THREE SCENARIOS OF THE MIDDLE TO UPPER PALEOLITHIC TRANSITION: Scenario 1: The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in Northern Asia

The work addresses one of the major issues in Paleolithic studies – the transition from Middle Paleolithic to Upper Paleolithic cultures. Based on key stratified sites in the Altai, three tendencies in the evolution of Middle Paleolithic industries are described: Karakol, Kara-Bom, and Sibiryachikha. For each tendency, primary reduction techniques, technical and typological characteristics of the toolkits, and non-utilitarian objects are analyzed. Middle Paleolithic evolution and specific features of the Upper Paleolithic transition are outlined for each tendency in a chronological framework. In the early Upper Paleolithic, two traditions are traceable in Southern Siberia – Kara-Bom and Ust-Karakol. The specific features of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Altai include prolonged survival of Middle Paleolithic forms and a convergent appearance and evolution of Aurignacoid elements. The conclusion is made that the Middle to Upper transition in the Altai was an autochthonous process that affected the Upper Paleolithic industries of the adjacent regions of Southern Siberia.