Amazing stuff!
"... prehistoric sites associated with the Early, Middle, and Late Paleolithic in Tsakhiurtyn Hundi … were discovered at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries ... The site owes its name to the presence of numerous flint outcrops and an incalculable number of flint artifacts. It is one of the most extensive prehistoric sites in Central Asia. ...
The Baruun Khuree [paleolake] sites are therefore associated with one of the earliest securely dated episodes of the Holocene hunter-gatherers' activities in the Gobi desert. ...
Additionally, the dates provide new insights into the precise timing of the arrival of the pottery into Mongolia. ...
From previous research, it was believed that the earliest pottery reached Mongolia around 9,600 cal BP. However, the Baruun Khuree pottery, which was found in the immediate context of the hearths, is almost 2,000 years older than previously thought. ...
Chronologically, they correspond, for example, to early dates for pottery from northern China," ..."
From the abstract:
"We report a set of radiocarbon dating of prehistoric settlements located on the paleolake Baruun Khuree shores in the Gobi-Altai area, southern Mongolia. The obtained series of 11 AMS 14C measurements on charcoal and other charred plant macro-remains can be associated with one of the earliest episodes of the Holocene highly mobile desert-adapted hunter-gatherers activities from the Gobi desert (ca. 11,250–10,500 cal BP).
Exploiting a wide range of environments, including dune fields, they are characterized by pottery usage and microblade core technology with wedge-shaped cores as well as osteological materials.
These preliminary results are part of a project analyzing the nature of long-lasting prehistoric occupation around Tsakhiurtyn Hundi (Eng. Flint Valley)—one of the most extensive early prehistoric sites of Central Asia owing its name to the presence of abundant flint outcrops, lithic workshops and their innumerable flint artifacts."
Figure 2. Aerial picture of the Baruun Khuree paleolake, with the location of sites FV133, FV134 and FV139 marked
Figure 4. Baruun Khuree. Trench FV 139 B—bottom of layer 1 (0–10 cm). Pottery from feature 3 (pit within the hearth), recorded 10 cm deeper
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