LATE PALEOLITHIC
40-12 thousand BC
The Late Palaeolithic site in Samarkand
The Samarkand site is the first fully studied Late Palaeolithic monument in Central
Asia. It is located on the right side of Chashma-Siab, Zeravshan’s left tributary, currently
occupied by an artificial lake, opposite the Dynamo stadium. The site was discovered by
G. V. Kharlamov in 1939. Stationary excavations continued by D. N. Lev (1958-1968) yielded new,
highly invaluable material on the Late Palaeolithic. The site was covered by three layers of soil.
The cultural layers lying at a depth of 2-3 m were separated by sterile interlayers. An area of up
to 870 m2 was excavated. This was the camp of hunters for wild horses (52.3 %), deer (3 %), camels
(4.8 %), sheep (2 %), European wild asses (17.6 %) and aurochs (14.5 %). The palaeoecology of the
inhabitants of the Samarkand site is extremely expressive due to the surviving faunal, as well as
floral remains. The latter are represented by prints of elm leaves and birch, pine, alder and
linden trunks. The study of fauna and flora provided data on the natural environment, which was
stable throughout the period in question. The anthropological discoveries made at the site are
extremely important. In 1962, a tooth, a fragment of the humerus and part of the lower jaw with
nine teeth belonging to a 25-year- old Cro-Magnon woman were discovered. Another lower jaw with ten
teeth found in 1966 is close to the previous one. The endocast of a child’s skull also gave some
interesting results. That was the first discovery of remains of Homo sapiens in Central Asia
belonging to modern humans.
The vast majority of the stone items (about 11,500) were made of flint, with occasional articles of
chalcedony, diorite, quartz and siliceous slates. The material from all the three layers is
uniform. Large pebbles make up a significant portion. They are mainly anvils, hammerstones,
retouchers and axes. The disc-shaped cores are heavily worn. Some of the retouched blades have
notches at the side, which functioned as push-planes. The scrapers are on flakes. Mousterian-type
blade points are also quite interesting, as well as traces of artificial dug out dwellings on an
area of more than 100 m2, almost rectangular in shape. They are located on the bank of a stream,
which was the concentration of Cro-Magnon life. On the site of the dwellings there were remains of
large household fireplaces and platforms for the production of stone tools with remains of pillar
beams. Eight polished teardrop- shaped blades with a hole (a necklace) and a polished stone disk
with artificial notches, demonstrating astral symbolism, were also found there. The adornment
consisted of
seashells with a hole (poliviles of manilla) originating from the tropical zone of the Indian
Ocean. By its general appearance the Samarkand site is a typical Late Palaeolithic Central
Asian monument.
Based on geomorphological and palaeontological data, this monument can be dated to 33,000-20,000
years ago. According to recent research, the Samarkand site developed on the basis of the
Kuturbulak and Zirabulak Mousterian complexes. The obtained materials
were included in generalizing works on the archaeology of Eurasia.
Asia. It is located on the right side of Chashma-Siab, Zeravshan’s left tributary, currently
occupied by an artificial lake, opposite the Dynamo stadium. The site was discovered by
G. V. Kharlamov in 1939. Stationary excavations continued by D. N. Lev (1958-1968) yielded new,
highly invaluable material on the Late Palaeolithic. The site was covered by three layers of soil.
The cultural layers lying at a depth of 2-3 m were separated by sterile interlayers. An area of up
to 870 m2 was excavated. This was the camp of hunters for wild horses (52.3 %), deer (3 %), camels
(4.8 %), sheep (2 %), European wild asses (17.6 %) and aurochs (14.5 %). The palaeoecology of the
inhabitants of the Samarkand site is extremely expressive due to the surviving faunal, as well as
floral remains. The latter are represented by prints of elm leaves and birch, pine, alder and
linden trunks. The study of fauna and flora provided data on the natural environment, which was
stable throughout the period in question. The anthropological discoveries made at the site are
extremely important. In 1962, a tooth, a fragment of the humerus and part of the lower jaw with
nine teeth belonging to a 25-year- old Cro-Magnon woman were discovered. Another lower jaw with ten
teeth found in 1966 is close to the previous one. The endocast of a child’s skull also gave some
interesting results. That was the first discovery of remains of Homo sapiens in Central Asia
belonging to modern humans.
The vast majority of the stone items (about 11,500) were made of flint, with occasional articles of
chalcedony, diorite, quartz and siliceous slates. The material from all the three layers is
uniform. Large pebbles make up a significant portion. They are mainly anvils, hammerstones,
retouchers and axes. The disc-shaped cores are heavily worn. Some of the retouched blades have
notches at the side, which functioned as push-planes. The scrapers are on flakes. Mousterian-type
blade points are also quite interesting, as well as traces of artificial dug out dwellings on an
area of more than 100 m2, almost rectangular in shape. They are located on the bank of a stream,
which was the concentration of Cro-Magnon life. On the site of the dwellings there were remains of
large household fireplaces and platforms for the production of stone tools with remains of pillar
beams. Eight polished teardrop- shaped blades with a hole (a necklace) and a polished stone disk
with artificial notches, demonstrating astral symbolism, were also found there. The adornment
consisted of
seashells with a hole (poliviles of manilla) originating from the tropical zone of the Indian
Ocean. By its general appearance the Samarkand site is a typical Late Palaeolithic Central
Asian monument.
Based on geomorphological and palaeontological data, this monument can be dated to 33,000-20,000
years ago. According to recent research, the Samarkand site developed on the basis of the
Kuturbulak and Zirabulak Mousterian complexes. The obtained materials
were included in generalizing works on the archaeology of Eurasia.
- Jurakulov, M. D. Th e Samarkand site and the problems of the Upper Palaeolithic in Central Asia [Samarkandskaya stoyanka i problemy verkhnego paleolita v Sredney Azii]. Tashkent: Fan, 1987.
- Jurakulov, M. D., Kholyushkin, Yu. P., Kholyushkina, V. A., Batyrov, B. Kh. The Samarkand site and its place in the Late Palaeolithic in Central Asia [Samarkandskaya stoyanka i yeyo mesto v pozdnem paleolite Sredney Azii] // Palaeolithic in Central and Eastern Asia. The history and culture of the East of Asia. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1980.
- Lev, D. N. Ancient Stone Age settlements in Samarkand. Research works in 1958-1960 [Poseleniya drevnekamennogo veka v Samarkande. Issledovaniya 1958–1960 gg.] // Proceedings of the Samarkand State University. Samarkand, 1964. No. 135.
- Lev D. N. The results of the work of the archaeological team from the Samarkand State University named after A. Navoi [Itogi raboty arkheologicheskogo otryada Samarkandskogo gosuniversiteta imeni A. Navoi] // Proceedings of the Samarkand State University. New series. Issue 218.
