Upper Palaeolithic Settlement Anetovka II: Some Issues in the Planigraphy of the Cultural Layer

Abstract

The Upper Palaeolithic settlement of Anetovka II was discovered in 1978. Since then, an area ca. 2000 square meters have been uncovered. The collection includes about 2 million flint items and 0.5 million fragments of animal bones. V. N. Stanko identified three structurally and functionally different complexes within the excavated area: a) a macrocluster of flint and fauna (up to 500 square meters) with buffalo skulls painted with ocher found in its southeastern part; b) a group of 40 individual microclusters, consisting of animal bones and flints interpreted as butchering areas; c) a complex of microclusters presumably associated with the manufacture of flint artifacts. According to V. N. Stanko, these complexes form either a single ritual center associated with ceremonial and theatrical festivities of buffalo hunters or a joint production and ritual center used by all hunting communities that co-inhabited the region. According to alternative views the settlement should be considered a sanctuary (T. I. Shcherbakova) or a waste dump (I.V. Sapozhnikov). In fact, the production area considered to have been associated with flint production only, includes two types of clusters of archaeological material: small ones, with flint inventory, stone anvils, hammersstones and retouchers, and larger ones, containing numerous animal bones. The available evidence allows reconstructing the process of the macrocluster formation and suggests that Anetovka II was a place for the production of flint items and utilization of hunting prey, which included a small cult center.