Siliceous Rock of the Southern Urals: Distribution and Usage in the Stone Age

Siliceous Rock of the Southern Urals: Distribution and Usage in the Stone Age

V.S. Mosin and V.Y. Nikolsky.

Relationships between the distribution of stone tools, the sources of siliceous rocks, and the geological structure of the Southern Urals are examined. Siliceous rocks mostly used by the Stone Age population of that region include phtanite, phtanitoid, jasper, novaculite, and also minerals such as quartz, opal, and chalcedony. Siliceous rocks are mostly concentrated in the eugeosynclinal region of the Urals, primarily within the Magnitogorsk structural zone. Siliceous rocks are normally outcrops on low ridges and hills among Paleozoic volcanogenic rocks. As observations have shown, siliceous detritus occur in the area stretching to the eastern margin of the continental-marine socle plain. A model for possible transportation routes and utilization of the raw material by the ancient inhabitants of the region is proposed.

Keywords: Phtanite, phtanitoid, jasper, dispersal of siliceous rocks, variants of material culture, adaptation.