Comparison Study of Cultural Layers Preservation at the Moiltyn Am Site (Central Mongolia)

Abstract

Archaeological sites with unclear conditions of sediment accumulation and stratigraphic disturbances are always complicated to research. Usually other sites in the region with better preservation of cultural layers helps to understand and divide them into cultural chronological stages. However lack of such sites results in the need to find other approaches and research methods to study stratigraphic positions of cultural horizons. Purpose. This article considers approaches and methods and their application to estimate the preservation of cultural layers at the Upper Paleolithic site of Moiltyn Am in Central Mongolia. Results. The authors analyzed positions of artifacts from layers 1.2, 2, 3 and 4. Indexes of layer 1.2 fall within the value range, characteristic to rockfall. Layers 2 and 3 are also close to rockfall, but the level of isotropy falls outside the limits of its range. Layer 4 is closer to the range of solifluction. Conclusions. The authors correlated lithological divisions, revealed in 2018-2019, and stratigraphic units, that previous researchers divided and described. Sediments of Layer 4 were accumulated under the solifluction process and went through post-sedimentological disturbances, that also impacted the underlying layers. Layers 2 and 3 were formed under drier conditions.