Chertovy Vorota Cave

Chertovy Vorota Cave

Пещера Чертовы Ворота
Shown within Primorsky Krai Chertovy Vorota Cave (Far Eastern Federal District) Chertovy Vorota Cave (Russia)
Alternative name	Devil’s Gate Cave
Location	Primorsky Krai, Russia
Region	Sikhote-Alin
Coordinates	44°29′N 135°23′E
Altitude	660 m (2,165 ft)
Type	karst cave
Length	132 m (433 ft)
Width	10 m (33 ft)
Area	730 m2 (7,858 sq ft)
Volume	2,950 m3 (104,178 cu ft)
Height	16 m (52 ft)
History
Founded	ca. 9,400 BP
Abandoned	ca. 7,200 BP
Periods	Neolithic
Cultures	Rudninskaya (Rudnaya) culture
Site notes
Excavation dates	1973
Archaeologists	Zhanna Vasilievna Andreeva

Chertovy Vorota Cave is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the Sikhote-Alin mountains, about 12 km (7 mi) from the town of Dalnegorsk in Primorsky Krai, Russia. The karst cave is located on a limestone cliff and lies about 35 m (115 ft) above the Krivaya River, a tributary of the Rudnaya River, below. Chertovy Vorota provides secure evidence for some of the oldest surviving textiles found in the archaeological record.

Description

The cave consists of a main chamber, measuring around 45 m (148 ft) in length, and several smaller galleries behind it. The site was looted several times before the first archaeological excavations were performed in 1973. Around 600 lithic, osteological and shell artefacts, 700 pottery fragments, and over 700 animal bones were recovered from the site. A .6 cm thick jade disk made from brownish-green jade and measuring 5.2 cm (2 in) in diameter was also recovered from Chertovy Vorota.

The remains of racoon dog, brown bear, Asian black bear, wild boar, badger, red deer, fish and mollusc shells were found inside the cave.

Diet

Isotopic analysis shows that the people of Chertovy Vorota likely derived their protein from a mix of terrestrial and maritime sources; around 25% of their dietary protein appears to have been derived from maritime resources, most likely from anadromous salmon. The people of Chertovy Vorota likely hunted terrestrial mammals, collected nuts and fished salmon to provide for their food needs.

Ancient textiles

The remains of carbonized textile fragments were found within the cave, under the remains of a wooden structure that had caught on fire and collapsed. The carbonized remains of rope, nets, and woven fabrics were recovered from the cave. The fibers likely came from Carex sordida, a sedge grass from the Cyperaceae family. The textile remains were directly dated to around 9400-8400 BP, the earliest evidence in the archaeological record for textile remains from East Asia. As spindle whorls were not found in the cave, and also rarely found in contemporary East Asian sites, archaeologists postulate that the people at Chertovy Vorota either produced their textiles by hand or through the use of warp-weighted looms.

Human remains

The remains of 7 individuals were discovered within the cave. The skulls of two of the individuals, DevilsGate1 and DevilsGate2, were directly dated to around 5726-5622 BC.

Archaeogenetics

The remains of 5 of the individuals were DNA tested. Originally thought to be male, DNA testing revealed that DevilsGate5 is actually female; DNA testing also confirmed that DevilsGate1 is female, as originally believed. DevilsGate1 belongs to mtDNA Haplogroup D4, while DevilsGate2 belongs to mtDNA Haplogroup M.

When compared against all populations on record, ancient or modern, the ancient Chertovy Vorota individuals were found to be genetically closest to contemporary speakers of Tungusic languages from the Amur Basin. The ancient Chertovy Vorota individuals are genetically closest to the Ulchi, followed by the Oroqen and Hezhen. The genetic distance from the ancient Chertovy Vorota individuals to Mal'ta boy is the same as that from modern East Asian populations to Mal'ta boy.

With the exception of DevilsGate1, most of the individuals tested did not yield enough DNA to allow for phenotypic testing of traits. DevilsGate1 did not carry the derived SLC45A2 or SLC24A5 alleles associated with lighter skin color, the derived HERC2 allele associated with blue eyes, the derived LT allele associated with lactase persistence, or the derived ALDH2 allele associated with the alcohol flush reaction. However, the individual likely did carry the derived EDAR allele commonly found in modern East Asian populations, the derived ABCC11 allele associated with dry earwax and reduced body odor commonly found in modern East Asian populations, and the derived ADD1 allele associated with increased risk for hypertension.

References

Bibliography

• Kuzmin, Yaroslav V. (1997). "Vertebrate Animal Remains from Prehistoric and Medieval Settlements in Primorye (Russian Far East)". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 7 (2): 172–180. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1212(199703)7:2<172::AID-OA333>3.0.CO;2-1. ISSN 1047-482X. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kuzmin, Yaroslav V.; Richards, Michael P.; Yoneda, Minoru (2002). "Palaeodietary Patterning and Radiocarbon Dating of Neolithic Populations in the Primorye Province, Russian Far East". Ancient Biomolecules. 4 (2): 53–58. doi:10.1080/1358612021000010695. ISSN 1358-6122. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kuzmin, Yaroslav V.; Keally, Charles T.; Jull, A.J. Timothy; Burr, George S.; Klyuev, Nikolai A. (2012). "The earliest surviving textiles in East Asia from Chertovy Vorota Cave, Primorye Province, Russian Far East". Antiquity. 86 (332): 325–337. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00062797. ISSN 0003-598X. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Siska, Veronika; Jones, Eppie Ruth; Jeon, Sungwon; Bhak, Youngjune; Kim, Hak-Min; Cho, Yun Sung; Kim, Hyunho; Lee, Kyusang; Veselovskaya, Elizaveta; Balueva, Tatiana; Gallego-Llorente, Marcos; Hofreiter, Michael; Bradley, Daniel G.; Eriksson, Anders; Pinhasi, Ron; Bhak, Jong; Manica, Andrea (2017). "Genome-wide data from two early Neolithic East Asian individuals dating to 7700 years ago". Science Advances. 3 (2). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601877. ISSN 2375-2548. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Yang, Hu (2007). Jades in East Asia: Jades of the Xinglongwa culture. Chinese University of Hong Kong. ISBN 978-962-85303-5-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)