Deposits Stratigraphy of Marmot Cave in Northwestern Altai
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article presents the results of a lithological and stratigraphic investigation of deposits in Marmot Cave, a new multilayered archaeological site in northwestern Altai, in the Anui River valley. The thickness of the deposits exposed in the cave mouth zone is 3 m. A profile of the northwestern wall of the pit was used as the stratotype section, where we identified five main stratigraphic units. Layer 1 formed during the Holocene, primarily due to intensive subaerial input. The underlying sediments of layers 2–4, containing Pleistocene faunal remains and Paleolithic stone artifacts, accumulated primarily through the erosion of bedrock limestones and speleothems, with minor contributions from older cave sediments. Archaeologically and paleontologically sterile layer 5 consists primarily of re-deposited, partially re-washed by a weak stream, ancient intra-cave sediment (terra rossa) that accumulated when the karst cavity was isolated from the external environment. After the comparative analysis, we established that layer 2 is a likely parallel of layer 9 in the Main Chamber of the nearby Denisova Cave, where deposits in this part of the profile were formed during MIS 2. Based on its main lithological and stratigraphic characteristics, layer 4 is presumably a chronostratigraphic parallel for deposits that accumulated in various parts of Denisova Cave during the MIS 7 climatic environment. Thus, the thick stratigraphic column of Marmot Cave, according to preliminary estimates, may have formed during the late Middle and Upper Pleistocene, making this site promising for further comprehensive research.
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7126190426
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