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«BULLETIN OF THE IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY. GEOARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND ANTHROPOLOGY SERIES»
ISSN 2227-2380 (Print)

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2026. Vol 56

Preceramic Assemblage of the Elovka-Nugan 1 Site in the Tunka Valley: Issues of Interpretation and Dating

Full text (russian)
Author(s)

N. B. Sokolova1, I. M. Berdnikov1, I. S. Shegutov1, Z. Ch. Ukhinov1, M. V. Stepanov1,2, I. V. Ulanov1,3

1 Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russian Federation 

2 Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation 

3 Institute of the Earth's Crust SB RAS, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

Abstract
The Tunka Valley remains one of the least studied areas of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia, and the Early Holocene is still a major gap in its archaeological record. Excavations at Elovka-Nugan 1 site in 2025 revealed a preceramic lithic assemblage, attributed here to the Mesolithic on the basis of stratigraphy, typology, and regional comparisons. A buried humic horizon (level 3b) was exposed in one of the test pits sunk into the gentler slope at the foot of the high surface, at a depth of 0.3–0.6 m, below an Early Neolithic layer with net-impressed pottery (~7.7 ka cal BP). The lower level was separated in plan and by elevation. In the absence of direct radiocarbon dates, attribution relied on soil stratigraphy, lithic technology, and parallels with dated Early Holocene assemblages. The 19 diagnostic artifacts include wedgeshaped microcores, retouched microblade inserts, a lunate side scraper, a slate retoucher, and other tools. Exact analogies to the slate retoucher are unknown, but similar polished slate items occur only in assemblages attributed to the Mesolithic. Lunate scrapers, by contrast, are characteristic mainly of Final Paleolithic assemblages of the Southern Angara region, as at Verkholenskaya Gora 1 (layers 2 and 3), and are also present in layer 1 of that site, which contains Early Holocene materials. Wedge-shaped cores largely disappear by the Neolithic. The host soil may be correlated with Early Holocene floodplain deposits previously dated to ~9.6–9.2 ka cal BP at the same site; the overlying Neolithic layer provides a firm terminus ante quem of ~7.7 ka cal BP. The combination of wedge-shaped cores, a lunate scraper, and a slate retoucher is consistent with an Early Holocene Mesolithic industry in the Angara-Belaya region, while slate tools are absent in Late Glacial contexts. The absence of pottery, the microlithic technology, and the stratigraphic position exclude a Neolithic or later age. Although the assemblage is undated directly, the estimated age of ~9.6–9.2 ka cal BP for the enclosing sediment is consistent with the typological evidence. If this attribution is correct, this is the first identified Mesolithic assemblage in the Tunka Valley, filling a critical gap. The Elovka-Nugan 1 assemblage offers a reference point for Early Holocene occupation in a poorly studied area. Expanded excavations and direct dating are required, but the discovery demonstrates that slope deposits with a second humic horizon within a fully developed soil profile can preserve earlier materials beneath later deposits.
About the Authors

Sokolova Natalia Borisovna  

Junior Researcher, Scientific Research Center “Baikal  

Region”, Irkutsk State University; 1, K. Marx st.,  

Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation  

e-mail: snb-87@mail.ru


Berdnikov Ivan Mikhailovich  

Candidate of Sciences (History), Leading Researcher,  

Scientific Research Center “Baikal Region”, Irkutsk  

State University; 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003,  

Russian Federation  

e-mail: yan-maiski@yandex.ru


Shegutov Ivan Sergeevich  

Junior Researcher, Scientific Research Center “Baikal  

Region”, Irkutsk State University; 1, K. Marx st.,  

Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation  

e-mail: shegutow@gmail.com


Ukhinov Zorikto Chimitdorzhievich  

Junior Researcher, Scientific Research Center “Baikal  

Region”, Irkutsk State University; 1, K. Marx st.,  

Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation  

e-mail: zorikhann-ukhinov@yandex.ru


Stepanov Mikhail Vladimirovich  

Laboratory Assistant, Yakut Complex Laboratory of  

Archaeology of the Far North (ArcheoFarN), Institute of  

Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS; 17, Academic  

Lavrentiev av., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian  Federation  

Postgraduate Student, Scientific Research Center  

“Baikal Region”, Irkutsk State University; 1, K. Marx  

st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation  

e-mail: mikhailstep2002@gmail.com


Ulanov Ilia Viktorovich  

Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher,  

Centre for Geodynamics and Geochronology, Institute  

of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS;128, Lermontov st.,  

Irkutsk, 664033, Russian Federation  

Senior Researcher, Scientific Research Center “Baikal  

region”, Associate Professor, Historical Faculty, Irkutsk  

State University; 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003,  

Russian Federation  

e-mail: ussr-ilya@yandex.ru

For citation
Sokolova N. B., Berdnikov I. M., Shegutov I. S., Ukhinov Z. Ch., Stepanov M. V., Ulanov I. V. Preceramic Assemblage of the Elovka-Nugan 1 Site in the Tunka Valley: Issues of Interpretation and Dating. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2026, Vol. 56, pp. 23–35. https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2026.56.23 (In Russ.)
Keywords
Tunka Valley, Early Holocene, Mesolithic, buried soil, preceramic assemblage.
UDC
902.65(571.53/.55)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2026.56.23
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