Technological Lithic Production Variability of the Teshik-Tash Grotto Industry

Abstract

Purpose. For the Central Asian territories, only the discovery of a burial from Teshik-Tash has an indisputable connection with the Neanderthal population confirmed by genetic studies. In this situation, it is important to fully characterize the technological repertoire of this hominin species through a detailed study of the lithic industry of TeshikTash. One of the parts of the Teshik-Tash collection, kept in the collections of the Kunstkamera (St. Petersburg, Russia), was previously analyzed. Observations regarding the operation of radial and disc-shaped cores at the late stages of utilization, as well as the identified features in the morphology of points, again identified the problem of the presence / absence of the Levallois component in the Teshik-Tash industry.Materials and Methods. Attributive analysis was chosen as a research tool, which was previously applied to the collection from the Kunstkamera. It allows reconstructing the entire “operational chain” of knapping lithic raw materials at the site and identifying the technological features of the production of different types of blanks.Results. The performed analysis allows identifying some features of the knapping technology in the Teshik-Tash industry, such as: the dominant knapping system is centripetal; the using of Levallois technology is recorded in the one core; a method of shaping the core front by creating a rib at the base and using lateral spalls; a case of the volumetric concept of knapping has been identified; the strategies used in the industry resulted in a low standardized product; the rare design of percussion platforms and their reduction. The tool kit is characterized by the using of cores as the tools; the presence of two groups of “special purpose” tools; the irregularly retouched flakes as a background tool category; the presence of truncated and truncated-faceted pieces.Discussion. The knapping approach was quite flexible, and this implies the possibility of switching from one model to another at different stages of core utilization. For this reason, some cores fall into the “grey zone” between radial, discoid, and Levallois types. At the same time, the Levallois technique occupies a clearly subordinate position in the industry, was extremely rarely used in the early stages of core utilization, and had almost no effect on the overall appearance of blanks. For this reason, we believe that Levallois technique should be considered as a one of the significant characteristics of the Teshik-Tash industry with great caution, as well as direct analogies with the new Middle Paleolithic complexes of the Tien Shan low mountains.Conclusion. The processing of the Teshik-Tash collection made it possible to fix the dominance of the centripetal model of lithic knapping, the use of which is imprinted in the morphology of products of all main categories. At the same time, a number of artifacts point to the existence of technological variability in lithic production in the industry, both at the stage of making blanks (the use of sub-wedge-shaped and volumetric cores) and at the stage of designing tools (truncated-faceted products). These circumstances expand our understanding of the behavioral characteristics of the Neanderthals who lived in the west of Central Asia.