Komudvany—a Final Paleolithic Site in the Lower Ob Valley: Geomorphology, Paleontology, Archaeology

Komudvany—a Final Paleolithic Site in the Lower Ob Valley: Geomorphology, Paleontology, Archaeology

Komudvany—a Final Paleolithic Site in the Lower Ob Valley:
Geomorphology, Paleontology, Archaeology

doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.1.029-038

S.S. Makarov1, I.D. Zolnikov2, 3, 4, A.S. Rezvyi1, A.A. Anoikin2, 5, V.N. Zenin2, S.V. Leshchinskiy6, and A.V. Vasiliev2, 3
1Museum of Nature and Man, Mira 11, Khanty-Mansiysk, 628011, Russia
2Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
3Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 1, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
4Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
5Altai State University, Pr. Lenina 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russia
6Tomsk State University, Pr. Lenina 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia

This article is devoted to the preliminary results of multidisciplinary studies at Komudvany—a site located within a “mammoth cemetery” in the Lower Ob basin. We present the excavation history, geomorphological characteristics, results of radiocarbon analysis, and descriptions of archaeological and faunal remains. According to geological and geomorphological criteria, three parts of the site are distinguished: the terrace, the promontory, and the floodplain. The radiocarbon analyses of bones show the chronological heterogeneity of floodplain finds. Finds from the promontory and the terrace most likely represent a single episode of habitation and butchering or collecting bones and tusks. The mammoth “cemetery” was dated to 20-12 cal ka BP. At least one episode of habitation and human activities has been registered and dated to 15-14 cal ka BP. Archaeological finds and series of radiocarbon dates suggest the attribution of Komudvany to the Final Paleolithic. It is the northernmost site of that period in the West Siberian Plain and, along with Lugovskoye, is a reference object for studying the early human habitation in the northern regions of Asia.

Keywords: Western Siberia, Final Paleolithic, geology, geomorphology, paleontology, radiocarbon dating