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The search for earlier evidence of maritime adaptations in the Russian
Far East has been the subject of geoarchaeological investigations. The dog
salmon bones from layer 6 of the Ushki site cluster (Kamchatka Peninsula),
dating to ca. 10.900-10.400 years BP, is the earliest direct evidence of the
exploitation of marine resources in the Russian Far East. During the Neolithic,
the use of marine resources increased significantly. In the Chertovy Vorota
complex (ca. 6900-7000 BP) of central Primorye Province, salmonid bones were
identified, along with stable isotope data on human remains that also suggest the
consumption of anadromous fish. The Boisman 2 site in southern Primorye
represents the earliest evidences of shellfish gathering and pinniped hunting,
and is dated to ca. 5800 BP. The exploitation of marine resources continued
into the Late Neolithic of the Primorye and Sakhalin Island (Zaisanovka and
Aniva complexes). Nevertheless, some problems in the study of the origins of
maritime adaptation in the Russian Far East still exist. For example, the
utilization of anadromous species during the late Upper Paleolithic (Ustinovka
complex, ca. 15,000-10,000 BP) and Early Neolithic (Ustinovka 3 site, ca. 9000
BP) in the Zerkalnaya River basin in central Primorye have been proposed. The
Zerkalnaya River sites are located 25-30 km from the seacoast, and support for the
seasonal use of salmon has been based on stone tool typology and site location.
However, no fish remains were recovered during the 50 years of excavations.
Therefore, the proposition that there was a cultural pattern emphasizing the use
of marine resources during the Final Pleistocene of the Russian Far East has
been solely derived from indirect evidence. Until there is better evidence, the
question of whether marine resources were utilized during the Final Pleistocene
of the Russian Far East must remain, as yet, unresolved.
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