Pages: 125-151 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp251125151
The Middle Paleolithic, as an epoch in the development of human society, was characterized by the homeostasis between the socio-cultural systems and their natural environments. Middle Paleolithic сommunities settled in the areas with the most favorable combinations of basic resources. At that time, almost the entire territory of the southern part of the Russian Plain, including the Donbass and Azov regions, was dominated by steppe landscapes. In the interglacial period, soils similar to modern ordinary Calcic Chernozems developed; in the interstadial periods, more arid Kastanozems soils prevailed. During the glacial stages, the soil cover was represented by underdeveloped semi-desert paleosols. The Middle Paleolithic period witnessed the consecutive existence of two faunal complexes: the Khazar and Mammoth ones. Bison was the main object of hunting for the Middle Paleolithic inhabitants of the region. Of particular importance among the basic resources were also stone raw materials. The region is rich in Upper Cretaceous rocks with flints. In addition, there are also Paleogene quartzites. The overwhelming majority of the Middle Paleolithic sites of the region is situated in direct proximity to sources of flint.
Keywords: Donbass, Azov region, Middle Paleolithic, raw material strategies, bison hunters, Neanderthal type of adaptation
Information about authors:
Alexander Kolesnik (Donetsk). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Donetsk State University. Universitetskaya St., 24, Donetsk, 83001
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-4933-8438
Vadim Titov (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Chekhov Ave., 41, Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5938-5775
Aleksey Danilchenko (Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation). Kamensk Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts and Folk Art. Karl Marx Ave., 56, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, 347810, Rostov Oblast, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-2793-9088
Pavel Panin (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Geographical Sciences. Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Staromonetny Lane, 29/4, Moscow, 119017, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0032-1475
Evgeny Konstantinov (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Geographical Sciences. Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Staromonetny Lane, 29/4, Moscow, 119017, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-0686-6342