The Radiocarbon Chronology of Late Upper Palaeolithic Sites in the Center of the Russian Plain: New Data

The Late Upper Palaeolithic of Kostёnki and adjacent territories (~21—12 ka uncal BP/~27—14 ka cal BP) remains the period least well-documented with absolute dating evidence. During this study, 19 samples were collected from the cultural layers of ten sites and submitted to the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) for radiocarbon dating. The results obtained significantly advance our knowledge of these sites’ ages and of the development of the Palaeolithic in and around Kostёnki. The new data suggest a unique refugium in Kostёnki during the peak of Late Glacial Maximum (~21—18 ka uncal BP/~27—22 ka cal BP), represented by sites of the Zamyatninskaya culture, which has a specific lithic industry. Sites for that period are extremely rare outside Kostёnki. Similar refugia during the LGM have been recorded in Central Europe in Moravia and the Carpathian Basin. At the time of deglaciation, in the period of ~15—16 ka uncal BP (~20—18 ka cal BP), Late/Typical Epigravettian sites appear on the Middle Don, which seems to be relatively synchronous across wide areas of Central and Eastern Europe. Also worthy of note are sites with a cultural attribution different from the Late Epigravettian (Byki 7, Samotoevka) in the period of ~18—16 ka uncal BP (~22—19 ka cal BP) in the Center of the Russian Plain.