Revisiting the chronological attribution of microlitic complexes of the Koksharovsky Hill and Vtoroy Poselok I

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the reasons behind the attribution of microlitic complexes of the Koksharovsky Hill and the Vtoroy Poselok I site to the late Neolithic. Statistical and typological characteristics of microlitic complexes of these sites fully conform to materials of the Mesolithic sites in the Middle Trans-Urals. The identification of chronological complexes of stone inventory in materials of mixed sites should be made after the full publication of the entire assemblage of stone artefacts. The comparison of the presented materials with the Neolithic sites of the Middle Trans-Urals shows the absence in the local late Neolithic of complexes with such set of stone tools - first of all, a large number of cutters and carvers, as well as burins on straight retouched truncation and geometric microlites. But it is precisely carvers, burins (especially the ones on straight retouched truncation) and geometric microlithes that appear as characteristic products of the Mesolithic period. The dating of the microlitic complexes of the Vtoroy Poselok I site and the Koksharovsky Hill to the late Neolithic contradicts the early profile of the stone assemblage. We deny the definition of the Vtoroy Poselok I site as a single-layer site. Specific features of soil formation in the territory of the Middle Trans-Urals resulted in that the cultural remains of all periods from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages are deposited within the soil layer of only 30-40 cm in thickness. Around the flowthrough lakes all areas favorable for economic activities were inhabited repeatedly and in different archaeological epochs. In such particular sites, the objective prerequisites for the mechanical displacement of materials were created. Therefore, all complexes located in such places are mixed. The numerical ratio of the complexes of ceramics and stone products and the size of the dwelling in the Vtoroy Poselok I site is also inconsistent with the materials of the Neolithic sites of the Middle Trans-Urals. Given the mixed nature of materials of the Koksharovsky Hill and the Vtoroy Poselok I, the microlitic complex of artefacts present in both sites may indicate the presence of a significant Mesolithic admixture in them. © 2022 by the authors.