The middle Paleolithic complexes of the Selungur cave: 2016 field results

Before the last and ongoing stage of the research the Selungur cave was considered to be a key-site of the Lower Paleolithic of Central Asia. It was declared to contain Acheulian lithic complexes and human remains which were found there were interpreted as belonging to the specific variant of Homo erectus. During last decade very serious doubts both about cultural-chronological evaluations as well as paleoanthropological definitions were expressed, so the decision about a re-excavation of the site was taken. The renewed research at the Selungur Cave shows that this archaeological object contained the asynchronous material, related mainly to Middle Paleolithic. In the 2016field season the geological investigation of cave’s deposits was carried out. As a result, at the entrance area of Selungur cave 6 lithological layers were determined. Middle Paleolithic material was discovered in layers 4 and 5. According to the results of the analysis it could be claimed that these materials have similar technical and typological characteristics and may be regarded as a uniform Middle Paleolithic complex that currently has no analogies in the region. Thus, industries of Selungur cave are being considered now as a separate industrial variant of Central Asian Middle Paleolithic with a relatively early chronology.