Esen-2 flint-working workshop in the light of new technical and typological research

This article analyzes new technical and typological studies of artifacts recovered from the Esen-2 flint-working workshop, located on the southwestern outskirts of the Barsa-Kelmes depression within the Ustyurt plateau. The site was first discovered and investigated by V.A. Vinogradov and E. Bijanov in 1977, yielding a collection of approximately 200 stone artifacts. However, disagreements persist among researchers regarding the cultural and chronological attribution of these materials. Notably, the original investigators proposed divergent interpretations. In particular, E. Bijanov dated the site to the Late Acheulean or Early Mousterian, and A.V. Vinogradov assigned the assemblage to the late Middle or early Late Paleolithic. Furthermore, the authors differed in their interpretation of the bifaces — the predominant stone artifacts found at the workshop — classifying them either as biface-points or handaxes. Additionally, no consensus has been reached concerning the functional significance of the site. Given the advancements in modern research methods, the present study primarily aims to conduct a technical and typological examination of the Esen-2 materials, resolving, to the extent possible, the aforementioned interpretive discrepancies. The analysis has led to the following key conclusions: 1. The site reflects the existence of two distinct technical traditions. 2. From a cultural and chronological perspective, the Esen-2 materials can be attributed to the parallel-Levallois complex of the early Late Paleolithic, as supported by the presence of flattened bifaces and bladelets processed using an organic chipper. 3. Functionally, the Еsen-2 site is the earliest known specialized workshop for the biface production in the Aral-Caspian region (Ustyurt Plateau).

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