Lyubov V. Golovanova, Vladimir B. Doronichev, Ekaterina V. Doronicheva
Independent Nonprofit Organization “Laboratory of Prehistory”, St. Petersburg, Russia
E-mail: labprehistory@yandex.ru

Keywords: Paleolithic, Caucasus, stone industry, migration, raw material procurement strategies. 

The study of raw material procurement strategies in the Paleolithic of the Caucasus reveals the existence of remote migrations of ancient man. In the Stone Age, obsidian was a raw material that was highly valued and transported over distances of more than 200–250 km. In Elbrus region, in the valley of the Baksan river, there is a large field of obsidian which was carried to the North-Western Caucasus in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, in that region, not a single stratified Middle Paleolithic site had been known until the first cave site of Saraj-Chuko was discovered in 2016. Deposits of the late Paleolithic are known only in the rockshelters of Sosruko and Badynoko. The reference site for the development of chronological and cultural issues of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic of the Central Caucasus is the Sosruko rockshelter. Investigations of 2017 allowed us to obtain new data on the Paleolithic of Elbrus region.

DOI: 10.31857/S086960630004832-4