Results of the integrated study of a large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site Suren I

Abstract

The materials of many Paleolithic sites in Eurasia contain large stone objects. As a rule, they retain their natural shape without any signs of artificial modification. However, the presence of characteristic use-wear features (polishing, linear traces, micro- and macrodeformations) unambiguously indicates that these stones served as tools. Multidisciplinary research, including an experimental and traceological approach, as well as analysis of organic micro-residues, make it possible to distinguish among the unmodified stone tools those that were used for processing plant raw materials. One of such tools is a large stone found in the lower layer of the Upper Paleolithic site Suren I** (Crimea). The results obtained in the course of the study suggest that the inhabitants of the site used plant materials in their household activities, as well as allow us to describe in detail the ways of adaptation of ancient people to the natural environment of the Crimean peninsula.