MESOLITHIZATION OF LOWER DANUBE - LOWER DNISTER INTERFLUVE IN THE LIGHT OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS THEORY

Stone Age archaeology shows impressive variety of approaches to definition of Mesolithic based on typological, technological, behavioral (first of all, in the field of food procurement and food sharing strategies) and other criteria. Recent trend in this sphere is connected with growth of importance of ecological interpretation of Mesolithic, proponents of which tend to view it as post-glacial phase of hunter-gatherers societies evolution and underline reasonability of correlation between climatic and paleogeographic boundaries of Final Pleistocene – Early Holocene with main phases of human culture and technology development. Task of current contribution is to verify relevancy of the latter hypothesis for the case of peculiar living space in frame of North-Western Black Sea region: Lower Dnister – Lower Danube interfluve. Transition to Mesolithic in this niche is connected with the origin of Belolesie tool production tradition, transmitters of which had manage to develop the most diversified (as for the Black and Azov Steppe zone) livelihood structures consisted of animal bone remains, fireplaces, tool-production remnants and, probably, tents explored by approximately 20-25 individuals during at least of 3 months at warm period of year. In the context of theory of ecological crisis at North-Western part of Black Sea region caused by sea level change on the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary special importance gains the fact that morphology of flint artifacts of Belolesie was very similar to ones made by inhabitants of Dobrudja region and adjacent territories of contemporary Romania. Moving here after the aurochs which was their main hunting game, newcomers (as well as the animals) had to overpass Lower Danube delta and its flow. As far as no traces of river navigation devices have been found in Belolesie, correlation between history of Lower Danube delta and Black Sea shoreline at its neighborhood would help to detect time spans on Pleistocene-Holocene boundary at which the river was passable. These data should be viewed as the reliable source for more precise definition of Belolesie date which enables to view Mesolithization of this region in wider environmental and paleogeographical context.