Pages:  33-60 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp2613360

This paper provides for the first time an overview and comparison of Middle Palaeoliohic bone industries of two adjacent regions — Eastern Europe and the Northern Caucasus. The bone tools of  Khotylevo I are newly introduced into scientific circulation, while a number of other important collections, including Barakaevskaya Cave, Staroselye Grotto and Rozhok I site, are considered at a new level of analysis. The composition and preservation of these collections make it possible to assess the main patterns of bone processing and use in the Middle Paleolithic of the two regions. The study analyzes various techniques of primary splitting and secondary processing, as well as the use of blank. The bone industries of Eastern Europe and the Northern Caucasus demonstrate a complex technology for the production of blanks, which may include splitting with a direct blow of a hammer, chopping with a stone tool and use of an organic intermediary tool. There are traces of secondary treatment of the blanks with periosteum removal and knapping. The blanks were used for retouching of stone artifacts and processing of hard and soft organic materials. The work highlights the breadth of the use of solid organic materials in the industries of this period, and also testifies to the commonality of technologies for their processing in different Paleolithic eras.

Keywords: Middle Palaeolithic, bone tools, bone processing, experimental archaeology, traceology, use-wear analysis

Information about authors:

Mariya Kupriyanova (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-8160-7098

Yaroslav Ivanov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-5582-693X

Kseniya Stepanova (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-2814-2639

Elena Belyaeva (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-1872-5600

Alexander Otcherednoy (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7616-5686