Shirokov V.N., Volkov R.B., Kosintsev P.A., Lapteva E.G.

Key words: Paleolithic in the South Urals, dwelling site, stone items, faunistic data, pollen analysis
Bogdanovka dwelling site is located in the steppe zone of the Trans-Urals peneplain, in the Kizil region of the Chelyabinsk oblast’, on the left bank of the river Ural, 1.5 km downstream of Bogdanovka village. The occupation layer is about 0.2 m thick and lies horizontally in the top of the alluvial deposits of the flood-plain facies of the second terrace, and is overlaid by more than 7 m of loess loam deposits with two buried soils. The excavations revealed two accumulations of scales, numerous fragments of animal bones, primarily mammoth, charcoal, and stone items. The latter were manufactured mainly of jasper and flinty slate. The tools mostly include various side-scrapers and flakes with retouch, and one point. The industry can be characterized as typical Moustier with elements of Levallois flaking, items mainly unifacial. Taphonomic, faunistic and planigraphic data allows to characterize Bogdanovka as a regular seasonal (spring) dwelling-site near the location of raw materials. Stratigraphic and biostratigraphic information allows dating the site to the first half of Late Pleistocene (MIS-5a-b–4).