Absolute and relative chronology and cultural attribution of neolithic sites in the Kulunda steppe of the Altai

This article addresses the history of research into the Stone Age sites of the Kulunda Steppe, specifi cally late 20th–early 21st century theories concerning the chronology and cultural affi nities of the microlithic assemblages from that area. The study focuses on the Novoilyinka III site, representing one of the Chalcolithic cultures of pit-comb ceramics. Radiocarbon dates, and the analysis of lithics, ceramics, and faunal remains suggest that the site is transitional between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and is relevant to the reconstruction of ethno-cultural processes that occurred in the Altai at that time.