Multilayered Site Shishkino 2 on the Upper Lena (Based on the Works of 1971, 1973)

The article presents the results of archaeological excavations conducted in 1971 and 1973 at the multilayered site Shishkino 2 (Upper Lena River) and an analysis of archaeological collections. During the excavations, Pleistocene and Holocene deposits were uncovered, and three cultural layers were distinguished. The 1st layer contained mixed and uninformative materials, which, based on ceramics, were dated to a wide period from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The most representative is the collection of the 2nd layer, dating to the Final Mesolithic (~9.5–8.5 ka cal. BP). Here, cultural remains were found enclosed in a hearth made of sandstone slabs. The collection contains almost 2 thousand finds, the majority of which are represented by faunal remains (Capreolus pygargus, Spermophilus). Other finds included primary knapping products, cores and preforms, end-scrapers, knife-like tools, burins, an arrowhead, a hammer, flakes and retouched bladelets, and a bone borer-point. Despite the lack of radiocarbon dates, the stone complex of the 2nd layer is expressive enough for comparison with materials from other sites on the Upper Lena River. As a result of the collection analysis, the greatest similarity was revealed with the Final Mesolithic assemblages of the Shishkino 1, Balyshovo 1, Lyubavskaya 1, Manzurka 4 (karier), Poloskovo 2, and Nikilei 2 sites. All sites have similarities in the preferences of the inhabitants in the selection of raw materials (pebbles from the Manzurka alluvium), the shape of the cores and tools, and the stratigraphic position of the archaeological materials. The few finds of the 3rd layer, confined to a hearth and the remains of a rounded structure made of slabs, are included in the Middle Sartanian buried soil and dated to the Late Stage of the Upper Paleolithic (~17.4–16.2 ka cal. BP). The collection includes core preform, primary knapping products, end-scraper, knife-like tool, piece of hematite with traces of use, and faunal remains (bones of fish and large mammals). A similarity with the Middle Sartanian assemblages of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia has been established, manifested in the spatial arrangement and position in the relief, the organization of the structure of habitats, and the use of the Saikai metod in primary knapping

Archaeological science · Excavation · Hearth · Holocene · Knapping · Mesolithic · Pleistocene · Radiocarbon dating · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Geological Studies and Exploration · Marine and environmental studies