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A. P. DEREVYANKO. Paleolithic of the Far East and Korea. Novosibirsk. Science. 1983. 216 p.; A. P. DEREVYANKO. Paleolithic of Japan. Novosibirsk. Science. 1984. 272 p.

Author of peer-reviewed books, corresponding member. A. P. Derevyanko conducts active field research in Siberia, the Amur Region, Primorye, and the MNR, participated in work in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, made trips to Japan, China, and the DPRK, where he got acquainted with collections and examined a number of monuments of ancient cultures. He has accumulated unique archaeological information on North, Central and East Asia, and the coast of the northwestern Pacific Ocean. This information, knowledge and experience of the author helped him to work with a huge flow of literature. The resulting fusion of knowledge and personal experience is the basis for his research.

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Works of such a plan attract the attention of not only archaeologists. Geological, geomorphological, and biostratigraphic observations are of interest to a wide range of specialists. In Stone Age archaeology, natural science information provides the reliability and validity of stratigraphic and chronological schemes and serves as a basis for reconstructing the natural conditions in which human activity took place. The reader will find this information in both books. These include changes in ocean levels, the formation and disappearance of land bridges that connected the Asian mainland to the islands of the Japanese Archipelago, and changes in climate, vegetation, and wildlife.

The reader is introduced to the problems of the Early Paleolithic period. The question of initial settlement is not limited to establishing an exact chronological framework (this is not yet possible), but to deciding whether Homo sapiens was the first person in Japan and Korea, or an archanthrope or paleoanthrope? "The answer to this question is of fundamental importance, because in the evolution of man and his culture, anthropologists and archaeologists distinguish two completely different qualitative stages: the stage of gradual accumulation of quantitative indicators in the culture and in the very physical appearance of ancient man in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, and a new stage associated with a modern physical type of man" (1984 1, p. 27). The thesis of two qualitatively completely different stages is debatable. Anthropologists combine Neanderthal and modern humans into one biological species, distinguishing them at the level of subspecies. Archaeologists, including A. P. Derevyanko, find deep roots of Upper Paleolithic industries in the Moutier era and transitional phases between the epochs. All the more interesting is the introduction to scientific circulation of data on the area, which is still poorly studied.

A. P. Derevyanko gives a complete summary of the Early Paleolithic sites of Japan, which include layers older than 40 thousand years: Niyu, Sojudai, and Udzuruha on Kyushu Island. Kasezawa, Hoshino, Iwajuku, Okuba, Kamiyachi - on Honshu Island. The stratigraphy, chronology, and anthropogenic origin of chipped rocks from these sites caused a lively discussion. In the framework of the XIV Pacific Congress in Khabarovsk in 1979, F. Ikawa-Smith and T. Serizawa defended the authenticity of the Early Paleolithic of Japan. Ode and Ch. A. P. Derevyanko described these monuments in detail, looked through the collections, in which, according to his observations, "along with indisputable artifacts, there are also random finds that are not related to artificial processing. There are also quite a few controversial items in the collections that are difficult to diagnose" (1984, p. 52). Further, the book concludes that " such complexes as Sojudai, Hoshino, and possibly Iwajuku O should be attributed to monuments left by man "(ibid., p. 53).

In Korea, the undisputed Lower Paleolithic monument is Jeongokni: tools are found here on a huge territory. In one complex there are Acheulean-type choppers and cleavers, together with the predominant chopping and chopping industry (1983, p. 131). The pebble tradition of the ancient appearance in the Amur region is represented by a series of items from Ust-Tu, Kumara I, Filimoshek. A. P. Derevyanko supported those who recognize the authenticity of the early Paleolithic of Japan. He dates the initial stage of the initial settlement of the islands to 130-100 thousand years ago, and allows for the infiltration from the mainland of carriers of the Ashelo-mousterian technique such as Dingtsun, Yarkh, and Chongokni (1984, p. 172).

The next stages of human exploration of the Pacific coast are associated with paleontropes. Neanderthal human remains (2 teeth, collarbone) were found in Korea, 75 km from Pyongyang, in the Svennisan Cave (1983, pp. 126-127). In Japan, in Ushikawa, near Nagoya, the humerus and femur bones of a paleoanthropus were found (1984, p. 156). The corresponding European mustier period in eastern Eurasia is represented by Kumary II, Osinovka in the Amur and Primorye regions, Kulpo I and Sokdyanni-2 in Korea, Gongenyama I, Mukoyama, and the sites in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. A. P. Derevyanko distinguishes them from the general context of the Early Paleolithic of Japan, examines in detail the various technical traditions of these monuments, admits a combination of convergent development of similar traditions and migration from the continent. This combination forms a complex picture of archaeological cultures even within a small area.

1 Further in the text, the footnotes for "Paleolithic of the Far East and Korea "are marked 1983, and for" Paleolithic of Japan " - 1984.

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The author justifiably criticizes the concept of the initial task of technical differences in stone processing, formulated by H. Movius. In the chronological range from 40 to 30 thousand years, Upper Paleolithic cultures were formed in the region. In any case, the existing Upper Paleolithic or transitional complexes have dates older than 30 thousand years: the cave of the Geographical Society in Primorye, the 6th horizon of Sokdyanni-1 in Korea. In Japan, 30 thousand years ago, people already settled, who left complexes with beautifully designed bifaces, so characteristic of the Upper Paleolithic on the islands.

Upper Paleolithic sites are now known in all areas of Japan, and about 3 thousand monuments have been discovered, including groups of settlements, often multi - layered, which allows us to trace the dynamics of their development. 127 sites have been discovered in Miyagi Prefecture (Tohoku Region), 50 sites in Sagamino Mountain region, Kanagawa Prefecture, and about 100 monuments in Musashino Mountain region (1984, p.170). For a number of monuments, a series of absolute dates were obtained by different methods that mutually control each other: radiocarbon dating, obsidian dating, thermoluminescent dating, and humic dating. Japanese archaeologists have worked hard and successfully to develop a typology of primary stone splitting, using the method of applicative reconstruction of the nucleus: plates and flakes removed from it were selected to the core.

This method, as well as the terms (horoko, yubetsu), is often used by Soviet and American archaeologists in relation to mainland cultures. Other types of splitting-Fukui, setouchi-appear as purely Japanese phenomena so far. Trassological and experimental methods are used, which were first introduced into archeology by S. A. Semenov. The typology of artifacts is carefully developed: moro and kou blades, higashiyama, sukikubo, kiridashi knives, araya and kosaka incisors. However, the typology used in Japan is still very imperfect. In our literature, this was first noted by G. I. Medvedev2 .

There is a lack of stratigraphic information, especially in Hokkaido. Residential complexes are unknown, possibly due to the trench method of excavation. A large influx of information, with a certain limited data (only stone tools and absolute chronology), brought to life many different schemes: chronological, typological, local. They are not easy to understand. Soviet archaeologists had to choose from them based on their own research experience. A. P. Derevyanko compared the dynamics of the development of the technique of primary and secondary stone splitting in the interval from 25 to 10 thousand years of sites on the Selemdzha River in the Amur region and the second stage of the Upper Paleolithic of Hokkaido: from the origin of the plate industry to its microlitization. The Ustinov monuments of Primorye and the Shirataki group of sites in Hokkaido were also repeatedly compared.

The Upper Paleolithic of southern Japan does not yet find direct analogies on the mainland. A. P. Derevyanko associates its lower boundary with the distribution of bifaces - autochthonous or imported from the mainland. This technique runs through the entire Upper Paleolithic of the southern part of the archipelago and in its later forms is inherited from the Neolithic era of Jomon. About 20 thousand years ago, the biface and pebble traditions were supplemented by the tradition of tools on plates and flakes, and 13-12 thousand years ago by the microplate industry with regular geometric shapes. A. P. Derevyanko connects the spread of such tools with the coastal adaptation of the population and the use of marine resources. The distribution of microliths in Japan is interpreted as a manifestation of convergence and is not associated with microliths in western Eurasia (1984, pp. 179, 184).

The peculiarity of the Paleolithic of Japan is in a fairly wide distribution, starting from the time of 20-18 thousand years ago, chopping tools with a polished blade. Gradually, a type of Tesla is developed, which has the shape of a one-sided convex lens or triangle in cross-section. Tools of this type have recently been found in Ustinovsky monuments of Primorye.

In the interval of 13-10 thousand years, small tips - bifaces with petioles, end nuclei, and ceramics - are widely distributed on the islands. T. Serizawa refers this period to the Mesolithic. The same phenomenon was observed for the Osipovskaya culture in the Pri-

2 Medvedev G. I. Remarks on the pre-ceramic period of Japan and some issues of Paleolithic and Mesolithic archaeology in Northern Asia. In: Archeology and Ethnography of Eastern Siberia. Abstracts for the regional conference. Irkutsk. 1978.

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Amur region and in a number of localities in Southern China. The world's oldest pots were fired in the Far East. This is indisputably evidenced by dozens of localities and several cross-dating methods. This fact requires reflection. "Mesolithic with ceramics" is an unusual combination for archaeologists. Far Eastern monuments convince us that either we should abandon the concept of "Mesolithic" as a universal phenomenon altogether, and deepen the Neolithic into the Pleistocene, or, and this is more correct, accept a new content of the Mesolithic: with ceramics and other Neolithic forms. A. P. Derevyanko noted the independent development of early ceramics in the north and south of Japan. The early spread of heat-resistant tableware is probably associated with the development of fishing and, in particular, the technology of collecting fish oil in boiling water, as was done in the recent past by the peoples of the Amur region.

The Upper Paleolithic of Korea is known for a small number of monuments, among which there are multi-layered Sokdyanni (1 and 2) with the remains of dwellings. Problematic are works of art from Sokdyanni, which are generally still rare in the Paleolithic of the Far East. All the more valuable is the discovery of the simplest figures - kokeshi-in Iwato, on the island of Kyushu (20-16 thousand years). One of them is particularly informative: a stone one, in the form of a phallus, with an anthropomorphic image. The face of the figurine shows a curved mouth (1984, Table 74, I) - a detail widely used in anthropomorphic images of Neolithic monuments in Primorye, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria. In Neolithic Japan, stone phalluses - sekibo, male symbols-are widely known. In the Neolithic settlements of Yoskeone on Honshu and Kondon on the Lower Amur, sekibo form a semantic row with female figures and stone pillars. The meaning of the series may be related to the myth of the sun consorts, known in Japan as Amaterasu and Susanoo. This myth is also known in Korea .3 According to one version of the myth, Susanoo is the god of wind, and it is possible that the character with a twisted mouth is his prototype. The discovery at Iwato is a remarkable testimony to the deep antiquity of the myth and its long continuity - the Paleolithic - Neolithic - VIII century, when the myth was first recorded.

The archaeology of primitive cultures is profoundly international in its very essence. Cooperation of scientists brings nations closer together. An in-depth knowledge of history resists attempts to use it for the sake of racism and chauvinism. The books published in Novosibirsk made a significant contribution to this collaboration, providing readers with the latest information on the Stone Age of Japan and Korea. The books will also be interesting for specialists from these countries: both works reflect the high theoretical level and experience of Soviet archaeology.

Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences G. M. Bongard-Levin, D. L. Brodyansky

3 Nikitina M. I. Drevnyaya koreiskaya poeziya v svyazi s ritualom i mifom [Ancient Korean poetry in connection with ritual and Myth]. Moscow, 1982, pp. 77, 134-139.

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