Late Glacial hunters in highlands: Evidence from Boga-Orun rockshelter, a new Epipalaeolithic site in the north-central Caucasus, Russia

Abstract

Located in the north-central Caucasus, near the highest European mountain peak of Elbrus (5640 m asl) and the only obsidian source (Zayukovo or Baksan) known in the North Caucasus, Boga-Orun rockshelter (1577 m asl) that was discovered in 2023 is one of the highest Epipaleolithic sites in the Caucasus. The new evidence from Boga-Orun rockshelter, which is dated from the early Late Glacial, suggests that the Epipaleolithic hunters started to visit and establish their hunting campsites in highland areas in the north-central Caucasus already in the beginning of Late Glacial period, shortly after the harsh glacial environments of the Last Glacial Maximum passed and the lower highland zone become available for human activity.