Abstract
Abstract
This article aims to demonstrate a broadly similar Middle Palaeolithic settlement pattern that we have identified in two closely located site clusters in Transcarpathian Ukraine. These include MIS 5a Levallois-Mousterian and MIS 4 Quina-type Mousterian industries, each situated near different lithic raw material sources. The lithic artifacts from Horizon III (Levallois-Mousterian) and Horizon II (Quina-type Mousterian) at the Korolevo I site complex, located at a hyalodacite source, exhibit ‘living site’ characteristics. The lithics from the Cherna I site (Levallois-Mousterian) and the Korolevo II and Ruban sites (Quina-type Mousterian), situated near siliceous sandstone sources, reflect characteristics of ‘site-workshops.’ The distance between the hyalodacite and siliceous sandstone site clusters is approximately 0.3–5 km. A notable feature of this settlement pattern is the consistent presence of siliceous sandstone artifacts from the ‘site-workshops’ at the hyalodacite-based ‘living sites,’ but not the reverse. This pattern is evident across two industrially and geochronologically distinct Middle Palaeolithic industries. The newly recognized regional settlement pattern is supported by detailed data from both site clusters in Transcarpathia, within the Carpathian Basin of East-Central Europe.