Пещера Окладникова | |
Alternative name | Sibiryachikha |
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Location | Soloneshensky District, Altai Krai, Russia |
Region | Anuy Basin, Altai-Sayan region |
Coordinates | 51°40′N 84°20′E / 51.667°N 84.333°E |
Altitude | 350 or 650 m (1,148 or 2,133 ft)[1][2] |
Type | limestone cave |
Length | 35 metres (115 ft) |
History | |
Founded | ca. 45,000 BP |
Abandoned | ca. 38,000 BP |
Periods | Paleolithic |
Cultures | Mousterian |
Associated with | Neanderthals |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1984-1987 |
Okladnikov Cave (Russian: пещера Окладникова) is a paleoanthropological site located in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in Soloneshensky District, Altai Krai in southern Siberia, Russia. The cave faces south and is located on a Devonian karst escarpment, lying about 14 metres (46 ft) above the left bank of the Sibiryachikha River valley below; the river itself is a tributary of the Anuy River.[2][3]
Okladnikov Cave is one of the most extensively studied Paleolithic sites in the Altai-Sayan region. A rich Mousterian stone industry, dating to between 33,000 and 44,000 years ago, was discovered, as well as several highly fragmented hominin fossils. Along with a few other Neanderthal sites in the Altai-Sayan region, Okladnikov Cave contains fossil evidence for the most easterly confirmed site with Neanderthal presence.