Search

This article argues that the conclusions in the prevailing modern scientific literature on the formation of the Great Silk Road 3rd‑2nd millennium BC or from the 4th‑3rd centuries BC cannot be considered reasonable in light of available scientific and archival evidence. Until the 3rd‑2nd centuries BC at the western and northern borders of Xinjiang Region the predominantly Caucasoid population of Xinjiang contacted the related cultures of Kazakhstan and Sayano-Altai, but did not have any noticeable or documented trade (exchange) connections with the eastern Mongols of the Gansu Corridor, nor with farmers of ancient China and nomads of Northern China. Significant migrations of the population from Xinjiang to China and in the opposite direction between the third and the first half of the 1st millennium BC according to the available archaeological records has not been observed. The Silk Road from China through Xinjiang to the west with the direct involvement of the Chinese, only begins to function in the 1st century BC, and then only when the Han Empire at great cost finally succeeded in pushing the Hunnu out of Xinjiang, and established control over this territory. This event was preceded by active trade relations between the northern kingdoms of China and the nomads of Southern Siberia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and the delivery of the gifts to the Huns from the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC. This enabled silk and varnish products to penetrate Southern Siberia, Central Asia and then back into Xinjiang

The article analyzes the customs of overcoming “desecration” (self-isolation from the modern world), actualizing among the Siberian Old Believers of different religious trends (accepting and not accepting the priesthood) during the spread of the new viral infection COVID-19. These interviews show that the Novosibirsk Old Believers have a firm conviction about the sinfulness of the “world” and its inhabitants as the root cause of the spread of the dangerous epidemic, but there is a difference in views between supporters of different directions, as well as on the acceptability of vaccination. Social upheavals throughout the history of mankind were accompanied by many concomitant factors, one of which was an appeal to the patterns included in the ethnocultural memory of peoples. At the beginning of the 21st century, the ideas and customs of the Old Believers were updated, which helped them to survive earlier during periods of epidemics (for example, the plague of 1771). As in the 18th – 19th centuries this is the observance of the tradition of eating exclusively from “their own dishes”, minimizing communication with the worldly (atheists, infidels, etc.), greeting each other with a bow at a distance, etc. New original materials (interview in 2021) on the actualization of the customs of avoiding contacts and the traditional self-isolation of the Old Believers of Siberia, collected by the author, testify to the existence of a living connection between times and their transmission from generation to generation, even if there was a gap between two or three generations during the existence of the Soviet Union. This allows us to speak about ethnocultural memory as that part of knowledge, cultural practices and ideas of peoples that is not subject to state indoctrination. “Useful” knowledge and practices are actualized at certain periods of life, which are labeled by the citizens themselves as “important” or “critical”. It is important that modern Old Believers emphasize the fact of the acceptability of a lifestyle that excludes gatherings and entertainment, without any protest or depressive moods. © 2021, Amur State University. All rights reserved.

The present article summarizes research related to demarcating the first and second Omsk fortresses. Fortifications of these landmarks have long been destroyed, the cultural layer only and partially complexes of buildings of the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries have been preserved, but they are at risk in connection with active modern urban development. Active archaeological research during the last ten years has yielded an expanded informational database and new evidence illuminating the use of the territory in antiquity and providing insight on the cultural layer of the fortresses. The authors of the present paper have ascertained and precised on the city map the borders of both sites, using stratigraphic research, historical cartography, and archival record. The conclusion provides insight on the main problems of conservation of the researched objects of cultural significance, and on perspectives of their museum commitment within the current framework of development of the historical center of Omsk. Keywords: Omsk, the first and second Omsk fortresses, archaeological sites, historical center, research, museum

The article presents the results of the study of mounds N26 and N33 at the Khankarinsky Dol burial ground, located in the Krasnoshchekovsky district ofthe Altai Territory. The excavations were carried out by the Krasnoshchekovskaya archaeological expedition of Altai State University with the participation of students of the Barnaul State Pedagogical University. As a result of the excavations, it was revealed that both mounds had been robbed, which makes their chronological attribution difficult. At the same time, the inventory in the form of fragments of gold foil was found only in mound No. 33. Recorded during the excavation of mound No. 33 features of the burial rite is the position of the deceased on his right side, facing to the East, accompanying burial of the horse along the Northern wall of the grave, ritual food, have certain analogies to previously explored objects of the Pazyryk culture on the necropolis Khankarinsky Dol and the nearby burial grounds Inskoy Dol and Chineta-II. In addition, such signs of the funeral rite find parallels with similar indicators for the sites of the Pazyryk period excavated in the Central and South-Eastern Altai. Mound No. 26, taking into account the analysis of the burial structure, the eastern orientation of the deceased, the presence of ritual meat food, the location next to the chain of mounds of the Pazyryk culture, gives reason to tentatively attribute it to the Scythian-Saka period. Keywords: funeral ceremony, Scythian-Saka period, burial mound, altai, artifacts

Recreation is the most important part of modern life. However, in Russia, there is still underdeveloped an internal and, especially rural (ethnographic) and archaeological tourism. The paper analyzes the possibility of organization of educational recreation for people in the territory of the Bolshechensky district - one of the most touristic regions in the Middle Irtysh. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that there are several areas which are the most suitable for the specified activity: this is a chain of old Russian villages, the area of compact residence of Tatars - descendants of immigrants from Central Asia, unique places of archaeological heritage sites (the Batakakovo and Inberen meander core, Chigar meander core etc.). For these places, several types of routes are offered (linear radial, radial-ring, etc.). Being of various archaeological and ethnographic themes they make it possible to show the tourists the traditional routine of the rural population, archaeological sites of different types and archaeological excavations. Keywords: western Siberia, northern forest-steppe, left bank of Middle Irtysh, archaeological, rural (ethnographic) tourism, recreation

The article is devoted to a review of the archaeological survey results of the left bank of the Urtamka River mouth (the Kozhevnikovsky District of the Tomsk Oblast). The purpose of the research was to localize the station of the Urtam ostrog, marked on the map of 1701 by S.U. Remezov, located on the left bank of the Urtamka River. The survey of this territory made it possible to detect an elevated area (Urtamskoe-II), fenced on three sides by a sub-square ditch 2 m wide and 0.4 m deep. The total dimension of the fence was 200 m, which formally correlates with the perimeter of the Urtam ostrog, indicated in a written source of the late 17th century (1687). However, the archaeological study of the ditch section and the inner fenced area of the newly identified fortified settlement Urtamskoe-II did not reveal the cross-section of the ditch and the foundations of the log wall that are characteristic for the Early New Time. Such results complicate their connection with the Urtam ostrog. In addition, the osteological materials and fragments of the rims of ceramic vessels from the Irmen culture (Late Bronze Age) were found in the cultural layer of the discovered settlement. It should be noted that for the territories occupied by several archaeologically investigated ostrogs (Tomsky, Umrevinsky, Sayansky, etc.), the facts of the discovery of the earlier archaeological materials are quite typical. However, the ditch fence of the sub-square outlines of the residential area of the fortified settlement Urtamskoe-II significantly distinguishes it from the nearest Irmen settlement of the Baturino-1. Fencing with a “П” shaped moat are more typical for the settlements of the late Middle Ages on the territory of neighboring Baraba (Tyumenka, Chinyaikha). In general, the archaeological research carried out reflected the general tendency which is the complexity of localizing the ostrog as an archaeological site. Keywords: archaeological exploration, Upper Ob Region, ancient settlements, settlements, ostrog

The article is devoted to the results of the survey of the archaeological heritage site “Chekanovsky Log-1 settlement” located on the right bank of the Alei river which currently belongs to the northern coastline of the Gilevsky reservoir in the Tretyakovsky district of the Altai Territory. During the exploration, the archaeological complex was examined for destruction, an eye plan was drawn up, and a general description of the current state of the monument was made. On the eroded part of the object, lifting material was collected, which was ceramics of the Late Bronze Age, presumably related to the Sargarin-Alekseevsk culture, as well as a fragment of a grater or grain grater. Based on the results of the measures taken, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the emergency state of the object, which is supported by the erosion of the surf line due to the activity of the reservoir. Significant anthropogenic impact is associated with the use of its area as a place for recreation and agricultural needs. Keywords: foothill Altai, Lower Bronze Age, Sargarin-Alekseevskaya culture, archaeological monitoring

The paper examines the possibilities of using materials stored in state and departmental archives in archaeological research. Over the past three centuries, scientists, travelers, service people have collected a wealth ofinformation on archaeology, ethnography, geography, statistics of the Asian part of Russia and adjacent territories in general and Western Siberia in particular. Unfortunately, archaeologists rarely use this information, which contradicts the methodology requiring the use of different types of sources. At the same time, the source base of works is getting narrow. This is due to the fact that information about a number of objects of antiquity and the Middle Ages was completely or partially destroyed or forgotten, therefore information about them was preserved only in the archives. The documents stored in these institutions in terms of territorial coverage and chronological depth significantly exceed the volume of cases collected in archaeological museums of Siberian universities. Unfortunately, researchers rarely turn to such materials. Keywords: archaeological sites, ARCHIVAL materials, completeness of research

Against the intensive studies of the genetic composition of early nomads from the Altai-Sayan mountain system, a number of Scythian populations from the adjacent forest-steppe zone remain unexplored by paleogenetic methods. This article presents the first results of a paleogenetic study of the Staroaleisk culture carriers from the Firsovo-XIV burial ground in the Barnaul Ob region. Analysis of a small series of mitochondrial DNA samples (N = 10) confirmed the participation of populations associated with the autochthonous genetic substrate of the southern regions of Western Siberia in the formation of the genetic composition of the Staroaleisk population (specific composition of the Western Eurasian component of the mtDNA gene pool and the presence of autochthonous Eastern Eurasian A10 haplogroup). We showed the presence of mtDNA (lineages of haplogroups A8 and A11) in the Staroaleisk population, which testifies to its genetic ties with the carriers of the Scythian-Siberian cultures who inhabited the territories to the east of the Upper Ob region – the Altai- Sayan mountain system, Tuva and adjacent regions of Central Asia. Thus, paleogenetic data indicate that the genetic composition of the Sratoaleisk population was formed under the conditions of the genetic interaction between autochthonous populations of the region, whose genetic roots go back to the Bronze Age, and newly migrated groups who were carriers of the cultural traditions of the Scythian-time nomads. Taking into account the informative value of the first genetic results, we can expect a significant detailing of ethnogenetic processes reconstructions with increasing of DNA samples from the Staroaleisk population, analysis of additional genetic markers (Y-chromosome) and obtaining data on the gene pool of other early Iron Age populations from the Upper Ob region and adjacent regions of the South Siberia.

The paper discusses the results of a comprehensive analysis of the ceramic complex of the Chekanovsky Log-2 burial ground of the Andronovskaya (Fedorovskaya) culture, located in the North-Western foothills of Altai. In the course of morphological analysis, three forms of vessels were identified: pots, jars, and pot-jars. The leading method of ornamentation was stamping. Seven basic elements of the ornament and 27 different motives were used for ornamenting. Some differences are recorded in the technique of ornamentation and compositional schemes of the two sections of the burial ground. A technical and technological analysis showed that for the production of crockery local potters preferred medium-iron clays, mostly medium-plastic. The leading recipe for the preparation of molding masses at the site was clay + grit + fireclay + organic matter. At the same time, in the north section, there are vessels made only with the addition of chamotte as a mineral admixture. Thus, the materials of the site demonstrate the process of mixing different traditions in pottery. Most likely, on the territory of the North-Western foothills of Altai during the developed Bronze Age, there was an active interaction and mutual influence of the population of different geographical zones: foothill and lowland, which probably belonged to various local variants of the Andronovo cultural and historical community: East Kazakhstan and Ob.

The valley of the Tolbor river featured one of the earliest traces of the Early Upper Paleolithic in Central Asia. The results of the authors’ study provided new opportunities for understanding the behavioral characteristics of the population in the Early Upper Paleolithic. Two sub-horizons (4b and 4a) were identified in horizon 4 of the Tolbor-21 site. Horizon 4b includes two independent area of activity associated with two fire pits. The results of a technological study demonstrated that the set of artifacts originating from the fire pits is characterized by a very high specific weight of cores and tools, including those of rare and peculiar types. The stage of regular manufacture of large pointed blades completely drops out of the technological sequence of the 4b horizon industry. The proportion of flakes with a natural crust is small. The authors concluded that the peculiar technical and typological appearance of the studied collection was accounted for by a behavioral situation where certain labor activities were performed near the fire pits, and a significant portion of the artifacts were transferred from this area to be used in another location.

В статье рассматриваются комплексы археологического горизонта 4 (раскопки 2005 г.) многослойной палеолитической стоянки Толбор-4, расположенной в бассейне среднего течения реки Селенга. Все стоянки этого региона были расположены на выходах высококачественного каменного сырья и определялись как мастерские. Комплекс археологического горизонта 4 относится к заключительным этапам ранней стадии верхнего палеолита и датируется на основе радиоуглеродных методов финалом морской изотопной стадии 3. Методом кластеризации произведено объективное исследование закономерностей в распределении каменных артефактов. На основе взаиморасположения объектов выделены пространственные структуры, включающие в себя три кластера. Кластеры 1 и 2 относились к участкам, где производилась интенсивная редукция нуклеусов. Кластер 3 характеризуется как участок, где почти исключительно производилась деятельность по изготовлению или использованию орудий. Полученные данные позволили выявить пример функциональной организации стоянок мастерских, где осуществлялась разнообразная деятельность, относящаяся не только к сфере редукции нуклеусов., This article analyzes cultural complexes of Archaeological Horizon 4 at the multi-layered Tolbor-4 Paleolithic site, situated in the Middle Selenga River basin. All sites in this region are located near primary outcrops of high-quality sedimentary raw material previously described as workshops. Cultural materials from Archaeological Horizon 4 were deposited during the final Early Upper Paleolithic and radiocarbon dates place them within the final MIS-3. Objective studies of consistent patterns in lithic artifact distribution were carried out using a clustering statistical method. Artifact distribution made it possible to distinguish spatial structures that include three clusters. Clusters 1 and 2 are zones of intensive core reduction. Cluster 3 represents an area where activities exclusively associated with tool making and use took place. These new data reveal an example of the functional organization of Paleolithic workshops resulting from a variety of activities, not simply core reduction.

In the context of modern changes in Russian society associated with population migration and an increase in the cultural heterogeneity of society, it becomes necessary to create conditions for the interaction of young people of different ethnic groups and cultures. The article proposes a model of ethnocultural interaction of youth in the educational space, which is being tested on the basis of the Institute of Childhood of the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University. The purpose of the article is to substantiate and describe a model of ethnocultural interaction of youth in the educational space, which will allow minimizing intolerant manifestations in the youth environment, as well as allowing students to effectively interact in a multicultural space. Methodology. The modeling method and design approach were used. They made it possible to correlate the actual processes of ethnocultural interaction of young people in the educational space and the increase in ethnic culture among young people. The methodological basis of the research includes: approaches to defining the essence of ethnocultural interaction Yu.V. Harutyunyan, L.M. Drobizheva, N.M. Lebedeva, G.U. Soldatova, T.G. Stefanenko, A.A. Susokolova, O. I. Shkaratan, etc. Results. The research has shown that at present there is an objective need to implement the tasks of forming a culture of interethnic communication in the student environment. The proposed model, from the point of view of the authors, allows solving these problems. Conclusion. The tasks set in the study were solved. The results obtained can be used in the educational process of higher educational institutions.

The article is based on materials of ethnographic research among Ukrainians who live in the north of the Kulunda steppe (in the south of Western Siberia). onsidered are mythological images and plots about witches, mermaids, infernal dead (vampires), methods of protection from them. Differences were found among local groups of immigrants from the Kiev and Poltava provinces who arrived in Siberia at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. It was found that the image of a mermaid among the Kiev immigrants in Siberia coincides with the beliefs of the Polesie region. The differences are related to the peculiarities of ethnocultural traditions and folk beliefs of the original regions. These features can be markers of the ethnocultural identity of local groups of Siberian Ukrainians.

The article shows the process of forming the system of administrative structure of Northern Kazakhstan on the example of the territory of the former Kokchetav region of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. This region, which acts as a «mobile border» in different historical periods, is a frontier. The article shows the administrative-territorial transformations of the region as a whole, and on the example of individual districts

On the basis of field materials, local features were identified in the traditional food system of the residents of the village of Bolshemurly, depending on the natural and geographical environment, and the age composition of the population. As a result of comparing the food elements of the Tatars of this village and residents of other settlements of the Bolsherechensky district, the Tarsky and Sedelnikovsky districts of the Omsk region, common and distinctive features were revealed. It has been established that an important reason for differences in dishes and technologies is the specifics of the ethnic composition of the population of the village of Bolshemurly in the past.

The article introduces into scientific circulation materials on the state of some appropriating types of economic activity of the Yaskolba Tatars — collecting berries and cedar nuts, harvesting linden bast, as well as the production of bast and matting for sacks from it. As a result of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) Gathering was a source of plant food. In the second half of the 20th century, the Tatars began to collect more berries for sale in order to obtain additional funds. At the beginning of the 21th century. picking cranberries played an important role in the material support of the inhabitants of Zabolotye in the absence of permanent work. The collection of cedar nuts for food and for sale did not play a big role in the life support of the Yaskolbin Tatars due to the inconstancy of yields and the small number of cedars. 2) In the second half of the 19th century until the 1960s, the procurement of linden bast, as well as the production of bast and the manufacture of sacks brought the local residentsadditional cash income.

Siberia is an area of active interethnic, interreligious and intercultural contacts the most of which take place between Slavic and Turkic peoples. Despite the extraordinary diversity of their traditional and everyday culture, they have a lot in common in mentality and culture which got all-Siberian features, formed on a basis of the Russian language and culture. The religious, ethnic, linguistic and ethno-cultural identities of one person are often not similar, as well as self-determination and the real situation. We can conclude that Siberia is a place where a special version of the Eurasian identity is formed.

The article presents the results expeditionary studies of ethnographic collections of rural museums in the Omsk region.

The Anastasia movement (“Ringing Cedars of Russia”, the Anastasians) was born in Russia in the mid-1990s under the influence of the publication of V. Megre’s works. It developed from reading clubs and festivals to big projects of family estates and the form of political party. In the Altai region (Altai krai) we can registrate 12 settlements at different stages of formation. In religious studies, the anastasians are considered as the one of the new religious movements that is based on the ideology and practices related to Slavic neo-paganism. In Russian Ethnology/anthropology there are attempts to characterize the Anastasians in terms of subculture, as a community with a complex identity that includes a quasi-ethnic plane. Their culture is based on the natural peasant economy. The main concept of self-organization is the idea of family estates.

The work is devoted to the identification of ethnocultural characteristics and markers of ethnocultural identity of the unexplored group of Turochak, that is, the Old Believers living in the Turochak region ofthe Altai Republic. Based on the field materials collected by the author in 2020 in the village Kebezen (Turochak region of the Altai Republic). Some characteristic features of their culture are revealed. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of the recorded samples of traditional clothing. Traced the Some cultural relationship of the Turochak Old Believers with the Old Believers of the Uspenskaya and Srostinskaya volosts (the territory of the modern Choi region of the Altai Republic and the Krasnogorsk region of the Altai Territory) has been noted.

The article considers the materials of the archaeological excavations of the city of Tara as a source on the history of the accession of Western Siberia to the Russian state in the end of XVI–XVIII centuries. The analysis of finds testifying to the role of the city in the military, commercial, economic and cultural aspects of this process is given.

In 2017, after a long break, new excavations of the Tolbor-4 site in Northern Mongolia were carried out. As a result, a new stratigraphic section was obtained and the cultural sequence of cultural complexes was revealed. It was determined that the materials of the early Upper Paleolithic industries show a sequential evolution from the archaeological horizons 5b and 5a of the initial Upper Paleolithic, through the horizon of the Early Upper Paleolithic 4c / 5 to the final Early Upper Paleolithic / Middle Upper Paleolithic, horizon 4b. Here, there is a shift from the bipartite subprismatic splitting technology, typical of NVP, to get large and medium plates in the lower cultural stratigraphic unit of the archaeological horizon of the initial Upper Paleolithic 5b to small-plate unidirectional splitting of the final stage of the early Upper Paleolithic of horizon 4b. Based on a more detailed stratigraphic separation of the sediment thickness, the gradual formation of technological traditions of the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic of Northern Mongolia became clear.

This article presents the results from a study of the southern part of the Paleolithic site of Ushbulak, based on the evidence documented in test pit 5. The site is located in the Shilikty Valley (North-Eastern Kazakhstan) and was discovered in 2016. In 2016–2018, four test pits, a trench and two excavations were produced at the site. Test pit 5 is situated on the bank of a stream, 15 m south of excavation 2, in geomorphological conditions similar to those present in the latter. Archaeological excavations in the test pit were carried out in 2017 and 2018. Fieldresearch has made it possible to reveal a stratigraphic section that includes 5 layers, as well as a collection of archaeological finds (2,802 specimens). A comparative analysis of the sections shows that the lithological units recognized in test pit 5 have their counterparts in the layers from excavation 2. The primary flaking in the stone tool industry from test pit 5 appears to have been focused on producing blades in the context of parallel volumetric counter reduction. The tool assemblage includes end-scrapers, retouched blades, double burins, retouched points, knives, and truncated blades. Based on techno-typological characteristics, stone artifacts from test pit 5 are similar to the Initial Upper Paleolithic assemblages from excavation 2. This is corroborated by the fact that lithics indicative of the Initial Upper Paleolithic stone tool industries from South Siberia and northern Central Asia, such as points with a trimmed base, truncated faceted pieces, notched blades, and core-shaped burin, were found to be present in the archeological assemblage from test pit 5. The presence of evidence in the archeological assemblages and stratigraphy of test pit 5, showing a close analogy to that from excavation 2, confirmed that the southern part of the Ushbulak site has promising prospects for further study

The article presents the results of the research into the types of unshaped bone tools of the Paleolithic – bone retouchers found in the Pleistocene deposits of the Denisova Cave. For the first time, the article introduces into scientific use the retouchers of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic from the materials of excavations in the southern gallery and finds from faunistic collections, from the central hall of the cave obtained during the work of 1993–1998. The study showed that the Paleolithic inhabitants of the cave used fragments of diaphysis tubular bones of large mammals, the size of a horse, bison or rhino as the preparation for retouchers. In some cases, bone fragments have signs of additional processing in the form of longitudinal or transverse trimming, and also bear traces of scraping of the periosteum. The degree of utilization of retouchers varies from low to high, when the working area of the tool shows continuous microflaking. It has been found out that the bone retouchers from layers 21 and 19 in the Main Chamber are currently the oldest in North and Central Asia. The discovery of the Initial Upper Paleolithic bone retouchers in layer 11 indicates a technological continuity n the use of bone during the process of secondary lithic reduction.

The paper presents the results of a study of 20 fibulae and their fragments from Karakabak, the largest settlement of this period in the Aral-Caspian region (Tupkaragan district, Mangystau region, Republic of Kazakhstan). This settlement, with finds of coins of the 3rd – 5th centuries, was located on a fortified rocky remnant and represented an important trade and craft center on the Trans-Eurasian routes. The published findings were identified by the authors using the system of A.K. Ambrose with additional information from new studies, including the ones conducted by the authors. Fibulae 1–3 have been classified as series I (2nd half of 2nd – 1st half of 3rd centuries) and II (3rd – early 4th centuries) of the group 11. Fibula 4 belongs to the group 13 (without a narrow date). Fibulae 5–6 have been classified as series I of the subgroup 3 of the group 16 (mid–4th – 6th centuries). Fibula 7 is unique and could not be used for fastening clothes. Fibulae 8–20 belong to II subgroup of the group 21, and have a single-piece thin sheet body (5th – 1st half of 6th centuries). Most analyzed fibulae reflect contacts with the North Caucasus, and relations with the Southern Urals. Apparently, the carriers of these traditions were present among the population of Karakabak.

Относительно хорошая сохранность культурных отложений памятника Толбор-21 способствовала изучению планиграфии горизонтов верхнего палеолита. В статье представлены результаты пространственного анализа этих материалов с помощью кластеризации. Благодаря учету всех трех координат каждой находки кластеризация прослеживает вертикальное распределение находок, обнаруживает выбросы из основного горизонта концентрации. Это дает возможность выделить участки нарушений культурного горизонта, а также отделить наложенные друг на друга комплексы. Сравнительный анализ состава кластеров позволил сопоставить их между собой и в некоторых случаях выделить функциональные зоны. В раскопе 1 был идентифицирован горизонт 3B, который ранее не выделялся на этом участке. Полученные результаты были сопоставлены с выводами предшествующего исследования (в частности, анализа направлений). Таким образом, определены возможности иерархического алгоритма кластеризации для пространственного исследования культурных отложений., The relatively good preservation of cultural deposits of the Tolbor-21 site contributed to the study of the planigraphy of the Upper Paleolithic horizons. The article presents the results of spatial analysis of these materials using clustering. Taking into account all three coordinates of each find, clustering traces the vertical distribution of finds, detects outliers from the main concentration horizon. This makes it possible to highlight areas of cultural horizon disturbances, and separate complexes superimposed on each other. A comparative analysis of the composition of the clusters made it possible to compare them with each other and, in some cases, to distinguish functional zones. In excavation 1, horizon 3B was identified, which had not previously stood out in the area. The results were compared with the conclusions of a previous study (in particular, the analysis of directions). Thus, the possibilities of a hierarchical clustering algorithm for spatial study of cultural deposits are determined.