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Otson Tsokhio and Zuun Shovkh: the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in Eastern Mongolia

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Abstract

Many recent publications have discussed the development and distribution of Initial and Early Upper Palaeolithic (IUP/EUP) technologies in East Asia, with a special emphasis on the Siberian Altai, Transbaikal, and northern Mongolia as the epicentre of Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. These studies largely associate the IUP with the arrival of anatomically modern Homo sapiens from the west. Two major gaps in our understanding of this period are as follows: (1) the relationship between blade-based reduction with earlier flake-based and Levallois-type reduction strategies and (2) the nature of IUP/EUP technological traditions beyond the north-western edge of East Asia. Here we report on new archaeological finds from two open-air sites in the Ögöömöriin Govi Valley of eastern Mongolia and contextualize them within the broader scope of region-wide technological change. Lithic assemblages post-date 40 ka but are consistent with the IUP, revealing evidence for Levallois-flake based methods, bidirectional Levallois-like core reduction, and bidirectional prismatic core blade-based techniques, in addition to symbolic or ritual behaviour. Findings from these and other sites in southern and eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia suggest that IUP methods, including the use of Levallois-flake and bidirectional Levallois-like core technology, were widely adopted and continued to be used for many millennia. The broader data likewise suggests adoption by existing groups who were already familiar with Levallois methods of core preparation. New data from Ögöömöriin Govi sites shows that IUP reduction strategies continued to be used until they were replaced by bladelet production from volumetric cores.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Notes

  1. For definition see Inizan et al. (1999).

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Acknowledgements

We extend our deep thanks to Chunag Amartuvshin and William Honeychurch for facilitating the initial stages of our collaboration and inviting us to work in eastern Mongolia, to Paul Szpak and the TEAL Lab for helping us with processing collagen for the 14C samples included in this study, and to the organizers and editors of this collection of papers — Masami Izuho, Nicholas Zwyns, and Steven Kuhn. Thank you to Adiyasuren Molor for her help with translating and for logistical support during our 2022 field season.

Funding

Funding for research was provided by grants to Lisa Janz from the Association of Asian Studies CIAC Grant, American Philosophical Society Franklin Grant, the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant No. 9050), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Grant No. 756–2015-0019) and Insight Development Grant (Grant No. 430–2016-00173), as well as the Roberta Bondar Postdoctoral Fellowship in Northern and Polar Studies, from the Frost Centre for Indigenous and Canadian Studies and Trent University (2017–2019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History, Mongolian National University of Education, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Davaakhuu Odsuren

  2. Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Davaakhuu Odsuren

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, Canada

    Lisa Janz

  4. Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada

    William Fox

  5. Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Dashzeveg Bukhchuluun

  6. Archaeological Research Center, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Dashzeveg Bukhchuluun

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  1. Davaakhuu Odsuren
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Correspondence to Lisa Janz.

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Odsuren, D., Janz, L., Fox, W. et al. Otson Tsokhio and Zuun Shovkh: the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in Eastern Mongolia. J Paleo Arch 6, 10 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-023-00139-x

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