New finds of the Stone Age in Central Kazakhstan
Exploration in Central Kazakhstan discovered some new monuments of the Stone Age. The most significant number of finds is the Paleolithic locality Tuemaynak 1, located on the Sarysu-Tengiz watershed. Here, on the slope of a low hill near a dried-up stream, more than 2,000 items of local porphyrite have been collected: flakes, cores, blades, side-scrapers, leaf-shaped tips, axes, chisels. The varying degree of surfaces of the finds and the joint presence of typologically different time items make it possible to assume the presence of several assemblages of an extra time.
Material of a completely different appearance was collected near Mount Aksary in the upper reaches of the Nura River. It was exposed due to erosion by a stream of thin floodplain alluvium, which was covered by an older pebble bed. The finds can be traced on the pebbles for 1 km, forming minor accumulations. The artifacts include a massive wedge-shaped core, side-scrapers, scrapers, massive flakes, and cube cores.
The Paleolithic locality Dosan 1, located not far from Aksara, but somewhat higher, is represented by small tools made of locally poor quality Devonian slab material. About 200 objects have been collected here, among which there are pointed and side-scrapers.
A small collection of material that is Paleolithic in appearance, but typologically inexpressive, is known from the Ilyinka locality, located 150 km northeast of the Tselinograd. It was collected on the surface of the deluvial loam covering the ancient high plateau at its edge to the channel of the Seleta River. Single Paleolithic finds were made at two points: a fragment of a handkerchief and a scraper-like tool were found near the village of Mirnoye on the Tasty-Turgai grotto, a dps-like core and quartzite pebbles, beaten like a chopping - in the area of the Tyuemaynak junction. Most of the Neolithic monuments are concentrated in groups. Six monuments are in the Tyuemainak area; they are poor in finds and, as a rule, confined to ancient moles and ravines. There are seven monuments near Mirny, they are limited to the high banks of the Tasta-Turgai and its left tributary.