Markansu III – a New Stone Age Site in the Eastern Pamirs

In 2025, as part of the work of the Pamir Archaeological Team of the IAET SB RAS in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (Eastern Pamir, Republic of Tajikistan), a new archaeological site Markansu III was established. In the course of survey of the left side of the wide valley of the Koksoy River, archaeological material both separate and in clusters was recorded exposed on the top of a high moraine (50–70 m from the valley floor), 3. km northeast of the Oshkhona site. In total, 51 lithic artifacts were found. The collection contains the following artifact categories: cores (n = 3), core shards (n = 2), flakes (n = 41), debris (n = 4), a tool with double-sided processing on a blade (n = 1). The surface of the artifacts bears clearly visible traces of surface abrasion. The site of Markansu III is a short-term site stone raw materials were collected where in antiquity, tested and knapped in order to get large and thick blanks (possibly core-preforms) as well as blanks for the making tools on site. The findings of 2025 show great similarity to the Oshkhona industry of large-scale spalls and surface collections from Markansu I and II. By analogy with the materials of the above sites, the collection of lithic artifacts from Markansu III can be dated to the Early Holocene period. Since archaeological work in the valleys of the Koksoy and Markansu Rivers has not been carried out for almost 50 years, the discovery of a new site can be considered as a good start for the next stage of research in this area based on a modern integrated approach involving scientific methods

Debris · Flake · Lithic technology · Moraine · Animal Diversity and Health Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology