THE LITHIC INDUSTRY FROM THE SITE OF KOBULETI
Authors: Manko V. O. , Chkhatarashvіlі G. L. 
Published: April 2021

The Kobuleti site is located on the territory of the Kobuleti village in Adjara (Georgia). The site was discovered on the cape of the left bank of the Kintrishi River. The cape formed by two ravines occupied the area ca. 50 Ч 50 m, towering 16—25 m above the river level. The site height above the sea level is 60 m. The cape is composed of basalt rocks, only its upper part is associated with sediments of a pack of paleosoils.
Geographically the site is connected with the Colchis Plain which occupies the part of coastal territory. The Kintrishi River flows along the southern part of the plain at the very border with the foothills. Currently the Colchis Plain is associated with a subtropical climate zone but this does not mean that the climate was the same at the beginning of the Holocene when the site was abandoned. At the beginning of the Holocene the territory of Western Georgia had a rather temperate climate where coniferous species of trees including fir, spruce, and pine were widespread.
The inhabitants of the site, therefore, chose a strategically important place for settlement, only 20 km from the sea coast, on the banks of the river flowing into the Black Sea, on the border of two landscape zones of the plain and foothills.
In total, 1529 artifacts have been found, including 911 made of flint and 618 made of obsidian.
The technique of blanks removal is focused on obtaining blades and microblades by manual pressing method. Findings of round tablets are also associated with the same cores, with the negatives of removing flakes to correct the working platform.
In general, we can say that flint knapping occurred mainly outside the site. This is evidenced by the ratio of blades and flakes. There are almost three times more blades than flakes. This circumstance suggests that the site was visited sporadically, that the base camp of visitors was situated in a different place.
The complex has 257 tools. The most numerous are retouching blades, bladelets, and microblades and their segments. Mostly, such products have a small semiflat retouch along the edges, but there are also products with alternative retouching. There are blades with notches. Marked products with single wide notches and products with 2—3 edge notches.
Burins also are represented in a large series. Burins show a great typological diversity. There are burins on truncated facetted blades, including bilateral burins. There are many angle burins on broken blades. Often, such blades are double. There is a symmetrical dihedral burin. All of the listed burins are made on blades. All transverse and dihedral angle burins are made on flakes. There is one combined tool: burin on truncated facetted blade — the endscraper.
Scrapers are very few in comparison with burins. All of them are made on flakes, they are the endscrapers. There is a series of chisels on massive segments of blades and on flakes. Probably, some retouched flakes were used as scrapers and chisels.
Truncated facetted blades are found, including oblique truncated facetted blades and oblique truncated facetted blade with a negative of microburins spall. A fairly representative complex associated with hunting weapons. This is a series of bladelets and microblades with abrupt retouch.
In general, the typology of the assemblage indicates that the site was used as temporary hunting camp where a minimal number of production activities were carried out.