Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Levallois reduction sequences in Altai: A view from the study of Ust’- Kanskaya Cave (Gorny-Altai, Russia) Camille Lesage a,b,∗ , Alexander V. Postnov c , Andrei I. Krivoshapkin b,c , Jacques Jaubert a a PACEA, University of Bordeaux, bâtiment B8, allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac, France b Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 1, Novosibirsk, 60090, Russian Federation c Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (IAET SB RAS), Lavrentieva avenue 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation ARTICLEINFO Keywords: Middle palaeolithic Lithic technology Levallois concept Altai mountains Chaîne opératoire ABSTRACT Recent anthropological and archaeological studies have established the significance of the Altai Mountains prehistoric sites, which illustrate complex peopling events. In this paper, we use the chaîne opératoire techno- economic approach to describe the reduction sequences from layers 5 and 3 of Ust’-Kanskaya cave, Gorny Altai, Russia. The Levallois concept is attested in both layers by the presence of cores, flakes, points and blades. However, the majority of the products do not correspond to the cores, which implies a shift at some point of the reduction sequence. Shorter reduction sequences that do not demand such a high degree of predetermination have also been identified. The two layers display similar technological features and can both be associated with the Levalloiso-Mousterian variant of the Altai Middle Palaeolithic. 1. Introduction Research in the Altai Mountains, crossroads of the Northern and Central Asia, has provided record of an important Middle and Initial/ Early Upper Palaeolithic occupation, both in caves and in open air sites (Derevianko and Markin, 1995, 1998; Derevianko and Zenin, 1997; Derevianko et al., 2000; Derevianko and Postnov, 2004; Rybin, 2004; Shunkov, 2005; Zwyns et al., 2012). The recent discovery of a new group of archaic hominins in Denisova Cave (Krause et al., 2010; Reich et al., 2010) shed a singular light on this area that different hominin species (Neandertals, Denisovans and maybe Modern Hu- mans; Fu et al., 2014) shared within a few thousand years. It is now essential to come back to the archaeological context of these human remains, and to draw a comprehensive picture of the Altai region. Most of the Initial and Early Upper Palaeolithic assemblages, notably Kara-Bom and Ust’-Karakol, have been thoroughly studied (Rybin, 2000; Derevianko, 2010; Zwyns, 2012). On the other hand, the Middle Palaeolithic has been less investigated, as most of the col- lections have been studied according to a typological approach, whereas it is necessary to understand the whole chaîne opératoire of the production to figure out the methods implemented in each oc- cupation unit (Leroi-Gourhan, 1964; Boëda et al., 1990; Geneste, 1991; Tixier, 2012). The Altai Middle Palaeolithic has been described as mostly char- acterised by the presence of the Levallois core reduction (Derevianko and Markin, 1995), but the status and evolution of this concept is yet to be clarified throughout a comprehensive technological study that allows the reconstruction of the reduction sequences present in each site. In this paper, we propose to examine the material from the cave site of Ust’-Kanskaya, trying to redraw the chaînes opératoires of production. 2. Geographical settings and historical background Ust’-Kanskaya cave (N 50° 54′ 40”; E 84° 48′ 50”) is located on the northern bank of the Charysh river, 3.5 km east of Ust’-Kan city in the central district of the Altai Republic (Fig. 1). It opens on a limestone cliff, 54 m. above the river (1090 m asl). The excavation started in 1954 under the supervision of S.I. Rudenko (1961). A first test pit was carried out, revealing numerous lithicartefacts.Thisledtoanexcavationof20m 2 . Rudenko identified a unique archaeological layer of 1.75m height, with a concentration of https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.09.047 Received 4 April 2018; Received in revised form 27 August 2018; Accepted 30 September 2018 ∗ Corresponding author. PACEA, University of Bordeaux, bâtiment B8, allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac, France. E-mail address: camille.lesage@u-bordeaux.fr (C. Lesage). Quaternary International xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx 1040-6182/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Please cite this article as: Lesage, C., Quaternary International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.09.047