Культурно-типологічна та хронологічна інтерпретація нижніх культурних шарів стоянки Куличівка

Abstract

An attempt to analyze briefly chronological, territorial and cultural analogies for the lower (IV and III) cultural horizons of multilayered site Kulychivka in Kremenets, Ternopil region is made at the article. Attention is focused on the sites of period of transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic (further MP-UP transition), which are close to materials of Kulychivka in technical, topological or territorial-chronological aspects. Synchronous industries from the adjacent regions are considered: Dnister River basin, Volhynia, Podillya, Trans-Carpathians, as well as more distant territories – Dnipro River basin, Donbas, Crimean peninsula, Kostyonky-Borshchiv Paleolithic centers. However, the closest analogy for materials from lower layers of Kulychivka is seen by the authors in sites of Bohunice industry (Czech Republic), or more widely, in Emiran–Bohunice complex, spread from Near East to Siberia and Northern China. Not only the common features in the technique of producing of tools, but also planigraphic features of location and proximity to sources of high-quality raw materials (Volhynian flint in the case of Kulychivka) are united those sites. Existing technical and typological interpretations of the lower layers of the site, made by V. Savych, V. Stepanchuk and V. Kohen, M. Anikovich, L. Meignan, J.-M. Geneste, L. Kulakovska and O. Sytnyk are also analysed at the article. Considering the genesis of Paleolithic settlements in Kulychivka during MP-UP transition, the authors support hypothesis of migration link with Central European region, although further investigation is needed to clarify the direction and nature of this connection. There are also some features of industry of the site (presence of atypical or defective products, quantitative predominance of production refuse over the final product, the long-term preservation of “archaic” elements in collections), which could be influenced by availability of close situated and easily accessible sources of stone raw materials. These features also allow considering Paleolithic cultural layers of Kulychivka as remains of prehistoric workshop, probably of multiphase, seasonal settlement. Key words: Kulychivka, Early Upper Paleolithic, transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic, flint artifacts, Bohunice.