Some data on the problem “man and environment”. Influence of raw materials on technology and typology of middle palaeolithic industries : new methods and results

Stepanchuk V. N.

Proposed work is aimed to elucidation of interactions between technology and typology and kind of used raw materials. Two answers are seem to be equally possible, i.e. a) technology and typology are not depended on the properties of raw materials, and b) technology and typology are depended on kind of raw materials.

Materials of Crimean Middle Palaeolithic sites Prolom I, Prolom II, and Sary-Kaya I provide good grounds for solution of the posed task. Two kinds of raw materials were utilised by inhabitants of these sites, namely mediocre chert and high quality Cretaceous flint. It is worthy to note that involved materials provide possibility to conduct analysis through two directions : 1) to compare series of artifacts of the same industrial tradition but prepared on different raw materials, and b) to compare series of artifacts of different industrial traditions but prepared on the same raw materials.

Comparative analysis of technology based on new methodology of processing of data given by flakes, cores, bifacial tools, and flake tools, as well as typological comparison, both pointed to identical conclusion in respect of assemblages under discussion, i.e. that technology and typology are not depended on the kind of utilised raw materials.

This conclusion seems to be important from the point of view of discussion about reasons of Middle Palaeolithic variability. Obtained data witness rather to benefit of palaeoethnological explanation model. Thus, the new data is obtained that illustrate the role of “paleoethnology” as a key factor caused the high scale variety of manifestations of cultural-historical process of Middle Palaeolithic epoch.