The Late Pleistocene Microblade Component of Ushki Lake (Kamchatka, Russian Far East)

• Published in: PaleoAmerica
• Main Authors: Gómez Coutouly, Yan Axel, Ponkratova, Irina Y.
• Other Authors: Préhistoire et Technologie (PréTech), Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory; Swan Point; Kamchatka; Alaska; Beringia
• Online Access: https://hal.parisnanterre.fr//hal-01529067; https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2016.1202722

International audience The Late Pleistocene sites from Ushki Lake (Kamchatka) are among the most important sites for the understanding of the early archaeology of Beringia. This article presents a descriptive technological analysis of the stone-tool productions from Ushki-1 and Ushki-5, focusing on the late Pleistocene microblade component (layer VI). Microblade sites from late Pleistocene northeast Asia and North America represent one of the earliest migration waves to colonize the Americas. This particular technology originated in the Far East before spreading towards Alaska. The understanding of this migration process is thus essential, especially since the discovery of the Swan Point CZ4 microblade industry, the oldest human occupation so far in Alaska.