Defense of the dissertation of Duvanbekov Ruslan Sabirovich for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the specialty «6D020800 - Archaeology and Ethnology»
Defense of the dissertation of Дуванбеков Руслан Сабирович for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the specialty «6D020800 - Археология және этнология»
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, a dissertation defense for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Дуванбеков Руслан Сабирович on the topic “Paleolithic of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories” by specialty «6D020800 – Археология және этнология».
The dissertation was carried out at the «» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University.
The language of defense is russian
Official reviewers:
Варфоломеев Виктор Васильевич - Candidate of Science, Professor, professor
Байгунаков Досбол Сулейменович - Doctor of Science, Professor, Dean of the Faculty
Temporary members of the Dissertation Committee:
Курманкулов Жолдасбек - Candidate of Science
Мамиров Талгат Базарбаевич - Candidate of Science, Researcher
Намен Абай - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Павленок Галина Дмитриевна - Candidate of Science, Senior Researcher
Scientific advisors:
– Taimagambetov Zhaken Kozhakhmetovich – Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnology of the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan);
– Anoikin Anton Aleksandrovich – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation).
The defense will take place on June 05, 2024, at 03:00 PM in the Dissertation Council for the training direction «8D022 – Humanities» in the specialty «6D020800 – Археология және этнология» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The defense meeting is planned to be held online.
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84450871682?pwd=SzgrdnZ1ZDBONng4VGR2SXFYeDhydz09
Address: г. Астана, ул. А. Пушкина, 11, 324 аудитория
Abstract (English):ABSTRACT of the dissertation work of Duvanbekov Sabirovich Ruslan “Paleolithic of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories”, submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the specialty “6D020800 – Archaeology and Ethnology” Relevance of the research topic. The study of the ancient history of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories has an insignificant history and has a episodic nature. The initial period until the 1950s is characterized by the random accumulation of the Paleolithic artifacts and is limited to the collection of excavated material by local historians, archaeology enthusiasts, geologists and paleontologists. Despite such a long time period of study, there are practically no separate works on this topic, with the exception of the monographic work of V.T. Petrin, Zh.K. Taimagambetov, devoted to the Shulbinsk hydroelectric station. We also note that a full–fledged and elaborate periodization of the study history of the Paleolithic of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories has not currently been developed. A significant event was the discovery of the multilayer stratified Paleolithic site of Ushbulak, in the Shilikty valley of the Zaisan region. A site with a preserved numerous cultural layer, in loose deposits with a thickness of up to six meters. According to the archaeological work carried out at the site, it was concluded that the site covers the earliest stages of the Late Paleolithic (approximately 45–35 thousand years ago) until the end of the Late Paleolithic (10 thousand years ago). There are only a few such sites of the early Upper Paleolithic era with undisturbed cultural layers known not only in the Kazakh Altai, but also in Kazakhstan and its adjacent territories. These are Maibulak (Kazakhstan), Kara–Bom, Ust–Karakol, Denisova Cave (Russia) and a group of Paleolithic sites in the valley of the Tolbor River (Mongolia). The revealed expressive stone industry of the stratified site Ushbulak testifies to the development of stone processing technology by ancient man over 40–35 thousand years and confirms the relationship of the primitive people of the Kazakh Altai with the Russian and Mongolian Altai and China, which indicates the existence of a single macroregion in the Pleistocene era. В настоящее время актуальной является задача всестороннего анализа полученных данных, который позволил бы структурировать накопленный материал и создать наиболеецелостную картину древнекаменного века на территорииКазахского Алтая и сопредельных территорий. At present, the urgent task is to comprehensively analyze the data obtained, which would allow us to structure the accumulated material and create the most complete picture of the Old Stone Age on the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories. In addition, important in this work is the need to introduce into scientific circulation the results of new studies of Paleolithic sites on the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories, which, together with previously known sites, at a qualitatively new level, allows us to trace the dynamics of changes in the Paleolithic stone industries in the region. In turn, this will make it possible to make a significant contribution to solving the fundamental problems of Stone Age archaeology: establishing the chronology and cultural context of the stages of human exploration of the territory of the Kazakh Altai in the Paleolithic. In addition, the Kazakh Altai is one of the key regions of Eurasia, where archaeological sites of the Paleolithic epoch make it possible to reconstruct the features of the appearance and settlement of early man, as well as to trace the evolution of the culture of Paleolithic man, to determine the interaction of different paleopopulations and their adaptive responses to changing climatic and landscape conditions. The archaeological and natural scientific data previously obtained from excavations of Palaeolithic sites with cultural layers, scientific reports and articles are reflected in this dissertation, which are a striking example of an interdisciplinary approach in the study of Stone Age objects. We should note that for the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories, the proposed scientific dissertation is the first attempt and the only generalizing work on the Paleolithic of Eastern Kazakhstan. Objective of the study: The main goal of the work is to study the Paleolithic of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories, determine the time and stages of settlement of the region by primitive man, its species, adaptation to the open spaces of arid steppes, cultural and chronological correlations of Kazakh materials with adjacent regions based on the analysis and systematization of collections of stone implements obtained as a result of field research, generalization of published, archival materials along with the latest data. In accordance with the target setting, a set of tasks was defined: – to determine the history of paleogeographic changes in the region during the Pleistocene; – to analyze the topography of Paleolithic sites depending on the geomorphological features of the region; – to analyze the technical and typological composition of available industrial complexes – Shulbinka, Bystrukha 2, Ushbulak, Kurchum, etc.; – to correlate the industrial Paleolithic complexes of the Kazakh Altai with the complexes of adjacent territories; – identification of the historical and cultural affiliation of Stone Age sites: chronology and periodization. The territorial scope of the dissertation work is determined by the location of the studied archaeological sites on the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories and generally coinciding administratively with the borders of Eastern Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan, Abay region). The territorial scope of the dissertation work is determined by the location of the studied archaeological sites on the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories and generally coinciding administratively with the borders of East Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan, Abay regions). It is worth noting that it is generally accepted to call the entire mountain ranges that are spurs of the Altai in the east of Kazakhstan the Kazakh Altai, which includes the Tarbagatai, Sauyr, Manyrak ridges and the small hills of Chingiztau. Thus, we characterize the territorial scope of the study as the Kazakh Altai, including the territories adjacent to it. We will also use the term “Eastern Kazakhstan” as a synonym. The territorial scope of the dissertation work is determined by the location of the studied archaeological sites on the territory of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories and generally coinciding administratively with the borders of Eastern Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan, Abay region). Chronological framework of the dissertation work. This research question is determined by the time of existence of the considered range of Middle and Upper Paleolithic industries in the Kazakh Altai in the Upper Pleistocene. The Middle Paleolithic sites have relative dating, since the artifacts were identified in “surface occurrence.” The stratified complexes under consideration belong to marine isotope stages (MIS) 3 and 2. More accurate ages are determined by radiocarbon and OSL dates in the range of 52,000 – 14,000 years ago. These boundaries are determined by the data obtained from the stratified sites of the region, primarily the cultural–chronological scale constructed for the Ushbulak site. Source base of the dissertation. The work used materials from 51 sites, both stratified and with artifacts exposed on the surface. In some of the field studies, the author was directly involved. As a basis for the study, materials from the 11 most informative of them, including all objects with stratified cultural layers, were used to the maximum extent possible. The study also used data from published sources represented by the following works: S.S. Chernikov [1951, 1956], I.I. Gokhman [1957], A.A. Krylova [1959], Kh.A. Alpysbaev [1978], Zh.K. Taimagambetov [1983, 1989, 1992, 2000, 2009, 2015, 2019, 2020], V.T. Petrin, Zh.K. Taimagambetov [2000], A.P. Derevyanko et al. [2003, 2015, 2016], Zh.K. Taimagambetov, D.V. Ozherelev [2009], M.V. Shunkov et al. [2015], A.A. Anoikin et al. [2017, 2019,2018, 2020, 2022]. During the study, materials from several Upper Paleolithic complexes were used, which were fully classified and processed by the author, to create a cultural and chronological scale of Paleolithic development in the territory of the studied region. The generalizing sections icnlude archival data, primarily field documentation: working drawings, diary entries of previous researchers, etc., stored in scientific institutions and museums in the cities of Almaty, Astana, Ust–Kamenogorsk and Novosibirsk. The author of the dissertation research took part in field research at the unique site of Ushbulak in 2019, 2022, 2023, as well as in exploration work, during which sites with “surface occurrence” of artifacts were discovered for the first time – Karasu, Rodnik, Sopka, Kapitan, etc. Methods and methodology of dissertation work. The work used both general scientific methods (description, generalization, typologization, classification, specific, attributive and logical analyses, synthesis, analogy, reconstruction and correlation) and specific scientific methods (historical–genetic, historical–comparative, historical–typological, method of periodization of the historical process, problem–chronological method). In order to clarify the paleoecological situation at the studied sites, a comparative analysis of palynological and faunal research data, the results of a lithological study of relevant stratigraphic sections, as well as petrographic analysis of the raw material base of the studied industries was used. In the context of this study, using the terms cultural deposits and structure of cultural deposits, the author adheres to the system of concepts proposed by V.E. Medvedev and S.A. Nesmeyanov. The term cultural deposits will be defined as a lithological–stratigraphic unit of sediments containing material evidence of human activity. The structure of cultural deposits will be “traces of the activity of ancient people, recorded using planigraphic, topographic, stratigraphic research methods, projected using planimetric, axometric and other constructions on a plane for study and illustration " The cultural layer is considered as a complex system of material evidence of human activity, included in a specific geological formation and interacting with each other and the surrounding natural environment. The presence of a cultural layer can be confirmed if, firstly, the components of the cultural layer are presented – cultural remains and filler, secondly, an artificial grouping of archaeological materials is visible, and thirdly, it is possible to restore the connection of objects. The main and largest subdivision of the structure of the cultural layer in this study is the cultural horizon (hereinafter abbreviated as c.h.). By this term we mean the minimum distinguishable level or horizon of occurrence of finds and structures, including indivisible remains of a single cultural and chronological group. The study of the nature of the preservation of cultural layers and their structure, in our case, was based on data from planigraphic and stratigraphic analyses. The stratigraphic analysis generally involves the local identification and description of stratigraphic units in their sequence, the correlation of local sections, and the interpretation of the original stratigraphic data. Its use in this work was aimed primarily at determining the relative chronology of cultural remains, as well as identifying the processes that determined the nature of the occurrence of material evidence of human activity within the sediments. By the term planigraphic analysis we mean a set of methods aimed at studying the distribution of cultural remains in a plan with the aim of reconstructing the appearance of an ancient settlement and the dynamics of its settlement. The term splitting technology in the work defines the areas of technology for processing stone raw materials (the sequence of application of technical methods, means and skills), differentiated from the point of the technological process and associated with achieving a specific goal. The work also used comparative typological analysis. As part of the study, it involved the identification of sets of splitting products and final forms – types that can be used for comparison and contrast. The list of technologically significant attributes by which the description of the cores was made includes the following list: type of core, type of workpiece, shape, type of sold chips and their width, nature of impact platforms and their sizes, splitting angle, morphology of the base of the core, nature of lateral chips, type of counterfront, stage of recycling, the reason for the termination of recycling, metric parameters, etc. The stage of core splitting was assessed in several degrees, taking into account the stage of transformation of the workpiece, the recycling cycle of the impact platform, the useful volume – weak, medium and final. The prospects for implementing the intended strategy were additionally characterized, for example, a weak working stage or a weak unpromising stage. The tools for splitting were divided into chippers, anvils, retouchers and tools for preparing the zone for splitting cores. The tools included artifacts with traces of intentional secondary processing, as well as items that bear recycling retouch on their surface. The typological characteristics of the tool set were made on the basis of classifications generally accepted in archaeological science. The object of the research is cultural changes, manifested in the transformation of stone industries and occurring in the study area in the late Pleistocene, recorded in time and space. The subject of the study is complexes of stone artifacts of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, originating from the territories of the Kazakh Altai and adjacent territories, as well as a set of data from natural scientific methods characterizing the paleogeographic and chronological components. Scientific novelty of the dissertation work. The Stone Age of the region under consideration, there were practically no separately considered works on this topic. It should also be noted that a complete and well–developed chronology in the history of the study of the Paleolithic of the Kazakh Altai has not yet been developed. In this regard, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the chronology and periodization were presented preliminary and schematically, taking into account the sites known at that time. Today it does not reflect the actual picture of the past, since during the years of independence of Kazakhstan in the region, numerous Stone Age sites were discovered for the first time, covering the period of time from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, or from the Early Paleolithic to the Mesolithic, Neolithic inclusive. For the first time in the dissertation, in full (to date), materials from the new Paleolithic sites Kurchum 1,2, Espe 1,3, Rysak 1,2 and the stratified site Ushbulak are introduced based on a generalization of new archaeological, paleoanthropological and natural science materials from one of the key areas of the Eurasian Paleolithic and fully introduction of statistical data on the reference stratified Upper Paleolithic objects of the Kazakh Altai into the scientific circulation, as well as a result of extensive comparisons of the studied objects with sites in adjacent territories, has proposed a completely new picture of the origin and development of the Upper Paleolithic stone industries of the region. For the first time in the study area, the Upper Paleolithic multilayered site of Ushbulak was discovered, demonstrating the development of blade technology in the region with a distinctive macrolithic complex. For the first time, a hypothesis is proposed and substantiated about the polygenetic nature of the Upper Paleolithic of the region, which is the result of both the evolutionary development of local transitional complexes and the consequence of repeated intercultural interactions with populations of adjacent territories. The main provisions presented for defense: 1. Based on the available data today, it can be argued that the settlement of the territory of Eastern Kazakhstan began no later than the Middle Paleolithic, within the boundaries of the Upper Pleistocene and possibly earlier. 2. Based on a comparative analysis of Upper Paleolithic complexes of sites in the middle reaches of the Irtysh River established that the initial stage of the Upper Paleolithic is represented by two options – large–plate, introduced as a result of migrations of ancient populations, and local, which arose on the local Middle Paleolithic basis. 3. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the stone industries of the Ushbulak site, we can conclude that the industries of the initial Upper Paleolithic appeared in the region no later than 50 thousand years ago and, most likely, are associated with long–distance migrations of the ancient population, presumably from the territory of Russian Altai. They are part of the Siberian–Mongolian cultural community of the initial stages of the Upper Paleolithic, which existed in the range of 55–35 thousand years ago. 4. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the industries of the Shulbinka and Ushbulak sites, it can be argued that in the Upper Paleolithic in the region there are three main stages in the development of Upper Paleolithic industries in the region – the initial Upper Paleolithic, the developed Upper Paleolithic (before the last glacial maximum) and the final Upper Paleolithic (after the last glacial maximum). Available data suggest that cultural changes were accompanied by significant time intervals and were associated with a change in ancient inhabitants. The practical significance of the dissertation work lies in the fact that its results can be used for the further development of Paleolithic problems not only in the Altai region, but also in the preparation of general works devoted to the ancient history of Kazakhstan, its adjacent territories and Central Asia, in the educational process (preparation of special courses at the universities, lectures and seminars history and archaeology, in museum and popular science work). Some archaeological collections of the complex, presented in the work, are exhibited at the museums in Ust-Kamenogorsk (East Kazakhstan Regional Museum of History and Local Lore), Almaty (Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan), at the Museum of the Paleolithic of the Republic of Kazakhstan (al-Farabi KazNU) and the city of Zaysan. The resulting stratigraphic profiles and representative collections of stone artifacts make it possible to conduct field schools and seminars for students, undergraduates and doctoral students specializing in Stone Age archeology and Quaternary geology. Publication and approbation of the results of the dissertation. The main provisions of the dissertation are reflected in 15 scientific articles, from previous editions included in the Scopus database – 1, in the RSCI publications – 8. 3 articles have been published in publications recommended by the Committee for Control in the Field of Education and Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Three articles were presented at international and national conferences: (Shymkent, 2019; Almaty, 2019; Astana, 2023). In addition, the main provisions of the dissertation were presented at various conferences at the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan and conferences of young scientists at the L.N. Gumilyov ENU in Astana (Astana, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023). The dissertation was repeatedly discussed at the meeting of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Historical Faculty of the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The structure of the dissertation consists of an introduction, four chapters, conclusion, list of references, list of abbreviations and appendix consisting of illustrations and tables.
Conclusion of the Research Ethics Committee
Defense of the dissertation: https://youtu.be/mkp9pQKEZkk?si=PWsi_Ho0FajKVb3c
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