ODONTOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM THE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC LAYERS OF ALTAI CAVES* The paper presents a summary of odontological materials from the Middle Paleolithic layers in the Okladnikov and Chagyrskaya caves (Altai). Separate teeth of individuals of different ages were studied. New finds from the Chagyr cave, in particular, a fragment of the lower jaw with preserved teeth, reveal a Neanderthal complex of odontological features: anterior fossa, epicristid on the lower molars, metaconid and crest on the premolars. According to odontology data, the intermediate position of the Altai Neanderthals between other Eurasian Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, which was previously identified by morphological features of the skeleton, is noted. Key words: Neanderthals, Gorny Altai, odontology, anthropology. Introduction Middle Paleolithic materials reflecting the Neanderthal culture were discovered by Siberian archaeologists in the Okladnikov and Chagyrskaya caves in the low mountains of Northwestern Altai. Okladnikov Cave (formerly known informally as Sibiryachikha, after a nearby settlement) was discovered as an archaeological site in 1984 by A. P. Derevyanko and V. I. Molodin. In the same year, V. T. Petrin's excavations in the cave revealed scattered postcranial remains and several teeth belonging to individuals of different ages (layers 2, 3, and 7). Since 1984, the cave has been an object of archaeological research using various modern methods. The archaeological industry found in the cave differed from materials from other sites in the Altai and Siberia by the presence of a musteroid complex of tools designed for butchering and processing animal carcasses of certain megafauna species. Thus, the cultural layers of the cave corresponded to sites of the type of hunting camps of the Moutier (Neanderthal) man (Derevyanko and Markin, 1992). According to the results of uranium and radiocarbon dating, all kulyu-bearing horizons belong to 45 ^ 10 Ka BP (Derevyanko, 2011). ... Read more