UDC 903.2

Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS

17 Akademika Lavrentieva Ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

E-mail:shunkov@archaeology.nsc.ru

The collection of individual ornaments and symbolic objects of the early Upper Paleolithic period from Denisova Cave is the most representative and oldest among the Paleolithic materials of North and Central Asia. A special place in it is occupied by a stone bracelet made of dark green chloritolite, found in the mouth zone of the eastern gallery of the cave in deposits of the upper part of layer 11, whose age is approx. 30 thousand years. According to the results of the tracological and technological study, the bracelet was made using various types of abrasive grinding, leather and hide polishing, as well as technologies unique for the Paleolithic period - high-speed machine drilling and boring with a rasp tool. The high level of production of the bracelet indicates a sufficiently developed labor skills and a stable practice of such work among the inhabitants of the cave of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic.

Introduction

The longest cultural and chronological column among the currently known archaeological sites of Siberia has been uncovered in Denisova Cave. The findings from the layered strata of cave deposits represent the consistent development of cultural traditions from the early Middle Paleolithic to the Late Middle Ages. Their important characteristic is their clear stratigraphic position in the Pleistocene-Holocene sediment system, supported by data from relative and accurate dating methods. Throughout the section, the archaeological material is accompanied by numerous biostratigraphic remains-an indicator of changes in the natural and climatic conditions in the vicinity of the cave at various stages of the Quaternary period.

Denisova cave is located in the northwestern part of the Altai Mountains, in the valley of the upper reaches of the Anui River, where multi-layered sites containing the bulk of archaeological and natural science materials on the ancient history of Altai are concentrated. They allow us to present the formation and development of the Paleolithic culture, to trace the dynamics of the natural environment in the Pleistocene (Prirodnaya Sreda..., 2003).

The cave is excavated in the starboard side of the Anuya Valley in a large block of Silurian biohermal limestones (Figure 1). The entrance to the cave is located in the ledge of the steep wall of the south-western exposure at an altitude of about 30 m above the modern river cut. The cave consists of a system of short sub-horizontal and gently sloping galleries of various sizes, communicating through the central hall. The total area of the cave is 270 m2. The entrance, currently 6 m high, leads to the main gallery, up to 7 m wide and approximately 10 m long in a north-westerly direction, which opens into the central hall of the cave. The central hall is a vaulted chamber with a plan of 9 x 11 m and a height of approx. 10 m. From the central hall there is one gallery, 9 meters long

The study was carried out within the framework of the RGNF project N07 - 01 - 00441.

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1. Denisova cave.

2. Excavations of Pleistocene deposits in the estuary zone of the eastern gallery of Denisova Cave.

and up to 4.5 m wide, it extends in a south-westerly direction and opens onto the pre-passage platform. Two narrow dark galleries (east and south) go deep into the karst massif and are completely covered by loose sediments near the mouth. The cave walls are leveled and smoothed. They clearly show a complex pattern of a system of gently sloping and subvertical cracks, which probably determined the structural plan of the cave.

During stationary studies in the cave, sediments were sequentially uncovered in the central hall, on the pre-entry site, and in the mouth zone of the southern and eastern galleries (Fig. 2). At each site of the cave, excavations were carried out in two stages. First, Holocene sediments were studied, which included layers 0-8 with archaeological finds from the Paleometallic epoch to the Late Middle Ages (Derevyanko and Molodin, 1994), then Pleistocene sediments were studied on the exposed area up to the rocky bottom of the cave.

The thickness of Pleistocene deposits inside the cave is formed by layers 9-22, which trace the four main stages of settlement in the Paleolithic era. At the base of the section, in layers 22 and 21 dated to the Middle Pleistocene, stone tools of the early Middle Paleolithic stage are recorded. These industries are characterized by signs of Levalloisian and parallel splitting, the predominance of scrapers and toothed-notched forms in the tool set.

Further development of Middle Paleolithic industries is demonstrated by the materials of layers 20-12 dated to the first half of the Upper Pleistocene. The main features of these industries are the signs of using mainly parallel and radial splitting, the predominance of various modifications of scrapers in the inventory, and the presence of relatively small but rather expressive sets of Levallois products.

Archaeological materials from Layer 11 are associated with the early Upper Paleolithic period, which began in the Altai Region between 50 and 40 thousand years ago; they reflect the gradual evolution of local Middle Paleolithic traditions. In this industry, the primary processing of stone was carried out using mainly parallel techniques. As part of the stone inventory, the most striking series is formed by typologically pronounced Upper Paleolithic tools and bifacial leaf-shaped pinnacles.

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An important component of the Early Upper Paleolithic collection is bone tools and a variety of bone and stone ornaments.

Archaeological material of Late Paleolithic appearance lay within layer 9. In the Late Paleolithic period, prismatic, cone-shaped, and end-shaped nuclei, including those intended for removing microplates, were actively used to produce blanks. As part of the stone inventory, the share of products on plates has noticeably increased, insert tools and their accompanying geometric microliths have appeared.

Thus, taking into account the abundance of factual data that characterize a wide time period, archaeological materials from Pleistocene deposits of Denisova Cave can be considered as one of the main sources for studying the Paleolithic of North and Central Asia.

Among the diverse Paleolithic materials from Denisova Cave, special attention is drawn to finds that reflect the spiritual and social aspects of primitive man's life - individual jewelry and objects of symbolic activity. The main collection of such items is obtained from lithological layer 11, which belongs to the early stage of the Upper Paleolithic. It consists of jewelry made from bone, mammoth tusk, animal teeth, ostrich eggshells, clam shells and ornamental stone.

A special place among these items is occupied by a stone bracelet made of dark green chloritolite (Figs. 3, 4), discovered during excavations of the upper layer of the Plei-

3. An early Upper Paleolithic stone bracelet from the eastern gallery of Denisova Cave.

Figure 4. Bracelet from the outer (1) and inner (2) sides, top view (3) and bottom view (4).

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Stocene deposits in the mouth zone of the eastern gallery of the cave. The stone bracelet is represented by two fragments. The fragments were located at the base of stratigraphic horizon 11.1 at a distance of 0.75 m from each other. The width of the bracelet is 27 mm, the thickness is 9 mm, the diameter of the whole product was probably about 70 mm. Next to one of the faults was a biconically drilled hole with a diameter of up to 8 mm. During a preliminary examination, the surface of the product was marked with traces of exposure to various processing tools, signs of recycling and destruction [Derevyanko et al., 2005]. Together with the bracelet, a bone needle with a drilled eye was found; pendants made of teeth and phalanges of herbivorous animals with a biconically drilled hole; penetrations made of hollow tubular bones, decorated with symmetrically arranged rows of deep ring cuts; flat beads made of fragments of tubular bones; a ring made of mammoth tusk, as well as stone points, incisors, punctures and other tools. Upper Paleolithic pores.

Geochronological, archaeological, and petrographic contexts of the find

Fragments of the stone bracelet lay in the upper part of lithological layer 11, formed by light gray loams, the age of which is determined within stage 3 of the oxygen isotope scale. For the lower part of layer 11, the bone AMS date is obtained (as determined by Christian Albrecht University in Kiel, Germany): 48650 + 2380 / - 1840 KA25285 SP 553 / D19), for the middle part - open radiocarbon date > 37235 BP (SOAN-2504), and for the roof on the contact with layer 10-AMS - date for coal (University of Arizona definition, USA): 29200 ± 360 bp (AA-35321). From above, these deposits are overlain by a thin horizon of highly mature flattened crushed stone with scattered ferromanganese neoplasms (layer 10) and pale loess-like loams (layer 9) of the Sartan period (isotopic stage 2). From below, layer 11 is underlain by a thickness of lenticular-layered variegated loams (layers 12-20). The upper half of this stratum (the roof of layer 14) is dated by the RTL method-69 ± 17 Ka BP (RTL - 611), its lower boundary is marked by a clear horizon of dark-colored loam (layer 21) with a date of 155 ± 31 Ka BP (RTL-546). Heavy ochre-pale-yellow loams (layer 22) occur in the warping of the section, the age of which is set in the range of 282 ± 56 thousand years (RTL - 548)-171 ± 43 thousand years (RTL-737).

The epoch of formation of layer 11 deposits is characterized by relatively cool and humid climate conditions (Prirodnaya sreda..., 2003). According to palynological data, spruce forests with the participation of pine and cedar predominated among plant associations at this time. In the community of small mammals, the number of forest forms decreased and the share of nival species increased. However, against the background of a generally cool climate, relatively warm episodes were noted. In the middle part of the layer, the number of tsokor bones significantly increases, which reflects an increase in the area of meadow biotopes. The roof of the layer probably corresponds to the warmest phase of this period. It is characterized by an increase in the number of mole and forest voles, the presence of the housekeeper vole and flying squirrel. The bird population is dominated by open landscape species, and remains of representatives of meadow biotopes have been recorded. Judging by the composition of the community of large mammals, the Paleolithic inhabitants of the cave lived in favorable natural conditions of a mosaic mountain landscape. The main objects of hunting in this era were bison, horse, dzeren and saiga that lived in the steppe areas of the valley, roe deer and maral - in mixed forests, argali and Siberian mountain goat-on rocky slopes.

The beginning of the Upper Paleolithic era in Altai is characterized by the consistent development of technological traditions from the Middle Paleolithic to the Early Upper Paleolithic methods of stone processing with the constant use of a single base of stone raw materials. The production was based on pebbles and boulders of sedimentary and volcanic rocks from the channel deposits of local watercourses (Derevyanko, Kulik, Shunkov, 2000). Mainly sedimentary rocks were used, among which siltstones and fine-grained sandstones were preferred. About half of the artifacts are made of paleotypic aphyry and porphyry effusions. Contact-modified rocks , such as corneas and veined quartz, were used less frequently.

Single products made of jasperoids, rauchtopaz, talc-steatite, clay shale, agalmatolite, and chloritolite are associated with the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. However, the insignificant expansion of the raw material base was episodic and did not change the raw material strategy of the primitive cave dwellers in general - the share of products made from these rocks in the Upper Paleolithic industries did not exceed 3.5 %.

The technocomplex of the early Upper Paleolithic stage was characterized mainly by parallel splitting, less often the techniques of radial and Levallois chipping of blanks were used. As an important feature of the development of the stone industry, we should note the spread of microplate splitting techniques in this era.

The most representative group in this industry is formed by tools of the Upper Paleolithic types, among which scrapers, chisels, etc. predominate.-

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pegs and retouched plates. The most expressive component consists of end scrapers and high-shaped scrapers, angular and transverse incisors, large prismatic plates with signs of regular retouching of the longitudinal edges and microplates with a blunted edge, as well as bifacial tools of leaf shape. Among other categories of stone tools, quite stable series includes longitudinal varieties of scrapers, knives with a natural edge and edge edge, serrated and awl-shaped products, beak-shaped and notched tools, usually decorated with retouched ankos.

The Early Upper Paleolithic collection from Denisova Cave includes a set of bone tools and jewelry, including miniature needles with a drilled eye, piercing points, pendants made of animal teeth with a biconical hole or with a cut groove in the root part, penetrations made of hollow tubular bones with symmetrical rows of deep ring cuts, beads and rings made of mammoth tusk, flat rings made of beads-rings made of petrified ostrich eggshells. Another notable component of this collection is jewelry made from freshwater clam shells with a drilled hole in the base, as well as products made of ornamental stone-pendants made of green kaolinite agalmatolite and light talc-steatite with a biconically drilled hole at one of the transverse edges of the product, beads made of talc, yellowish-green serpentine and clay slate, and a bracelet made of dark- green chloritolite.

According to the X-ray phase analysis performed by L. V. Miroshnichenko (Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS), the green pendant is made of kaolinite agalmatolite from the outer zones of secondary quartzites formed during post-magmatic changes in acidic volcanic rocks. Denisova cave is located in the southwestern spurs of the Anui ridge, composed of Devonian rhyolite-dacite porphyry. Secondary quartzites may have formed on the southern macroslope of the ridge, where they underwent intensive alteration with transformation into albitophyres and jasperoids. On the northern slope, acid effusions are replaced by medium and basic porphyritic rocks. The latter may have been the source of nickel during post-magmatic alteration, which turned the agalmatolite into a characteristic chrysoprase color (Kulik and Shunkov, 2004). The watershed of the Anui Range is approximately 20 km from the cave. The source of kaolinite agalmatolite was probably located within these limits.

X-ray phase analysis showed that the main component of dark green chloritolite is a monomineral fine-scale aggregate of chlorite belonging to the magnesian difference - pennine. Similar rocks with a fine-scaled chlorite aggregate are absent in the northwestern part of the Altai. The nearest outcrops of solid chlorites or chloritolites are known in the Ore Altai, as part of modified near-ore rocks of the Ridder, Belousovsky, and Zolotushinsky lead-zinc deposits (Shilin and Ivanova, 1954).

Less certain is the location of talc-steatite and serpentine. According to the results of a petrographic survey conducted at. These minerals belong to apogyperbasic metasomatites typical of the southern Altai, where ultramafic magmatism is widespread.

The presence of jewelry made from these rare rocks in the early Upper Paleolithic period indicates that the source material was delivered from the southern and southwestern regions of Altai, from sources at least 200 km away from the cave. The unusual nature of raw materials undoubtedly distinguished the stone ornaments made from it in the system of material values of that era.

Results of tracological and technological study of the bracelet

To reconstruct the technology of manufacturing a chloritolite bracelet, determine the nature of disposal and functional accessories, and clarify the causes of product failure, a detailed tracological and technological study was carried out. An adapted Olympus BHT-M microscope with shadowless illumination through the lens and a magnification mode from 100 to 500 times was used as the main research tool. Additionally, an MSPE-1 microscope with a smooth magnification change mode from 19 to 95x and powerful two-way shadowless illumination and an MBS-10 binocular with side lighting and a discrete working magnification mode from 16 to 56x were used.

The research was based on the method of trace analysis developed by S. A. Semenov and G. F. Korobkova [Semenov, 1957; Semenov and Korobkova, 1983; Korobkowa, 1999], and the method of analysis of micro-polishing of stone tool wear by L. Keeley [Keeley, 1980; Moss, 1983; Vaughan, 1985]. We also used the experience of using a synthesized trasological technique adapted to work with materials from archaeological collections of Paleolithic and Neolithic sites in North Asia (Volkov, 1999). Materials from the Siberian reference collection of traceological standards were used for a comparative analysis of traces of manufacture and wear of the bracelet.

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Microscopic analysis of the surface of the fragments showed that in the process of manufacturing the bracelet, the following processing methods were used: shaping grinding on a "grindstone" - a flat, stationary abrasive surface; shaping boring of the inner surface using a portable mobile tool; finishing grinding on fine-grained abrasive; polishing of the inner and outer surfaces; repeated double-sided machine drilling; impact of a carver with a relatively narrow working edge, and then a cutter with a relatively wide working edge.

The bracelet also shows traces of: prolonged contact with soft organic material; attachment of additional parts to the suspension made of organic material; repeated impact; disposal and destruction; re-registration for secondary use.

The recorded traces are systematized by types of production (grinding, polishing, drilling), disposal (polishing from contact with clothing and human body), damage (scratches, potholes from impacts, splitting), repair (grinding on coarse-grained abrasive). The main and most characteristic signs of product recycling are associated with prolonged intensive contact of its inner surface with the soft skin of the human hand. Judging by these traces, the product was most likely used as a wrist bracelet. Tracological analysis of the remaining traces allowed us to restore the manufacturing technology of the bracelet, identify the specifics of its design, determine the features of recycling and the causes of destruction.

Manufacturing technology

At the first stage of manufacturing the bracelet, the initial pebble billet was apparently given a flattened-spherical shape. For this purpose, grinding and subsequent polishing were performed. The shape and volume of the initial blank can be roughly represented by the outlines of the product fragments (Fig. 5). The blank was most likely processed on a hard, relatively large and flat abrasive until the semi-finished product of the required shape was obtained (Fig. 6). An indirect confirmation of this is the almost perfectly flat surface of the bracelet (Fig. 7). Then a technological hole was probably drilled in the center of one of the workpiece planes (Fig. 8). The drilling method cannot be determined now, since its traces were worked during the subsequent boring of the resulting hole (Fig. 9). Judging by the "multi-faceted" configuration of the inner surface of the bracelet, the boring was carried out using a tool similar to a modern rasp, - a mobile abrasive tool with a relatively flat surface.-

Fig. 5. Reconstruction of the shape of the blank according to the outline of the bracelet from the outside.

Fig. 6. Shape of the workpiece after processing on the abrasive plane.

Fig. 7. The processed outer surface of the bracelet.

Fig. 8. Forming a technological hole in the workpiece.

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Fig. 9. Boring scheme of the inner surface of the bracelet.

10. "Step" configuration of the inner surface of the bracelet after boring.

11. The polished and polished surface of the bracelet.

Fig. 12. Traces of drilling a side hole.

kim and a wide working edge. "Versatility" is typical for almost the entire main surface of the bracelet (Fig. 10). These traces of processing quite eloquently indicate the use of abrasive, rather than drilling tools, which were widely used in the Neolithic period in the manufacture of such products (Semenov, 1957).

The next operation was finishing-sanding and polishing the product. All surface contact angles formed during the grinding contact were smoothed out. Polishing of the product, quite high-quality, was made using leather and hides of different degrees of dressing. As a result, the bracelet acquired a smooth, almost mirror-like surface (Fig. 11).

At the final stage of manufacturing, a side hole was drilled in the bracelet from the outside. The hole was developed using machine drilling in at least three stages. Judging by the remaining traces (Fig. 12), the speed of rotation of the drill was relatively high. Vibrations of the drill's rotation axis are minimal, and its rotation around its axis is repeated. At the final stage, secondary, final, finishing polishing of the bracelet was performed using soft, probably freshly made leather, traces of penetration of which were noted in the recesses on the surface of the product in the side drilling zone.

Modeling on the preserved part of the bracelet suggests that the whole product had, most likely, an oval shape in the plan. It was slightly convex on the outside, and relatively flat on the inside.

Product disposal

Tracological examination of the surfaces showed that the product was often exposed to sharp objects and external impacts. Traces of contact with harder objects can be traced almost all over its external surface (Fig. 13).-

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13. Impact marks on the outer surface of the bracelet.

14. Traces of grinding potholes on the outer surface of the bracelet.

15. Scratches on the outer surface of the bracelet.

16. Traces of recycling on the inner surface of the bracelet.

such "carelessness" in the use of the bracelet does not fit well with its exclusive nature.

On the outer surface of the bracelet, there are also signs of minor cosmetic repairs - periodic grouting of potholes with a coarse-grained abrasive. After leveling the potholes, the subsequent polishing of this area was not carried out, and the surface of the bracelet lost its previous shine (Fig. 14).

The bracelet is made of a relatively soft material; it is quickly scratched and easily damaged by impact. The surface of the product is almost completely covered with traces of this kind of contact with random abrasives (Fig. 15).

To remove scratches, a short polishing with soft leather is enough, but there are no signs of such work.

On the inner surface of the bracelet, areas of contamination of the product with a mixture of fine abrasive powder (soil, sand, etc.) and fatty secretions of human skin are clearly visible. These are typical traces of skin contact (traces of "collecting") and interaction with a mud abrasive (Figure 16). Dirt accumulated on the inner surface of the bracelet was periodically removed. Traces of scraping in the form of characteristic parallel scratches (Fig. 17) are traced in the zones of relative depressions - in the places where the planes of the initial boring meet-

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17. Scraping marks on the inner surface of the bracelet.

18. Traces of polishing the surface of the bracelet at the side hole.

19. The angle of oscillation of the suspension strap at the side opening.

20. Cross-sectional planes of the first fault (1) and one of the ends (2) of the bracelet.

the inner hole of the bracelet, where the most intense accumulation of a viscous mixture of organic and inorganic substances.

Near the side hole, traces of intense contact with soft organic material are recorded on the surface of the bracelet (Fig. 18). Features of their localization suggest that a leather strap with a pendant was attached through the hole. Judging by the fact that the polishing area is clearly limited (Fig. 19), the suspension was relatively heavy and set a strictly defined amplitude of vibrations of the strap. According to the area of polishing from the suspension strap, it was possible to determine the "top" and "bottom" of the product and establish that the bracelet was worn on the right hand. If it were worn on the left hand, the highest border of the polish would be in its right sector (Fig. 19). The intensity of polishing from the pendant strap is similar to the intensity of traces of "collecting" on the inner surface of the bracelet. This suggests that the pendant was originally an element of the product.

Traces of damage on the product

The material from which the bracelet is made is relatively fragile, so it is unlikely that the jewelry was used for a long time. Most likely, the product broke down shortly after its manufacture. The bracelet broke at least twice. The surface of the end faces of the fragments after the first fault (Fig. 20, section 1) is rather flat (Fig. 21). The material does not significantly crumble when damaged; both fragments are easily applied. Experimental studies have shown that the most likely cause of such damage could be an unsuccessful compression or unclenching of the bracelet (Figure 22) when putting it on the hand.

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21. Surfaces of the first bracelet fault planes.

22. Diagram of the fracture of the experimental sample during decompression (1) and compression (2).

23. Ground fault surface.

24. Traces of rolling at the edge of the fault plane.

25. Traces of smoothing of the fault plane edge.

26. Profile of fault planes prepared for bonding.

The characteristic traces of careful treatment of the fault planes for bonding indicate that repeated attempts were made to repair the bracelet. When gluing fragments of stone or ceramic products, it is best to connect the planes in the form in which they appeared after splitting. The coupling of natural fault reliefs is optimal when using liquid glue. If the adhesive mass is relatively thick, then preliminary preparation of the surfaces to be bonded is necessary. Apparently, for this purpose, the fault planes of the product were sanded with transversely directed abrasive movements (Fig. 23), after which the edges of the planes were rolled (Fig. 24), and then smoothed with a relatively soft material (Fig. 25). It can be assumed that the traces of smoothing were formed when using the fragment of the bracelet as an independent decoration. However, in this case, these traces should have remained on other parts of the surface, and not only on the edges of the end of the fragment. Cosmetic preparation was performed flawlessly (fig. 26), but after gluing

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27. Fragment of a Paleolithic bracelet and a modern sample.

28. Fragment of a Paleolithic bracelet and a modern sample with a connector.

29. Traces of polishing on the end of the bracelet.

30. Traces of processing on the fault planes (1, 2) and on the end face (3) of the bracelet.

31. Traces of intensive smoothing of the inner surface of the bracelet in the area of the connector.

the product could no longer acquire the necessary strength and soon the bracelet broke again.

Compared to a modern all-in-one bracelet, the internal space of the Paleolithic sample is noticeably smaller (Fig. 27). It is almost impossible to pass a hand, even with a very narrow hand, into a one-piece bracelet of this diameter. Most likely, the Paleolithic bracelet was detachable - with a slot for the hand. Paleolithic and modern bracelets of this type are quite similar in size (Fig. 28). The connector of the bracelet was probably a cutout in the original ring blank. Its edges probably diverged "into a cone". This shape of the connector edges is convenient if the bracelet is relatively small and was worn on the hand at a tangent. One of the edges of the connector was probably a smooth, carefully worked end of the bracelet (see Fig. 20, section 2). In the course of trace analysis, signs of longitudinal and transverse grinding, removal of sharp edge edges, as well as intensive polishing were recorded on its surface (Fig. 29). The quality of processing of the end face is indicated by traces of movement of the abrasive tool along both the short and long axis of the plane

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Figure 32. Expected shape of the bracelet connector.

33. Shape of the second break in the bracelet.

34. Diagram of the fracture of an experimental sample upon impact with a solid surface.

35. Reconstruction of the Paleolithic bracelet from Denisova Cave.

30, 3); at the same time, only traces of transverse grinding were noted on the gluing surfaces (Fig. 30, 1, 2). Judging by the size of the product and traces of intensive smoothing on the inner surface in the connector area (Fig.31), the bracelet tightly covered the wrist. As a rule, the dull luster of the surface in combination with microscopic short linear traces is formed from the contact of stone products with the human skin. Localization and linear micro-scratches in the area of this polishing indicate the characteristic direction of movement of the human hand tangentially inside the bracelet. To optimize this action, the connector ends were purposefully beveled (fig. 32). The width of the connector, even if the wrist was narrow enough, should have been at least 35-45 mm.

The second, and probably last, time the bracelet broke as a result of impact on a hard surface (Fig. 33). As follows from the comparison of the bracelet fracture configuration with experimental samples (Fig. 34), the total mass of the product was sufficient for it to break from such an impact. The impact fracture marks are noticeably different from the marks of excessive compression or unclenching of the bracelet (see Figure 22). It was almost impossible to restore the product after such a radical damage.

Conclusion

A detailed tracological and technological study of the bracelet showed that various stone processing techniques were used in its manufacture, including those traditionally considered uncharacteristic for the Paleolithic era. Grinding with various abrasives, polishing with leather and hide, as well as technologies unique for the Paleolithic period - high-speed machine drilling and boring with a rasp-type tool-were used. A high production level of bracelet manufacturing is obvious - good quality of almost all operations performed, thorough finishing, and original solutions to technological problems that have arisen. The product demonstrates the development of labor skills and stable practice of such work among Denisova Cave dwellers at the early stage of the Upper Paleolithic.

In general, the process of making a bracelet is characterized by a combination of relatively simple stone processing techniques and the use of a fairly advanced-

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active technologies. Given these features and the chronological position of the find, it can be assumed that the production of cave dwellers in the early Upper Paleolithic period formed the prototype of a number of technologies that developed at a later time.

The outer surface of the bracelet is processed using relatively simple grinding techniques, without the use of a circular machine, which has been widely used since the Neolithic era [Semenov, 1968, p. 63]. In the central part of the workpiece, the stone is selected by boring with the use of an abrasive tool such as a rasp. This is a rather imperfect and risky technology, with the use of which the probability of product failure is quite high. Later, similar operations were carried out using incisors of Neolithic prototypes of carousel machines or wide drills.

According to the generally accepted point of view, stone drilling originated in the Upper Paleolithic era, but only in the Neolithic did it acquire the features of a developed technology. An important step in this direction is traditionally considered to be the change in the early Neolithic relative to the archaic principle of two-handed drilling by a more productive beam method [Ibid., p. 62]. When drilling on machine tools, including with the help of a beam mover, there are no traces of precessional vibrations of the drill bit. Using this progressive method, a hole was drilled for the pendant on the bracelet from Denisova Cave. This is unique evidence of the unexpectedly early use of two-way high-speed machine drilling in the early Upper Paleolithic. On all other currently known Paleolithic products with drilling traces, signs of relatively slow rotation of the drill with a large amplitude of rotation axis oscillation are noted.

The reconstruction demonstrates the high aesthetic qualities of the bracelet (fig. 35). In bright light, it effectively reflected the sun's rays, and in the light of a fire, it shone a deep dark green color. The bracelet hardly belonged to everyday items. This fragile, elegant piece was probably worn quite rarely, on special occasions. Given that the bracelet is made of an exceptionally rare material for this territory, it is distinguished by careful jewelry finishing, we can conclude that it belongs to the number of exclusive expensive jewelry that most likely determined the high social status of the owner.

The chloritolite bracelet undoubtedly occupies a special place in the collection of individual jewelry of the early Upper Paleolithic period from the Denisova Cave, which today is the most representative and ancient in the Paleolithic of North and Central Asia.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to N. A. Kulik for providing information and advice on the geology of Altai and petrography of stone raw materials, as well as to L. V. Miroshnichenko for X-ray phase analysis of the source material. Special thanks to A.V. Abdulmanova and N. M. Shunkova for the preparation of analytical data and design of the illustrative material.

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Derevyanko A. P., Molodin V. I. Denisova cave. Novosibirsk: Nauka Publ., 1994, Part 1, 262 p.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 20.09.07.

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