The Ustinovka Complex encompasses a number of sites located in the Ilistaya River Valley (western Primorye) and in the Zerkalnaya River Valley (eastern Primorye) that are grouped under one complex based on the presence of pressure microblade technology, and to their close age range. So far, the few techno-typological differences observed in both regions have primarily been considered to be a consequence of the different types of raw material locally available.

We have tried to understand to what extent locally available raw material may have exerted influence over the technological particularities of each region. Raw material availability, in both western and eastern Primorye, had an obvious impact on the lithic toolkit. However, we suspect that the regional specificities of raw material cannot explain all of the technological differences observed within the complex.

Although the influence of the nature of raw material on the lithic toolkit has already been noted, how exactly raw material affects technology has as not yet been fully described. It is the purpose of this article to examine what differences are not necessarily caused by the raw material, thereby revealing technological and cultural choices.

Grouping the Palaeolithic microblade sites from the Ilistaya River Valley and those from the Zerkalnaya River Valley within the Ustinovka Complex might not be representative of the archaeological reality of late Palaeolithic of Primorye. Indeed, some elements revealed by the technological analysis actually suggest the opposite: that the two regional clusters of sites might not correspond to the same complex.