The article presents the results of the technical-typological analysis of the lithic assemblages of one of the main sites of the Eastern Caspian – Dam-Dam-Cheshme-1. The site was studied by A. P. Okladnikov (1950s) and G. E. Markov (1970s), and the archaeological materials of the excavations were shared between the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow State University. The study is aimed at analyzing the collections obtained during the excavations of A.P. Okladnikov, which are stored at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The lithic assemblage here is characterized by a small-plate industry, whose production of blade/lets was carried out within the framework of volumetric way. The tool set includes various scrapers, burins, geometric microliths (lunatess and triangles), and notched pieces. The closest analogies are observed with the materials of the grotto of Dam-Dam-Cheshme-2, Kailu, Oiukly and Komishan, located in the south-eastern Caspian Sea.

This paper investigates the scales of mobility in an early farming community in the southeastern Kopet Dag region by integrating studies of the faunal assemblage with the stratigraphic evidence from Monjukli Depe. The sequence of lower Neolithic layers at Monjukli Depe documented on a rather small scale by stratigraphic deep trenches points to a dynamic settlement activity at the site in this period. The Neolithic stratigraphic sequence consists of mixed layers characterized by minor architectural remains and alternating almost sterile aeolian deposits. The evidence of this period differs significantly from the upper Early Aeneolithic layers of the Monjukli Depe settlement, which exhibit substantial mudbrick architecture and consecutive domestic structures. Fluctuations in settlement activity at the site, noticeable in the stratigraphy, are also recorded in the analysis of phosphate and organic carbon of soil samples from Neolithic strata. In order to obtain information on the rhythms and seasonality of settlement activities at site during the Neolithic period, we conducted multi-isotopic analysis on animal remains. δ13C and δ18O values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of caprine tooth enamel are used to assess seasonal patterns related to grazing habits or foddering. The combination of the archaeozoological record and the results of isotopic analysis indicates sedentary animal husbandry practices at Monjukli Depe. Considering the stratigraphic and archaeozoological data, we propose that the settlement was neither seasonal nor permanent but rather frequently abandoned and reoccupied for several years.

This paper presents a typo-technological analysis of the lithic assemblage from the excavation of Mesolithic site of Altappeh (southeast of the Caspian Sea). The site was excavated by C. McBurney and the archaeological materials from the excavation were divided between the University of Cambridge and the National Museum of Iran. This research is based on the chipped stones stored in the National Museum of Iran. The assemblage, consisting mostly of flake tools including various scrapers and notchdenticulate tools, presents characteristics which reflect “Caspian Mesolithic” chipped stone industry, previously detected from cave sites of Kamarband, Hotu and Komishan in the same region. The Mesolithic chipped stone industry of the south and southeast of the Caspian Sea had been introduced as “Trialetian” during 1990s, but the recent research emphasizes the differences between chipped stone assemblages entitled “Trialetian” with “Caspian Mesolithic”. These differences are mostly reflected in raw material procurement strategies and tool types which are not similar in the assemblages from southeast and west of the Caspian Sea.

The Rakushechny Yar site is one of the key Early Neolithic sites of southern Eastern Europe. The lithological strata, which preserved the cultural layers of Neolithic- Eneolithic, reach a thickness of more than 6 m. Remains of various structures attributed to Early Neolithic were identified – platforms with Unio shells surrounded by stake pits, shell piles with numerous kitchen remains and artefacts, pits with Unio shells deposited within several horizons. Another type includes the remains of structures marked by rows of post and stake pits, some of which may relate to fishing gear. Dwelling structures are represented by the remains of buildings with clay floors. Analysis of the distribution of artifacts and ecofacts and plans of individual layers on the basis of analysis of archival materials made it possible to identify different types of household and residential structures, outline the boundaries of artifact accumulations, describe the location of objects in the cultural layer, reconstruct functional zones, identify stable complexes of different categories and material groups. Spatial analysis of the archival material, taking into account the results of recent years of field research, shows a change in the development pattern of the coastal zone from small-scale household areas, sometimes paved with shells, with pits to residential complexes.

The article is devoted to the analysis of quartzite debitage from the lower layers of the Nepryakhino site. The multi-layered Nepryakhino site in the Volga-Ural interfluves is located. The lower layers are dated to OIS3. AMS date for the lower buried soil – 40,620 ± 270 BP. The assemblages from lower layers of Nepryakhino site is characterized by significant amount of bifaces (from 16 to 31 %); prismatic cores accompanied by a representative group of prismatic preforms. The debitage is 97 %. Spalls associated with the preparation, knapping, and trimming of prismatic cores amount to 4 %. The bifacial debitage is 74-82 %. There are two groups of morphologically different flakes from bifaces. Group 1: classical flakes of bifacial thinning/trimming (up to 48–50 %). Striking platform is often linear or dotted strongly beveled, with overhang trimming and pronounced lip. These flakes the main stage of bifacial manufacturing are represents. Group 2 includes flakes (26–32 %) characterized by large size with massive cross-section and curved profile. The striking platforms are wide, beveled in less degree, the overhang trimming is less frequent and less intensive. These flakes the initial stage of bifacial manufacturing are represents. All of bifaces in varying degrees unfinished. Complete bifacial points as well as prismatic cores were transported outside the site.

The territory of the Northern Caspian Sea is a unique geographical and historical zone. This lies in the fact that it was here that important processes of cultural genesis took place. This is especially evident in the studied monuments of the Stone Age. During the second half of the 20th century, this region attracted researchers. Many sites have been studied, including those attributed to the Mesolithic. A huge array of data made it possible to distinguish two groups of Mesolithic sites within the region - Istai and Zhekolgan. This article discusses the materials of the Mesolithic site in the Northern Caspian - Istay VI, which was studied in 1989 by the expeditions of the Kuibyshev State Pedagogical University under the leadership of I.B. Vasiliev. Due to the fact that the materials of the collection were published in part and relatively long ago, there was a need for a modern interpretation. As a result of a comprehensive typological and traceological analysis of the collection, the authors come to the conclusion that the materials of the site belong to the Zhekolgan group and have a Late Melithic appearance.

Research into the Neolithization of the Southern Caucasus has entered a new stage in the 2000s, with a remarkable increase in international archaeological investigations employing cutting-edge feld techniques and related laboratory studies. Current research indicates that full-fledged Neolithic societies emerged in the Southern Caucasus in the early sixth millennium BC, most likely through interaction with Neolithic societies of Southwest Asia. Neolithization took place in the southern Caucasus at the beginning of the sixth millennium BC, most likely as part of the expansion of the Neolithic socioeconomy from the Middle East, where the food production economy had been established at least a few thousand years earlier. However, local adaptation and indigenous cultural development are also likely to have played important roles in this process, by which distinct Neolithic ways of life emerged in the southern Caucasus. Tis article reports on 46 radiocarbon dates obtained from the two recently excavated Early Pot-tery Neolithic sites of Göytepe and Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe, the oldest farming villages known to date in West Azerbaijan. Comparing the dates from other related sites demonstrates that several settlements representing the earliest Pottery Neolithic emerged almost simultaneously at the beginning of the sixth millennium B.C.E. in the northern and southern foothills of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.

This review deals with book about the Paleolithic period in the Korean Peninsula published at the end of 2021 at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (Republic of Korea). Exclusive work differs from others because it is compiled for people with defective vision. The author reviews the features and content of the tactile book, including chapters on general issues of the Paleolithic, and on the features of the Paleolithic in Korea. Embossed picture and dot font of L. Braille allows persons with disabilities to touch the ancient history of humankind.