MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC OF THE NORTHEASTERN CAUCASUS (WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE MATERIALS OF THE DARVAGCHAI-ZALIV-1 SITE)
The paper deals with the results of the study of the Middle Paleolithic assemblage of the Darvagchai-Zaliv-1 site in Dagestan. The primary attention is given to the description and analysis of stone artifacts and to their comparison with the industries of chronologically close sites of Dagestan and the Caucasus in general. The materials in question were associated with a paleosol. The analysis of their spatial distribution and stratigraphic position shows that the artifacts experienced minimal postdepositional dislocation. The stone industry is characterized by Levallois technology and Middle Paleolithic tools. The presence of fire places without any traces of constructions and the fact that archaeological materials are scattered over a wide area suggest repeated shortterm visits to the site. The assemblage has been dated to the Riss-Wurm (Mikulino) Interstadial, ca. 125-110 kya (MIS 5е). The character of archaeological materials and the age of the enclosing deposits make it possible to assert that they correspond to the early stage of the Middle Paleolithic. For the time being no direct analogies to this assemblage are known in the Caucasus.