First luminescence chronology of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic of Eastern Kazakhstan at Ushbulak

Abstract The paper presents the first results of a detailed geochronological study of the Central Asian reference section for the Upper Palaeolithic multilayered site at the Ushbulak. Seven main cultural layers were identified in the stratigraphic sequence in two excavations. Artefact’s properties distinguish four main stages of the occupation: Paleo-Metallic era; Final Upper Palaeolithic; advanced Upper Palaeolithic; initial stages of the Upper Palaeolithic. Detailed luminescence dating using both optically stimulated luminescence and infrared stimulated luminescence is used to provide a chronology for the main archaeological units and proluvial-colluvial deposits of the site. The sedimentology is described, based on detailed characteristics of all lithological layers, the geomorphological structure of the area and modern exogenous processes. Comparison of three luminescence dating signals indicate that it is likely that all 3 signals were sufficiently well reset before deposition, so that the IRSL ages reflect the time of deposition, and based on other laboratory tests we consider the individual ages and the final chronology to be reliable. We now characterise the Ushbulak site in three cultural-chronological stages, corresponding to different periods of the Upper Palaeolithic stone industries: the Initial Upper Palaeolithic, recorded in the interval 51–34 ka; the advanced Upper Palaeolithic between 25 and 21 ka and the Final Upper Paleolithic between 17 and 14 ka. Finally, this research identifies this initial main settlement of the site as occurring about 51 ka ago, i.e. during the initial warming stage of MIS 3c.