EARLY URILSKY CULTURE ASSEMBLAGE FROM BUKINSKY KLUCH, BUREYA RIVER

This article focuses on the analysis of archaeological material attributed to the early stage of the Urilsky culture from the multilayered site of Bukinsky Kluch-1 on the Bureya River. The most signifi cant artifacts in this assemblage are an iron rod and a bronze palmate plate of the Karasuk type. The stone implements present in the assemblage indicate that hunting and fi shing were the site inhabitants’ main occupations. Numerous fl akes, spalls, cores, hammerstones, and anvils suggest that stone tools were produced at the site itself. Evidence of subsistence activities at Bukinsky Kluch-1, the absence of dwellings and the random distribution of charcoal accumulations all suggest that the site represents a seasonal hunting and fi shing camp subject to irregular usage. The article suggests that it is premature to speak of the Bronze Age as a separate stage in the prehistory of the Amur basin (at least in its western part) for several reasons. Firstly, the assemblage attributed to the Urilsky culture which replaced the Late Neolithic Osinovoe Ozero culture on the western Amur, includes bronze and iron artifacts that may be replicas of Karasuk prototypes. Secondly, there is evidence of local iron metallurgy. Thirdly, new radiocarbon dates suggest that the Urilsky culture emerged in the 12th cent. BC. It would appear that local culture bearers began producing bronze and iron simultaneously (in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BC).