iaAbdykanova Aida antiquity 2017 Ltd, Publications Antiquity © ietn lss ae a ecniee satpcllesta a otpoal formed probably most with was that loams loess dark colluvial typical to a yellowish-brown as brown to considered light be cream 3, can containing loess-like 5 and layer silt, 4, 2 clasts; thin-laminated layers limestone layer brown Ages; loam; pale Middle colluvial to Early brown grey the light from revealed: 1, were material layer origin, archaeological colluvial topsoil; of modern mostly layers, 0, stratigraphic layer Six excavated. been far so have lxne u Fedorchenko Yu. Alexander ie ae otie ean fteLt rnAeerymdea eid(rtto (first 9000– period to ( dated Islamov medieval and to accumulation Age—early one According as BC. The Iron analysed assemblages. 8000 were Late bones contained animal (3–7) the and layers lithics lower Mesolithic of the while remains AD), centuries contained seventh 2 layer site; 1960s–1970s. the during seasons field seven over excavated was Kyrgyzstan; south District, regional Batken main the (in of twentieth formulation mid the the for in allowed sites began ( key schemes Asia cultural-chronological of Central discovery western the of when Mesolithic century, the on research Intensive Krivoshapkin I. Andrei & Shnaider V. Svetlana Obishir-5 Asia: Central western in the of investigations New ∗ 6 5 4 3 2 1 141m of area total a and 1965, in Islamov U.I. by discovered was site The interpretation. pplelti eteet nwsenCnrlAi.Oihr5wsecvtdi the in excavated following was the in planned Obishir-5 8m excavations of further total Asia. with A years. 2015–2016, Central in project this western of framework in settlements Epipalaeolithic choppers. and segments isolated retouch, ventral and alternate with microblades ewe oradsvnsrtgahclyr eeietfidi ifrn at fthe of parts different in identified were layers stratigraphic seven and four Between Valley Fergana the of part southern the in located site a Obishir-5, from assemblage The n21,w tre ag-cl edoka ato nedsilnr tde of studies interdisciplinary of part as fieldwork large-scale started we 2015, In mrcnUiest fCnrlAi,76Al oobe tet ihe 200 ygzRepublic Kyrgyz 720060, Bishkek Canada Street, Tokombaev 2S2, Aaly M5S 7/6 ON Toronto, Asia, Street, Central Poland Russell of 00–818, 19 Warsaw University 17 Toronto, Street, American Twarda of Sciences, 51/55 University Sciences, Anthropology, of of of Academy Department Academy Polish Sciences, Russia Russian Geological 630090, of Novosibirsk the Street, Institute Pirogova Russia of 1 656049, University, Branch Barnaul State Prospect, Novosibirsk Siberian Lenina 61 the University, State of Altai 630090 Ethnography Novosibirsk Avenue, and Lavrentiev Academician Archaeology of Institute uhrfrcrepnec (Email: correspondence for Author 130 3(07:17doi: 1–7 (2017): e3 360, 91 2 ntewsenpr fUI sao’ rgnlecvto ra( area excavation original Islamov’s U.I. of part western the in 6 ,KseniaA.Kolobova 1,2,3, [email protected] ∗ iue1 Figure 1,2,3 aijT Krajcarz T. Maciej , 1980 1,2 atntAlisher-kyzy Saltanat , ,telti nutyi oiae ybaeesand bladelets by dominated is lithic the ), ). iue2 Figure 1 , Russia lydacuilrl narchaeological in role crucial a played ) 1,2 ) , 4 ,T.BenceViola 3 10.15184/aqy.2017.213 1,5 iue3 Figure , 2 )

Project Gallery Svetlana V. Shnaider et al. Figure 1. The location of archaeological sites mentioned in the article. Map produced using National Geographic Basemap and ArcGIS Online.

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2 iue2 bsi-,a enfo h east. the from seen as Obishir-5, 2. Figure iue3 tairpyadecvto lno bsi- atrte21 xaain.Tenmeigo aesde not does layers of numbering The excavation). 2016 the (after ( Obishir-5 Islamov by of numeration plan original the excavation follow and Stratigraphy 3. Figure e netgtoso h pplelti nwsenCnrlAsia Central western in Epipalaeolithic the of investigations New 1980 ). 3 niut ulctosLd 2017 Ltd, Publications Antiquity ©

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Table 1. Radiocarbon dates from Obishir-5; given date ranges correspond to 1-sigma (68.2 per cent) probability range, calibrated using IntCal13 (OXCAL version 4.3). Layer Laboratory no. Conventional radiocarbon age Calibrated Dating materials

1 (middle part) PLD–31751 1650±20 BP 1570–1530 CalBP charcoal 2 (middle part) PLD–31752 7405±25 BP 8317–8179 СalBP charcoal 2 (lower part) PLD–31753 9410±30 BP 10 717–10 571 СalBP charcoal during the . Layers 2–5 contained Epipalaeolithic material. Three AMS 14C dates (Paleo Laboratory Ltd, Japan) are currently available for layers 1 and 2 (Table 1). The assemblage recovered from layers 2–5 includes more than 2200 lithic artefacts (Figure 4). Technical and typological analysis allowed us to define two distinct techno- complexes: one from layers 2–3, and the second from layers 4–5. The industry from layers 2–3 is characterised by the pressure knapping of bladelets from volumetric and narrow- faced cores. The toolkit consists of microblades with ventral retouch, perforators and notched tools, thumbnail endscrapers, micro splinted pieces and burins. A pendant and a pendant blank manufactured from local talcite and serpentinite were recovered from layer 2(Figure 5). The closest source of these raw materials is situated approximately 4.5km from the site. Layer 2 also yielded human remains associated with the Epipalaeolithic of the region. The specimen is a right upper first deciduous incisor, quite worn and with a mostly resorbed root (Figure 6). We estimate the age of the individual at roughly six years, based on recent dental standards (Ubelaker 1978). The lithic assemblage from layers 4–5 is characterised by volumetric and narrow-faced cores for bladelets, which were created by soft hammer percussion. The toolkit includes bladelets with dorsal retouch, backed bladelets and end-scrapers. Comparative analysis suggests that the assemblages from layers 2–3 are similar to the Epipalaeolithic complexes from the central Tian-Shan area (Alamyshyk, Aygyrjal-2) and the Pamir region (Oshhona), which date to between 13 000–7000 cal BP (Motuzaite Matuzeviciute et al. 2017). The material from layers 4–5 has analogies with the Upper Palaeolithic sites of the Tian-Shan (Kurama, layers 1–2, Dodekatym-2, layers 2–4) and Pamiro-Alai regions (Khodja-Gor), with dates between 28 000–23 000 cal BP (Kolobova et al. 2011). These conclusions, however, must be regarded with caution, as the sediments of Obishir- 5 bear traces of colluvial re-deposition, and the mixing of artefacts between layers cannot currently be excluded. Materials from layers 2–3 enabled the identification of a new variant of Epipalaeolithic culture in the region, characterised by unique retouched bladelets and pressure knapping methods used during production. Using analogies with other sites, we believe that this unit may be widely spread, from the Pamir Mountains to the south and the Tian Shan to the north and east. Until recently, a chronological and cultural gap between Late and Early peopling of western Central Asia has been hypothesised. The Upper Palaeolithic assemblages of Dodekatym-2 (Uzbekistan) and Kurama (Kyrgyzstan) (both dated to 23 000 © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017

4 iue4 ihcatfcsfo Obishir-5. from artefacts Lithic 4. Figure e netgtoso h pplelti nwsenCnrlAsia Central western in Epipalaeolithic the of investigations New 5 niut ulctosLd 2017 Ltd, Publications Antiquity ©

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Figure 5. Stone ornaments from Obishir-5. cal BP) are characterised by scalene triangles, Arzheneh points and backed bladelets, accompanied by carinated and single-platform cores. Several thousand years later in Central Asia, Mesolithic and Epipalaeolithic techno-complexes (20 000 BP) with different types of geometric and non-geometric appeared. The reassessment of Obishir-5, with its Final Pleistocene and Early Holocene assemblages, could illuminate questions of relationships between Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic inhabitants. Our preliminary © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017

6 Islamov Kolobova References Obishir-5. from incisor deciduous upper The 6. Figure that groups various by Epipalaeolithic and transition. Palaeolithic of Upper sign the any in without occupied industries, was the area of This replacement cultural the for evidence is data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeae.2012.02.002 Eurasia of Anthropology & Ethnology Uzbekistan. in Dodekatym-2 of & ..Islamov U.I. , U.I. , K.A. 1980. , ..Krivoshapkin A.I. 01 h pe aelti site Upper The 2011. . bsi culture Obishir e netgtoso h pplelti nwsenCnrlAsia Central western in Epipalaeolithic the of investigations New ahet Phan. Tashkent: . Archaeology, , ..Derevianko A.P. 9 2–21. 39: 7 ouat Matuzeviciute Motuzaite Ubelaker fAtiSaeUiest (33.867.2017. University State Project Altai the of and (15-31-01000) Foundation Science Federation Russian by the provided of ( President was the studies from field grants 14-50- for (project Support Foundation 00036). Science supported Russian was research the this by of aspect analytical The Acknowledgements region. Early the in to transition Pleistocene Holocene Final information the of Obishir-5 concerning source Asia, only Central the Epipalaeolithic represents techno- western in and of sites scarcity Palaeolithic lithic the Upper Considering differing complexes. produced ouiia nvriy oy ‘omto of Project). (‘Formation Eurasia’ Ohnuma, Ancient in Tokyo Societies Katsuhiko Nomadic University, of courtesy Kokusihikan performed was М -8521.) h usa Humanitarian Russian the D-2845.2017.6), ahntn .. Taraxacum. D.C.: Washington, .Wang S. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.06.065 International of site Kyrgyzstan. Valley, Age Naryn Bronze Aigyrzhal-2, and Mesolithic the at subsistence Abdykanova A. , D.H. , .Colominas L. 3 :35–49. B: 437 1978. niut ulctosLd 2017 Ltd, Publications Antiquity © & ..Jones M.K. ua kltlremains skeletal Human , , G. .Ohnuma K. , ..Preece R.C. 07 clg and Ecology 2017. . ПЧ , Quaternary .Kume S. .Dating ). , . ,

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