Formation processes at sites with high-resolution sequences in the Crimean Middle Paleolithic: The Kabazi V rock shelter and the open-air site of Kabazi II compared

Abstract

Several Paleolithic sites in the Crimea are characterized by long stratigraphic sequences with numerous thin in-situ archaeological horizons. In this case study, we compare two neighboring sites at Kabazi Mountain, parts of whose sequences are contemporaneous, for similarities and differences in their site formation processes during OIS 3. At Kabazi II, 15 m of mainly colluvial sediments accumulated behind a huge limestone block. Differences in the dynamics of the colluvial sedimentation led to archaeological horizons preserved in situ and assemblages moving downslope into the excavation area. Periods of stability due to vegetation cover upslope made soil formation processes possible. Kabazi V is a buried rock shelter with a different sedimentological setting. Here, sediments were built up by the dissolution of soft nummulitic limestone and influenced by running water, and are in part sandwiched between massive rock fall. Despite the differences in site type, the deposits of both sites are characterized by autochthonous (“inside”) and allochthonous (“outside”) deposits. In both cases, the preservation of deposits is due to their protection by large rock fall. Mean annual sedimentation rates show that the archaeological resolution of the sequences is more a consequence of recurrent human use over long periods than of high absolute sedimentation rates. The average time elapsing in each case between the archaeological layers indicates that the base camp of Kabazi V was more frequently used by Neanderthals than the kill-and butchering site of Kabazi II. This suggests long-term persistence of the site catchment criteria applied at Kabazi Mountain, and an important role for base camps in the Crimean Middle Paleolithic perception of landscape.