The Kremenician, a Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transitional industry in the Western Ukraine (Preliminary results of typological and technological and technological reevaluation of the Kuly Chivka layer III industry)

This paper is devoted to the study of lithic typology and technology of the West Ukrainian Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transitional site Kulychivka. The site was excavated by V.P. Savych between the years 1968-1987. Discussed in the paper is the lithic assemblage from the III-d cultural layer of the site, the lowermost one recovered during the 1979 field campaign. A limited series of artifacts discovered during subsequent years of investigation of the site is also involved for comparisons. Kulychivka typology comprises common Upper Palaeolithic types, where endscrapers, followed by retouched blades, burins, etc., are characteristic. Typical Levallois points add to originality of the assemblage. Kulychivka technology involves two modes of exploitation of raw materials, namely flat (Levallois) and volumetric (parallel or prismatic; knapping on narrow lateral face). Both modes are characterized by specific traits; though rare, there are examples of combination of the two. The oiginal appearance of the Kulychivka assemblage allows to define a distinct Kremenician industry. The closest analogy of Kremenician of Western Ukraine is represented by the Moravian Bohunician. Regional Middle Palaeolithic records show no clear and doubtless forerunners of Kremenician. This paper discusses typological and technological aspects of the Kulychivka industry. It is mainly based on analysis of the assemblage of the III-d (lower) Upper Palaeolithic layer from the excavations by VP Savych in 1979 conducted on an area of ca. 108 square meters. Additional the materials coming from later V.P. Savych field campaigns were also analyzed, but are represented in the present paper more briefly. According to the excavator, the area excavated in 1979 yielded the hearth (250 x 160 x 6/14 centimeters) and two concentrations of finds, one of which - oval in shape; 4 x 2,5 m in area - yielded up to 78 % offlints (Savych, 1979). The lithic series of the III-d layer of Kulychivka from the Depositories