The Eastern Frontier of the Gravettian in the Kostenki-Borshchevo Palaeolithic Locality, the Don Basin, Russia

Abstract

The Gravettian cultural phenomenon refers to the middle phase of the European Upper Palaeolithic periodization (30–20 ky BP (uncal)). The previous pattern of the Gravettian in the Kostenki-Borshchevo area of the Middle Don basin yielded a two-phase periodization. The early phase was thought to be presented by Kostenki 8/II dating back to ~27 ky BP (uncal). The second phase comprised the Kostenki-Avdeevo culture (the Eastern Gravettian) sites: Kostenki 1/I, Kostenki 13, 18, Kostenki 14/I (23–21 ky BP (uncal)) and five typologically particular assemblages altogether being in accordance with the late Gravettian. New data on the archaeology and absolute chronology obtained in the recent excavations enabled to clarify the Gravettian sequence as well as to integrate the local assemblages into general European taxonomy. The main advance was achieved in the defining of the middle Gravettian phase newly dated 25–24 ky BP (uncal) (sites Kostenki 4, Borshchevo 5 and probably Kostenki 9). This cultural complex was associated with the Pavlovian being determined by tools typology and in particular by the series of stone items treated with polishing. It was specified that along with the Kostenki-Avdeyevo culture the latest phase comprised Kostenki 21/III as the local final Gmelin type Gravettian formerly conjoined together with Anosovka assemblage (Kostenki 11/II). The latter was attributed to the non-Gravettian/proto-Magdalenian. Thus, the Gravettian technocomplex in the basin of the Don acquired a three-part sequence of the early (27–25 ky BP (uncal)), middle (25–24 ky BP (uncal)) and late (23–21 ky BP (uncal)) phases which corresponds to the periodization in Central Europe.