Археология

The Kuril Islands are a relatively poorly known region of the North Pacific Rim between Hokkaido and Kamchatka. This article presents new information on the settlement history and human biogeography of the central and northern Kuril Islands resulting from a three-week, international survey and testing project in the summer of 2000. The paper introduces the Kuril chain (little known outside of Japan and Russia), presents a chronology of settlement based on new AMS radiocarbon dates, and examines the role of volcanic and tectonic forces on human prehistory and site preservation. The research results presented here add significantly to the record of Kuril archaeology and offer conclusions of broader applicability to the prehistory of the North Pacific and the archaeology of island chains.

CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Flora and fauna of Kuril Islands
2. Archaeological sites in Kuril Islands
3. Distribution of the sites and its subsistence
4. Conclusion
References

In this article present a review of the archaeology and chronology of the Neolithic cultural complexes of the Kurile Islands.

Obsidian artifacts recently have been recovered from 18 archaeological sites on eight islands across the Kuril Island archipelago in the North Pacific Ocean, suggesting a wide-ranging distribution of obsidian throughout the island chain over the last 2,500 years. Although there are no geologic sources of obsidian in the Kurils that are known to have been used prehistorically, sources exist in Hokkaido, Japan, and Kamchatka, Russia, the southern and northern geographic regions respectively from which obsidian may have entered the Kuril Islands. This paper reports on the initial sourcing attempt of Kuril Islands obsidian through the analysis of 131 obsidian artifacts. Data from this research were generated through the application of portable XRF technology, and are used to address research questions concerning prehistoric mobility, exchange, and social networking in the Kuril Islands.

The Russian Far East has always been considered one of the possible routes for Upper Paleolithic humans to migrate from North and East Asia to North America. Although the Kurile Islands act as a natural ‘bridge’ between the Japanese archipelago and Kamchatka Peninsula, archaeological research has been relatively sparse.
In the early 1980s, preliminary data were obtained by Prof. Yuri V. Knorozov (Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology & Ethnography, St. Petersburg) from what appeared to be an early archaeological complex near Yankito Creek on central Iturup Island. Two conventional radiocarbon dates suggested that the site dated to around 7000 RYBP (ca. 7600–7900 cal BP), representing an extremely early occupation compared to other sites in the Kuriles. In an effort to improve our understanding of Yankito, we conducted field investigations in summer 2007. Here we provide a brief report on our recent research, including artifacts recovered and additional radiocarbon dates to compare with the earlier findings by Y.V. Knorozov.

До сегодняшнего дня Курильские острова остаются мало изученной территорией, несмотря на то, что археологические исследования на архипелаге продолжаются вот уже более 100 лет.

Палеолит Аляски, проблема проникновения человека в новый свет и культурных контактов в северотихоокеанском регионе всегда находилась в центре внимания отечественных исследователей.

Цель статьи - охарактеризовать современные сведения о плейстоценовых стоянках Аляски.

Настоящая работа посвящена археологическим памятникам и культурам Курильских островов.