River (55º 01' N, 22º 11' E), Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Archaeological investigations carried out on the site were supplemented by chronological studies, ...
Abstracts European Society for the study of Human Evolution Madrid September 2016
EARLY HUMAN HABITATION IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN BALTIC SEA REGION: NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA ON THE MIDDLE TO UPPER PALAEOLITHIC TRANSITION Olga Druzhinina, Anatoly Molodkov 1 - Vyshtynets Museum of Nature and History · 2 - Research Laboratory for Quaternary Geochronology, Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology
In this paper, we introduce the discovery (in 2006) and excavation (in 2009–2011) results concerning the oldest known evidence for human presence in the south-eastern Baltic Sea region found at the Ryadino-5 archaeological open-air site situated in the lower course of the Šešupė River (55º 01' N, 22º 11' E), Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Archaeological investigations carried out on the site were supplemented by chronological studies, including infrared optically stimulated luminescence (IR-OSL) dating of the cultural deposits and the geological environment of the archaeological layer. Luminescence dating was performed at the Research Laboratory for Quaternary Geochronology, Tallinn University of Technology using the multiplealiquot additive-dose technique, applied to sand-sized potassium feldspar. IR-OSL ages for the archaeological sediments ranged from 52.4 ± 4.0 ka (RLQG 2323-104) to 49.2 ± 3.8 ka (RLQG 2324-104) for the main well-defined culture-bearing layer at a sampling place 1, and 44.0 ± 3.4 ka (RLQG 2112-122) for archaeological sediments at a sampling place 2 situated some distance apart from the main one. These results firmly place the habitation of the site to the period of Middle to Early Upper Palaeolithic (M-EUP) transition. The clear stratigraphic identification of the main cultural layer and the highest concentration of the flint artefacts within the horizon under consideration give grounds to assume that the layer occurs in situ. The lithic assemblage of the Ryadino site comprises more than 2000 flints. The raw material for production of tools was high quality grey flint. Finds are covered with a porcelainised patina. There are a large number of flints with signs of erosion, probably thermal in origin. Numerous findings of debris show that knapping and working of the flint was carried out on the settlement itself. Three forms of cores have been identified: cone-shaped one-platform, prismatic and formless. Most of the cores are strongly worked off and small in size what could be due to the shortage or peculiarities of local raw material. Among the products without any traces of secondary processing, flakes form the majority. The Ryadino assemblage includes various kinds of tools: end-scrapers, borers and scrapers, fragments of knife blades, bladelets and unidentified tools. Small-sized and truncated flint products are also present. Thus, the chronology of the site (50–44 ka) and its location (55º 01' N) indicate that Ryadino is the northernmost among the known most ancient sites of the M-EUP transitional period in Europe such as Kostenki-12 (53–42 ka), Khotylevo-1 (55–46 ka), Willendorf-II (~43.5 ka), Geissenklosterle (43–42 ka), Kent's Cavern (44–41 ka). Further north the only sites with slightly younger artefacts are found on the northern Ural Mountains: Mamontova Kurya (43–40 ka) and Zaozer'e (39–37 ka). Most recent multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental data from different sources give evidence for mild climate conditions in the early part of marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 similar to those of the present. It confirms the possibility of the colonization of the Baltic region by ancient humans
during this period, which could be probably related to the climate amelioration after the end of the cold MIS 4 (between roughly 70 and 56 ka). The cultural attribution of the Ryadino flint assemblage has yet to be identified. The comparison with the main cultural traditions of the M-EUP transition can expose certain affinities, which will contextualise this site in the broader framework of the M-EUP transitional period, and make an important contribution to our understanding of Neanderthal and modern humans' interactions in Europe.
