The Dating of a Middle Paleolithic Blade Industry in Southern Russia and Its Relationship to the Initial Upper Paleolithic

The open-air site of Shlyakh, located near Volgograd in southern Russia, contains two assemblages of stone artifacts assigned to the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the artifacts are buried in low-energy stream deposits and appear to be in primary context (i.e., they do not exhibit signs of stream transport). The lithic technology reflects an emphasis on blade production and Levallois products are present. The artifacts lie in sediments formed during and immediately following the Laschamp Paleomagnetic excursion (41.2 ± 1.6 ka); they underlie the Mono Lake excursion (34.2 ± 1.2 ka). Although the radiocarbon dating is broadly consistent with the paleomagnetic stratigraphy, the wide range of ages obtained on bone from the upper assemblage suggests that older materials may have been introduced to one or both cultural layers. The dating and contents of Shlyakh are discussed in the wider context of events in Europe during ~ 50–40 ka. At this time, an Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) industry (Bohunician), characterized by Levallois blade technology and a high proportion of Upper Paleolithic tool types, is established in central Europe and on the southwest plain of eastern Europe. A different pattern is evident on the south-central plain, however, where the IUP is absent and a local “transitional unit” in the form of a Middle Paleolithic blade industry is represented at Shlyakh and other sites during 50–40 ka.