N.A. Tsvetkova

Al’ba 8 in Dmitrovskiy district of Moskow Oblast’ was discovered by V.V. Sidorov in 2005. The site is located on the cape of the left bank of Al’ba being a channel conjoining lakes Krugloye and Dolgoye. The site was thought to be a seasonal unspecialized camp of the Upper Volga Early Neolithic culture hunters, fishers and gatherers. Under excavations an open ground hearth and two manufacturing areas were revealed associated with primary and secondary flint knapping activities. Ceramics is presented by small fragments corresponding to the 1st and 2nd stages of the Upper Volga culture. The stone assemblage of Al’ba 8 site is multiform and has analogies among the materials of the Early Neolithic sites cultural horizons such as Alekseevskoye I, Berendeyevo IIa, Davydkovo, Zamostjе II, Okayomovo XVIII, Ozerki V, Ivanovskoye III, VII, Sakhtysh, IIa, Pleshcheyevo I, and others. Furthermore, similarities are noticed in the stone inventories of the early stage of the Valdai Early Neolithic culture/the western local variant of the Upper Volga culture (the sites Kochishche I,II, Nizhniye Kotitsy).