Raw Materials as an Ecological Factor in the Altai Paleolithic

The article summarizes the results of many years geological and petrographic studies of lithic artifacts and raw materials sources for its production in the main Paleolithic complexes in the Altai Mountains. The work is based on the representative archaeological collections of the multi-layer sites of Karama, Ust-Karakol, Kara-Bom and caves Denisova, Kaminnaya, Okladnikova, Chagyrskaya, Strashnaya, as well as other Paleolithic sites. The geological characteristics of the study area are given, the factors that influenced the quality of raw materials are considered. Particular attention is paid to the criteria that could guide the ancient human in the selection of raw materials from pebble sources. The problem of the relationship between the petrophysical properties of one or another type of raw material and the technical and typological appearance of lithic industries is discussed. We concluded that the ancient population of Altai, starting from the Early Paleolithic, manufactured the tools using good knowledge of the raw materials specifc features and the skills of its selection.