Stages of development of the relief in the area of the paleolithic site of Ushbulak (East Kazakhstan)

The article presents results of complex geoarchaeological studies of the Ushbulak Upper Paleolithic site, one of the most significant locations for understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens material culture in Central Asia. On the basis of a detailed description of the modern relief and exogenous processes, study of the sediments, absolute dating using luminescence, we present reconstruction of geomorphological evolution of the site during the various stages of human occupation of the Shilikty Valley in the second half 
of the Late Pleistocene. Eight main lithological layers were identified in the Ushbulak section. Based on the analysis of the technical and typological characteristics of the artifacts four cultural and chronological assemblages were identified: the initial stages of the Upper Paleolithic (layers 7.2–5.2), the advanced Upper Paleolithic (layers 5.1–4), the final Upper Paleolithic (layers 3.3–2.1) and the Paleometallic era (layer 1). Results of luminescence dating were used to develop a Bayesian age model for detailed age determination of sedimentation at Ushbulak. Newly developed chronology allowed to establish the age of cultural horizons and to reconstruct the main stages of the geomorphological development. Five stages of landscape evolution of the Ushbulak site have been identified. The initial human occupation of the Shilikty Valley during Initial Upper Paleolithic took place during the warming phase of MIS 3 no later than 52 ka. The Early Upper Paleolithic industries are identified at the site in the first half of MIS 3 (52–39 ka). Absence of significant changes in lithics may indicate stable natural conditions during this time. A new cooling episode begins in the region in the second half of MIS 3, which corresponds to a hiatus in the archaeological sequence. A new phase of human activity using stone tools of developed Upper Paleolithic culture (25–21 ka) was documented in the area at the beginning of the MIS 2. The last phase of human occupation of the region took place during the warming climate at 17–14 ka (final Upper Paleolithic). All stages of human occupation of the Shilikty Valley correlate with climate fluctuations of Late Pleistocene.

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