Richard S. Davis

Toward a New Outline of the Soviet Central Asian Paleolithic [and Comments and Reply]

The ideas about the distribution of the earliest sites in Soviet Central Asia and the character of Paleolithic industries which have been formed by Western archaeologist through the works of Movius, Klein, and Chard are now in need of revision because of the appearance of new material. The increasing possibility of worldwide synchronization of geological and climatological events permits the comparison of the subdivisions of the Soviet Central Asian stratigraphic scheme with those of the Alpine one and the formulation of the following conception of the periodization and chronology of the Paleolithic of Central Asia: The earliest traces of Paleolithic man are from Riss times (this is not to exclude the possibility of an extension of this age with future investigations of the thick loess sections of the southern Tadzhikistan and Pri-Tashkent regions). The existence of a pebble culture resembling the Soan in the interval between 200,000 and 130,000 years B.P. has been established. After the following hiatus of approximately 60,000 years in several regions of Soviet Central Asia, developed Mousterian industries in caves and at open sites have been documented. These Mousterian industries may be divided into five variants or facies: Levallois, Levallois-Mousterian, Typical Mousterian, Mousterian of Soan Tradition, and Denticulate Mousterian. As early as the 1940s, A. P. Okladnikov focused attention on the similarity of the Levallois technique in the Near East to that of Soviet Central Asia, but this similarity is not necessarily the result of a direct migration. The Upper Paleolithic, represented by a small number of sites, by all appearances grew out of a preexisting facies of the Soviet Central Asian Mousterian. The absence of radiocarbon dates for this period, however, makes it difficult to come to final conclusions. The possibility exists of a longer persistence of the Mousterian technique in Soviet Central Asia and a correspondingly later appearance of the Upper Paleolithic modes of working stone. For the following period, the authors distinguish two groups: Mesolithic and Epi-Paleolithic. The first group is characterized by the presence of geometric microliths, predominantly lunates and backed points; in the second group these tools are not found. In general, for the entire extent of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic two technological tendencies existed, one of which can be described in terms employed in the Near East and Europe and the other of which (the pebble industry) cannot. Possible explanations of this situation are examined.

Maritime adaptations and dietary variation in prehistoric Western Alaska: Stable isotope analysis of permafrost‐preserved human hair

The reconstruction of diet and subsistence strategies is integral in understanding early human colonizations and cultural adaptations, especially in the Arctic-one of the last areas of North America to be permanently inhabited. However, evidence for early subsistence practices in Western Alaska varies, particularly with regards to the emergence, importance, and intensity of sea mammal hunting. Here, we present stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from permafrost-preserved human hair from two new prehistoric sites in Western Alaska, providing a direct measure of diet. The isotope evidence indicates a heavy reliance on sea mammal protein among the earlier Norton-period group (1,750 ± 40 cal BP), confirming that the complex hunting technologies required to intensively exploit these animals were most likely already in place in this region by at least the beginning of 1st millennium AD. In contrast, analysis of the more recent Thule-period hair samples (650 ± 40 cal BP; 570 ± 30 cal BP) reveals a more mixed diet, including terrestrial animal protein. Sequential isotope analysis of two longer human hair locks indicates seasonal differences in diet in a single Norton-period individual but demonstrates little dietary variation in a Thule-period individual. These analyses provide direct evidence for dietary differences among Alaskas early Eskimo groups and confirm the antiquity of specialized sea mammal hunting and procurement technologies. The results of this study have implications for our understanding of human adaptation to maritime and high-latitude environments, and the geographical and temporal complexity in early Arctic subsistence.

The Amaknak Bridge Site: Cultural Change and the Neoglacial in the Eastern Aleutians

Evidence from a series of excavations in Unalaska Bay indicates that the onset of the Neoglacial had begun to alter the cultural and natural landscape of the Aleutian Islands as early as 4500 rcybp. By 3500 rcybp deep semi-subterranean houses with stone walls and elaborate hearth systems were constructed at the Margaret Bay site. The nearby Amaknak Bridge site was occupied between 3300 and 2700 rcybp and faunal data reflect a very significant increase in the extent and duration of ice in the Bering Sea. Multiple room houses, elaborate labrets, complex burials, and other evidence of changes in social organization were among the cultural responses of the ancient Unangan to the colder conditions of the Neoglacial. We also find evidence for technological innovation, aggregated settlements, and resource intensification during this time.

Continuity and Change in the Eastern Aleutian Archaeological Sequence

Abstract The eastern Aleutian prehistoric archaeological sequence is key for understanding population movements, cultural exchanges, and adaptations to environmental changes over a wide area of the north Pacific and Bering Sea during the Holocene. An important question is, Can the settlement history of the eastern Aleutians be understood as a single continuous tradition lasting some 9,000 years, or were there major population and cultural influxes along with periods of widespread population abandonment? We review the available archaeological evidence with reference to recent mtDNA and nucleic DNA studies of prehistoric and contemporary Arctic and Subarctic populations and conclude that the evidence points to an overall cultural continuity with notable incursions and excursions of people and cultural elements into and out of the eastern Aleutians.

Mathematics in Structural Theory [and Comments and Reply]

Levi-Strauss, amongst other anthropological theorists, has argued for the incorporation of mathematical formalization into anthropological theorizing. The integration of mathematical formalization with anthropological theory is examined in this article through the structural analysis of fandango (wedding) ritual as it is practiced among the Zapotec in a small village near Oaxaca, Mexico. The correspondence that is found between the details of the ritual and the structural and formal analyses argues for the inherently mathematical character of the logic underlying ritual and other aspects of belief systems.

The Enisei River of Central Siberia in the Late Pleistocene

Recent Paleolithic work along the middle Enisei River of central Siberia has revealed a long history of occupation that almost certainly begins in the Middle Pleistocene. Although the evidence for the Lower Paleolithic is somewhat tentative, there is good reason to believe that hunter-gatherers had periodically occupied the middle Enisei before the last interglacial. The steppe environment of the region during the Upper Pleistocene was relatively bountiful; more than 200 Upper Paleolithic sites, both before and after the Last Glacial Maximum, have been located. The region appears to have been abandoned during the Last Glacial Maximu. Most of Soviet and Russian archaeological work has been guided by a cultural-historical orientation, but recently there has been increased interest in developing adaptationist and ecological research strategies. The middle Enisei and the wider central Siberian region are key to understanding early adaptations to the north and the dimensions of Paleolithic population movements.

Prehistoric Survey in Central Afghanistan

AbstractIn August of 1976 the authors made an initial archaeological survey of the Dasht-i-Nawur, a highland volcanic-tectonic basin in Central Afghanistan. Two Epi-Paleolithic surface sites and one later hill fortification of uncertain date were discovered and investigated. An outstanding feature of the Epi-Paleolithic sites was that the source of virtually the entire tool industry was a locally available obsidian, a material that has not been found before in archaeological context in Afghanistan or nearby regions. The Dasht-i-Nawur, therefore, must be added to the short list of obsidian sources in Southwest Asia.

Regional Perspectives on the Soviet Central Asian Paleolithic

In his concluding remarks to the recently published Paleolithic of the U.S.S.R., Boriskovsky (1984b) turned to the famous site of Teshik Tash in Uzbekistan. He recounted Teshik-Tash’s excavator’s, Okladnikov’s observation made in 1949 that the Neanderthalers showed a degree of collective solidarity and reciprocal exchange somewhat unusual for peoples of the Ancient Paleolithic. (In the Soviet Union, the term Ancient Paleolithic, “Drevniy Paleolit, ” traditionally includes the European term Middle Paleolithic as well as Lower Paleolithic). The basis for this observation was that the faunal material in the cave did not consist of complete skeletons of the Siberian mountain goat, the principal source of meat, but consisted instead of portions of the carcass. Both Boriskovsky and Okladnikov inferred that the hunters’ behavior which created this faunal pattern must have been butchering at a kill site some distance from the cave and subsequent transport of selected portions to the site. There, the meat was shared with the nonhunting members of the group.

On the Central Asian Paleolithic: Reply to Recent Comments

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