Changes in the Morphology of Laminar Products in the Upper Paleolithic Industries of Tolbor-4 (Mongolia)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article provides the analysis of blade product morphology from the cultural and chronological sequence of the Tolbor-4 site (Northern Mongolia), covering the periods of the Initial, Early, and Late Upper Paleolithic (ca. 45,000–12,000 BP). During the site occupation, homogeneous local raw material was used, which makes it possible to exclude the influence of raw material factor on the morphology of knapped products. The study was primarily aimed at tracing the diachronic dynamics of changes in blade morphology, including metric parameters, cross-sections, and dorsal scar patterns. In the lower archaeological horizons (AH6–AH5a), large and medium blades, produced by bidirectional reduction from two opposing core platforms, predominated. These complexes reflect the early stages of the region’s occupation by the Upper Paleolithic populations. Assemblages from the middle horizons (AH4b–AH4a), chronologically preceding the Last Glacial Maximum, demonstrate a shift to the unidirectional parallel reduction, an increased share of small blades, and the predominance of irregularly shaped blades. These levels are characterized by the abandonment of the asymmetrical volumetric concept, reduced elongation indices, and the disappearance of pointed blades, indicating a technological shift at the end of MIS-3. In the upper horizons (AH3–AH1), dated to between 18,000 and 12,000 (?) BP, blade reduction, again, played a significant role, though production shifted toward small blades. Microblades appear only in AH1, which is consistent with the data from other sites in the Tolbor Valley. Thus, the Tolbor-4 sequence reflects a transition in technological strategies from large-blade to small-blade reduction, with a long cultural hiatus associated with the Last Glacial Maximum.
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7126225030
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