Proiskhozhdenii Andronovskoi Kul'tury [The Problem of the Origin of the Andronovo Culture]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia Instituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 39, pp. 3–18. Moscow.Google Scholar
Formozov, A. A. 1953 Iz Istorii Peredvizheniia Pervobytnogo Cheloveka v Epokhu Mezolita [History of the Movements of Primitive Man in the Mesolithic Epoch]. Sovetskaia Etnograjiia, 1953, No. 1, pp. 168–72. Moscow.Google Scholar
Hamada, K. and Mizuno, S. 1938 Arcfieologia Orientalis, Series A, Vol. 6. Tokyo.Google Scholar
Kiselev, S. V. 1949 Drevniaia Istoriia IUzhnoi Sibiri [Ancient History of Southern Siberia]. Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, No. 9. Moscow.Google Scholar
Komarova, M. N. 1956 Neolit Verkhnego Priob'ia [The Neolithic of the Upper Ob Region]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia Instituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 64, pp. 93–103. Moscow.Google Scholar
Krainov, D. A. 1957 Stoianka Tash-Air No. 1 Kak Osnova Periodizatsii Poslepaleoliticheskikh Kul'tur Kryma [The Site of Tash-Air I as a Basis for the Periodization of the Paleolithic Cultures of the Crimea — Abstract of Candidate's Dissertation]. Moscow.Google Scholar
Laptev, S. N. 1926 Arkheologicheskie Zametki iz Dnevnika Mongol'skoi Ekspeditsii 1924 g. [Archaeological Notes from the Journal of the Mongolian Expedition of 1924]. Izvestiia, Vostochnoe Sibirskoe, Otdelenie, Russkoe Geografischeskoe Obshchestvo, Vol. 51. Irkutsk.Google Scholar
Levin, M. G. and Cheboksarov, N. N. 1955 Khoziaistvenno-Kul'turnye Tipy i Istoriko- Etnograficheskie Oblasti [Culture-Adaptation Types and Historical-Ethnographic Areas]. Sovetskaia Etnografiia, 1955, No. 4, pp. 3–17. Moscow.Google Scholar
Lukashkin, A. S. 1931 Novye Dannye o Neoliticheskoi Kul'ture v Severnoi Mongolii [New Data Regarding Neolithic Culture in Northern Mongolia]. Vestnik Manchzhurii, No. 2. Harbin.Google Scholar
Lukashkin, A. S. 1934 Issledovaniie Neoliticheskikb Stoianok bliz st. Tsitsikhar [Investigations in Neolithic Sites near Tsitsihar Station]. Vestnik Manchzhurii, No. 3. Harbin.Google Scholar
Lukin, A. L. 1950 Neoliticheskoe Selishche Kistrik bliz Gudaut [Neolithic Settlement of Kistrik near Gudaut]. Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, Vol. 12. Moscow.Google Scholar
Makarov, V. S. 1950 Novye Dannye o Neoliticheskoi Kul'ture Raiona st. Anansi [New Data Regarding the Neolithic Culture of the Region around Anansi Station]. Zapiski Kharhinskogo Obshchestva Estestvoispytat. i Etnografov, No. 8. Harbin.Google Scholar
Maringer, J. 1950 Contribution to the Prehistory of Mongolia. Stockholm.Google Scholar
Masson, V. M. 1957 Dzheitun i Kara-Depe [Dzheitun and Kara-Depe]. Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, 1957, No. 1. Moscow.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1941 Neoliticheskie Pamiatniki kak Istochniki po Etnogonii Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka [Neolithic Remains as Sources for the Ethnogenesis of Siberia and the Far East]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia lnstituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 9, pp. 5–14. Moscow.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1950 Neolit i Bronzovyi Vek Pribaikal'ia [The Neolithic and Bronze Age of the Baikal Region]. Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR, No. 18. Moscow and Leningrad.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1951a Drevneishie Arkheologicheskie Pamiatniki Krasnovodskogo Poluostrova. [The Oldest Archaeological Remains of the Krasnovodsk Peninsula], Trudy, IUzhno-Turkmenistanskaia Arkheologicheskaia Kompleksnaia Ekspeditsiia, Vol. 2. Ashkhabad.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1951b Novye Dannye o Drevneishei Istorii Vnytrennei Mongolii [New Data on the Oldest History of Inner Mongolia]. Vestnik Drevnei Istorii, 1951, No. 4. Moscow.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1953 Izuchenie Pamiatnikov Kamennogo Veka v Turkmenii [Study of Remains of the Stone Age in Turkmenia]. Izvestiia Akademii Nauk Turkmen. SSR, 1953, No. 2. Ashkhabad.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1955 In Vsemirnaia Istoriia [World History], Vol. 1. Moscow.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1956a Drevneishee Proshloe Turkmenistana [The Ancient Past of Turkmenistan]. Trudy lnstituta Istorii, Arkheologii i Etnografii, Akademiia Nauk Turkmen SSR, Vol. 1. Ashkhabad.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1956b Peshchera Dzhebel — Pamiatnik Prikaspiiskikh Plemen Turkmenii [Dzhebel Cave — a Site of the Caspian Tribes of Turkmenia]. Trudy, IUzhno - Turkmenistanskaia Arkheologicheskaia Kompleksnaia Ekspeditsiia, Vol. 7. Ashkhabad.Google Scholar
Okladnikov, A. P. 1957 Iz Istorii Etnicheskikh i Kul'turnykh Sviazei Neoliticheskikh Piemen Srednego Eniseia [History of the Ethnic and Cultural Relationships of the Neolithic Tribes of the Middle Yenisei]. Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, 1957, No. 1. Moscow.Google Scholar
Sinitsyn, I. V. 1950 Arkheologicheskie Pamiatniki po Reke Malyi Uzen’ [Archaeological Remains along the Malyi Uzen’ River]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia lnstituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 32. Moscow.Google Scholar
Sinitsyn, I. V. 1952 Arkheologicheskie Issledovaniia v Saratovskoi Oblasti i Zapadnom Kazakhstane [Archaeological Investigations in Saratov Province and Western Kazakhstan]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia lnstituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 45. Moscow.Google Scholar
Stein, Aurel 1928 Innermost Asia, Volume 3. Oxford.Google Scholar
Suslov, S. P. 1947 Fizicheskaia Geografiia CCCP [Physical Geography of the USSR]. Moscow and Leningrad.Google Scholar
Teilhard de Chardin, P. and Wen-Chung, Pei 1944 Le Neolithique de la Chine. Peking.Google Scholar
Tolstov, S. P. 1948 Drevnii Khorezm [Ancient Khorezm]. Moscow.Google Scholar
Vaufrey, R. 1936 Stratigraphie Capsienne. Swiatowit, Vol. 16. Warsaw.Google Scholar
Vinogradov, A. V. 1957 K Voprosu o IUzhnykh Sviaziakh Kel'teminarskoi Kul'tury [The Problem of the Southern Links of the Kel'teminar Culture]. Sovetskaia Etnografiia, 1957, No. 1. Moscow.Google Scholar
Ta, Yin 1956 Dostizheniia Kitaiskoi Arkheologii za 4 goda [Achievements of Chinese Archaeology in the Past 4 Years]. Kratkie Soobshcheniia lnstituta Istorii Material'noi Kul'tury, Vyp. 63. Moscow.Google Scholar