The Orkutsay Cross-section in Eastern Uzbekistan: Archaeological Material from an Interstadial Soil

The geoarchaeological studies at the excavation trench of Orkutsay were resumed in 2023 and aimed at a full-fledged integratation of the Western Tian Shan region into the discourse of the “Loess Paleolithic” research. In 2025, the joint RussianUzbekistan archaeological expedition searched for archaeological materials within new lithic-stratigraphic context. Excavation 2 was established for this purpose; it provided new information for archaeological investigation of the Middle Pleistocene sequence between Pedocomplex 1 (PC 1, 71–130 ka) and Pedocomplex 2 (PC 2, 191–243 ka), as well as the deposits of PC 2 itself. The profile under study shows the following structure: the modern Holocene soil appears to have formed directly on loess deposits tentatively assigned to MIS 6 (approx. 130–190 ka). Below it, a layer of loess-like sediments overlies two weakly developed interstadial soils from MIS 6, which are interlaid by a loess-like layer. The base of the section consists of a stratified sequence associated with PC 2 (MIS 7). Archaeological material was recovered exclusively from the upper interstadial soil (Layer 6). The composition of the assemblage indicates that a full reduction sequence of lithic raw material was carried out at the studied area; it represents a highly flexible and adaptive raw material procurement strategy and generally aligns with the regional context of the Western Tian Shan, where MIS 6 industries are known from the site of Kulbulak. This archaeological material marks lithic-stratigraphic zone 5, in which artifacts have been recorded within the Orkutsay section: MIS 5 (PC 1) – MIS 6 (upper interstadial soil) – MIS 6 (loess) – PC 2 (MIS 7) – PC 6 (MIS 15).

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