The Upper Paleolithic Settlement of the Transbaikal, Siberia

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With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Ted Goebel, in collaboration with American and Russian colleagues will conduct archaeological excavations at the site of Masterov Kliuch' which is located in the Transbaikal region of Siberia. Previous test excavations have revealed five stratigraphically separate archaeological components. The lowest three contain Upper Paleolithic materials and span the period from ca. 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. In addition to excavation, the team will apply a number of specialized techniques that will enhance the capture of archaeological information. The entire stratigraphic profile will be chronometrically dated through multiple procedures including accelerator radiocarbon, luminescence and electron spin resonance. All excavated artifacts and ecofacts will be precisely provenienced and orientations will be noted to reconstruct site formation processes. Fauna will be studied in detail and lithic artifacts analyzed and refitted to trace technological manufacturing processes as well as site spatial patterns. Humans first penetrated Siberia during Upper Paleolithic times and the Northern Eurasian region constituted the last major habitable area to be settled. Based on available information it appears that groups expanded from West to East and the stone blade tools characteristic of these groups appear to stop in the Transbaikal region. The reason for this is not known and the phenomenon is interesting because it may shed light on basic processes of human adaptation. This research is significant for several reasons. It will add to our understanding of the origins and dispersal of modern humans, especially attempts to explain the pattern of human global colonization. It will significantly increase our knowledge of the Upper Paleolithic of the Old World. Through the application of paleoecological and paleogeographic perspectives, the research will add to a growing body of knowledge addressing past human adaptive strategies and associated environmental limiting factors affecting past and present population distributions. Finally, the project will offer unique research experiences for undergraduate students.