Stasis and Change During the Crimean Middle Paleolithic

Abstract

During the late Middle Paleolithic (ca.50,000 BP to ca.28,000 BP), the Crimea was occupied by two groups with distinctly different material cultures: the Crimean Micoquian and theWestern Crimean Mousterian. The Crimean Micoquian, firmly associated with Neandertals, used an unchanging bifacial and a unifacial discoidal lithic technology to produce heavily retouched bifacial and unifacial points and scrapers. The Western Crimean Mousterian, on the other hand, utilized a technology initially based on both unifacial Levallois and volumetric core reductions that, through time, evolved into an almost wholly volumetric, blade producing reduction strategy. Tools, however, remained constant, with elongated points and scrapers most common and with Upper Paleolithic types very rare. The Crimean Micoquian exhibited only limited mobility, while theWestern Crimean Mousterian appears to have had a highly mobile settlement system, extending over a very large area. Both exploited the same range of large steppe animals, butWestern Crimean Mousterian sites are all highly ephemeral, while those of the Crimean Micoquian range from highly ephemeral to longer occupied sites with a range of structures, such as fireplaces, storage pits, burials, etc. The reasons for these differences are considered, if not fully elucidated.