Correction to: Occupying Cave-Sites: A Case Study from Azokh 1 Cave (Southern Caucasus) (original) (raw)
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2014
Azokh Cave is a Middle Pleistocene to Holocene site located in Nagorno Karabagh (Lesser Caucasus). The main entrance, Azokh 1, is a large cave that has two geological sequences (lower and upper) with nine geo-archaeological units of which only the upper ones (Units I to V) have a significant archaeological record. The faunal remains and lithic artefacts in these units indicate aspects of human occupation, and exploitation of, and association with animals. The lithic artefacts presented here were recovered from Units V, III and II during the 2002-2009 excavation seasons. The available chronological data indicates an age between 293-100 Ka for these units. The operational chain is incomplete and artefacts found in the cave are primarily endproducts dominated by flake-tools. The assemblage of Unit V is composed primarily of simple, unretouched flakes with a minimal presence of retouched flakes and cores. The Unit II lithic assemblage includes a substantial Levallois component, although with fewer cores and retouched flakes. There are very few flake tools in Unit III. While it is still difficult to assign the Unit V assemblage to a techno-typological group or complex (i.e. Acheulean, Mousterian or other local techno-complexes such as the Kudarian), the Unit II assemblage is clearly associated with Mode 3 or the Mousterian techno-complex. Different local and non-local raw materials were exploited in all units for the production of lithic artefacts, although the range of raw materials is more varied in Unit II. Local chert, flint and basalt were used most commonly, probably due to their easy accessibility. Limestone, jasper and sandstone, from local and non-local sources, are present in small quantities in Units V and II. Obsidian is the only raw material that possibly originates from more distant sources. Flint and chert appear to have been preferentially exploited for flake tool production in all units, but the toolmakers show a preference for better quality raw material (flint, basalt, obsidian) for retouched pieces in Units V and II, and for Levallois production in Unit II. 34 L. Asryan et al.
2021
This special issue of Neo-Lithics on the 13 th season of the Ba`ja Neolithic Project, or the 3 rd season of the Household and Dead in Ba`ja-Project (www.bajahouseholdanddeath.de), serves as an example for a new Neo-Lithics format of online interim reports off ered by the board of Neo-Lithics and ex oriente (authors will get a high-resolution pdf, if they wish to print it and are free to redistribute these reports without any restrictions). This new format aims to fi ll a need and an existing gap for extensive preliminary reports, in the form of interim reports. At their best, interim reports should summarise more than one excavation season. Three reasons appear important to fi ll this gap: fi rst, it is diffi cult for review journals to evaluate and thus accept reports with preliminary or interim results. Second, fi nal publications are often massively delayed, while brevity requirements of previous ordinary preliminary reports did not provide enough space for detailed presentations. In such cases, when years have gone by, the non-availability of more detailed preliminary information may damage ongoing research (however, we can assure you that for the current Household and Dead in Ba`ja-Project this reason doesn't count, since we are already working on the fi nal publication with a tight schedule). And lastly, there exists a "soft" aim to publish interim reports-they are an early internal and transdisciplinarily active means in a team's evaluation work to guide and set common lines of interpretation, to fi nd a shared language and epistemic standards, and to fi x incorporation policies and the corporate spirit of a project. This issue's interim report is a good example for that: it presents interpretation at a higher level compared to preliminary reports, it assists the transdisciplinarity and corporateness of ongoing research for a fi nal publication, and it presents an early and more detailed understanding of fi ndings to the Neolithic research family. Since 2020, the cover of Neo-Lithics has received a "facelifting" designed by M. Renger, based on the traditional background once mounted 1994 by H.G.K. Gebel and A. Gopher. We invite all colleagues to consider these arguments by which we encourage more interim reports.
2020
Books on chipped-stone assemblages are not a frequent event in the scientific discourse of the Balkans. This is the first reason this luxury book cannot be omitted. Another is the fact that the book presents part of the exceptionally rich lithic inventory of the well-known multilayer settlement of Mǎgura Gorgana Tell. The most recent achievement of the Pietrele project is the publication of the chipped-stone assemblages from the Chalcolithic layers. The book summarizes the results of a long and continuous study of these assemblages, thus compiling and completing the regular reports of its authors to the Eurasia Antiqua periodical. The text is structured in 12 parts-not necessarily chapters (incl. Introduction, Discussion, Conclusions and a chapter written by Ch. Nachev) consisting, in total, of 68 pages of text. An abstract, bibliography and 85 plates of drawings are presented after the main text. There are high quality colour photographs providing adequate visibility of features such as morphology and raw material of the artefacts, as well as numerous graphs and tables with statistical data aiming to facilitate the reading and comprehension of the text (fig. 1) The Introduction defines the book as an "interdisciplinary study of the techno-typological and functional characteristics and examination of the raw material system of procurement and supply of the blade technology in the Lower Danube area..."(p. 1). This statement (omitting the ambiguous use of 'procurement and supply' which should refer to the raw material and not to the blade technology) provokes big expectations in the readers. Moreover, it is asserted that the assemblages are analyzed in synchronic and diachronic aspects i.e.: i) in comparison with Chalcolithic assemblages from parts of Bulgaria and ii) as correlation between Neolithic and Chalcolithic inventories within the Tell itself (p. 1). Last but not least, the authors affirm a re-examination of the entire lithic material (i.e. re-assessment of their previous (!) study) with the invaluable help of J. Pelegrin, who worked on the site for a couple of seasons (p. 2). The introduction offers a comparative chronological table of four Balkan countries and Turkey but unfortunately does not contain a map of the site in its regional context, or any planigraphic or stratigraphic scheme which would be very useful (if not obligatory!) for the concrete study. Chapter 2 provides the methods of research with a short description of six categories of artefacts, which had been recorded, analyzed and interpreted. The list starts with a newly distinct cat
Archaeological Investigations in a Northern Albanian Province: Results of the Projekti Arkeologjik i Shkodres (PASH): Volume Two: Artifacts and Artifact Analysis, 2023
This chapter aims to present the lithic assemblages from the PASH survey region. The first lithic artifact from an archaeological context in Albania was discovered in one of the Shtoj tumuli by Theodor Ippen, an Austro-Hungarian diplomat stationed in Shkodra (Ippen 1902:210). This discovery falls within PASH Zone 2. However, focused work on lithic finds from the area did not commence until the 1980s. A significant contribution towards such studies was made by Anton Fistani, who began his scientific career in the field of biochemistry (Fistani 1976, 1977, 1979a, 1979b, 1979c, 1980, 1981a, 1981b, 1983a; Fistani and Ilirjana 1989), and later became a self-taught paleontologist and archaeologist. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Fistani identified, through surveys and excavations, a number of sites, such as Gajtan, Baran, Bleran, Shiroka, and Rragam, which ranged in date from the Lower to the Upper Paleolithic. He was passionately dedicated to his work and published a large number of articles, both for the scientific community and for the wider public (Fistani 1982a, 1982b, 1983b, 1983c, 1984a, 1984b, 1984c, 1985a, 1985b, 1985c, 1985d, 1986a, 1986b, 1986c, 1987b, 1987c, 1987d, 1987e, 1987f, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1988d, 1988e, 1989a, 1989b, 1989c, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c, 1990d, 1993a, 1993b, 1993c, 1994, 1995a, 1995b, 1997; Fistani and Crégut-Bonnoure 1993). In addition, in the early 1980s, Albanian prehistorian Bep Jubani discovered the Shpella e Hudhrës (PASH Site 004), which he dated to the Mesolithic (Jubani 1984:127, 1991:231–232). Despite the great potential of the region for lithic studies, as demonstrated by Fistani’s pioneering work, no further research on lithic artifacts was conducted in the region until PASH.
Ab stract The in dus try from Mez mais kaya Cave layer 1C is the only se curely dated Early Up per Pa leo lithic (EUP) as sem blage in the north ern Cau ca sus. Ten ra dio met ric (mostly AMS) dates have been ob tained for the Up per Pa leo lithic lay ers 1A, 1B, and 1C dis cov ered in 1997, and span a rela tively short time in ter val at the be gin ning of the Up per Pa leo lithic, from 28,510 ± 850 [un cali brated, AA-41855] in 1A to 36,100 ± 2300 BP [un cali brated, AA-1856] in 1C. Fau nal analy sis in dicates a con tin ued re li ance on ca prids (Ca pra cau ca sica and Ovis ori en ta lis), and to a lesser ex tent, bi son (Bi son pris cus) in pro por tions simi lar to the Late Mid dle Pa leo lithic at the site. This con trasts with the heav ier ex ploi ta tion of bi son dur ing the ear lier Mid dle Pa leo lithic, and sug gests a shift in prey avail abil ity rather than a change in for ag ing ca pa bil ity. De spite the ap par ent con ti nu ity of for ag ing strat egy, the lithic in dus try of layer 1C in di cates the pene tra tion of a new wave of in nova tion into the North ern Cau ca sus right at the be gin ning of the Up per Pa leo lithic. This in dus try is dis tin guished by a highly de vel oped blade tech nol ogy re sult ing in a high pro por tion of bla de lets, and the pres ence of crested blades and core tab lets. Backed blades and bla de lets pre domi nate, as well as a number of dif fer ent points made on blades and bla de lets. Among EUP as sem blages, Mez mais kaya Cave layer 1C has more simi lari ties in highly de vel oped bla de let tech nol ogy and gen eral ty pologi cal com po si tion with the Ah mar ian of West ern Asia.
2024
The dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia during MIS 3 in the Late Pleistocene is marked by technological shifts and other behavioral changes, known in the archaeological record under the term of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP). Bacho Kiro Cave in north Bulgaria, re-excavated by us from 2015 to 2021, is one of the reference sites for this phenomenon. The newly excavated lithic assemblages dated by radiocarbon between 45,040 and 43,280 cal BP and attributed to Homo sapiens encompass more than two thousand lithic artifacts. The lithics, primarily from Layer N1-I, exist amid diverse fauna remains, human fossils, pierced animal teeth pendants, and sediment with high organic content. This article focuses on the technological aspects of the IUP lithics, covering raw material origin and use-life, blank production, on-site knapping activities, re-flaking of lithic implements, and the state of retouched lithic components. We apply petrography for the identification of silicites and other used stones. We employ chaîne opératoire and reduction sequence approaches to profile the lithics techno-typologically and explore the lithic economy, particularly blade production methods, knapping techniques, and artifact curation. Raw material analysis reveals Lower Cretaceous flints from Ludogorie and Upper Cretaceous flints from the Danube region, up to 190 km and 130 km, respectively, from Bacho Kiro Cave, indicating long-distance mobility and finished products transport. Imported lithic implements, were a result of unidirectional and bidirectional non-Levallois laminar technology, likely of volumetric concept. Systematic on-anvil techniques (bipolar knapping) and tool segmentation indicate re-flaking and reshaping of lithic implements, reflecting on-site curation and multifaceted lithic economy. A limited comparison with other IUP sites reveals certain shared features and also regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia.
Early Levallois Technology and the Lower to Middle Paleolithic Transition in the Southern Caucasus
Databases S1 and S2 Materials and Methods Excavation History of NG1 NG1 was discovered during a walkover survey of the middle Hrazdan Gorge in June 2008. The site is exposed over a 135m length in a road bulldozed by the Armenian military from their base immediately above the site. Obsidian artifacts were encountered as in situ finds in the exposed fine-grained alluvial sequence, as ex situ finds at the base of the stratigraphic section and in the road, and as slope finds that were pushed over the edge of the road when the in situ sediments were truncated by bulldozing. The quantity of artifacts, their provenance within a palaeosol and the technology used to produce them suggested that NG1 was a site worthy of detailed study. Excavations were carried out for seven weeks in June-July 2008 and 2009 in order to a) recover a statistically meaningful sample of lithic artifacts, b) to determine whether hominin activities were restricted to particular loci or spread homogenously across the exposed stratigraphic section, and c) collect a full spectrum of samples for palaeoenvironmental and chronometric investigation. The excavations were directed by D.S. Adler and B. Yeritsyan, and labor was provided by experienced graduate students and undergraduate students enrolled in the University of Connecticut's Field School in Armenian Prehistory, directed by D.S. Adler. Geological Context The alluvial sediments containing the NG1 archaeological site are bounded at their upper and lower contacts by basaltic trachyandesites that originated as lava flows from the Gegham range, a chain of circa 100 Late Miocene, Pliocene (but see 39), and Quaternary volcanoes to the east of the site (Fig. S1) (27, 28). The upper basaltic trachyandesite (Basalt 1) is the last lava produced by the Mensakar volcano and has been mapped over a distance of 24 km in the central and lower parts of the Hrazdan Gorge. The lower lava (Basalt 7) probably also has its origins in either Mensakar or Gutanasar, but as it is buried by Basalt 1, it can only be seen in the walls of the Hrazdan Gorge over a 11-km distance. Seven further basalts underlying Basalt 1 were mapped during a geomorphological survey carried out in the central Hrazdan Gorge in 2009, all originating from volcanoes of the Gegham range. These basalts are locally interbedded with alluvial and lacustrine deposits, but so far Paleolithic artifacts have only been found in the uppermost of these sealed sediment beds at NG1. The Quaternary lava flows were constrained within the Hrazdan Gorge by Early Pleistocene lacustrine and volcano-lacustrine deposits on their western side (40, 41) and by Late Miocene-Early Pliocene andesite lavas (Kaputan Formation) and Upper Pliocene basalt to the East (26, 27). The Pleistocene-Miocene lava sequence sits, in turn on deposits of the Zangian Formation, a body of marine sands and clays with a mollusk fauna indicating an origin in the Caspian Sea and dating to the middle Miocene (42, 624-629). Prior to our study the chronology of the Gegham basaltic lavas was known as a result of 40 K/ 40 Ar and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of basaltic trachyandesites from the Aknotsasar, Mensakar, Gutanasar, Hatis, Lodochnikov and Sevkatar volcanoes. Ages of between 550 and 70 ka have been reported (27, 28). Fission track (FT) dating of obsidian in rhyolite-perlite flows from the Alapars and Fantan domes, and the Djraber extrusion to the west of the Gutanasar volcano has produced results between 210-330 ka, while obsidian dikes from the Hatis volcano have been FT dated to the range 210-400 ka (43, 26, 377). Given that these obsidians are the raw material for the NG1 artifacts, the chronological data might suggest that the rhyolitic volcanism was active at the time of hominin activity. There is, however, some disagreement on the flow chronology. Obsidians from dikes in the Hatis volcano dated by both 40 K/ 40 Ar and FT have produced ages of 650 ka and 330 ka, respectively (44, 45), while FT dates from obsidians throughout the Gutanasar complex principally cluster circa 310 ± 30 ka (43, 44). In contrast Fantan obsidian was 40 K/ 40 Ar dated to 480 ± 50 ka. Thus, fundamental chronological debates remain, which we intend to address in the next phase of our work. Stratigraphy, Micromorphology, and Mineralogy Sedimentology Two columns of bulk samples were collected as continuous 5cm-thick blocks from the NG1 alluvial sequence in 2008 and 2011 and transported to the University of Winchester for laboratory study. Both sets of samples were initially air dried at 40 o C and homogenized using a mortar and pestle. The 2008 samples were then each divided in two, one split being passed through a 250 µm and the other through a 2 mm mesh. Both sample fractions were used for separate dual mass specific magnetic susceptibility measurements following established procedures (46, 221-226). Organic carbon content was then determined by combusting the sample splits previously used for magnetic susceptibility measurement at 550 o C for four hours and measuring the weight loss. The 2011 samples were used for grain size measurement, which was carried out using dry sieve and pipette methods (46, 86-94). Micromorphology Undisturbed blocks of sediment for micromorphology were collected from the NG1 stratigraphic sequence in Kubiena boxes during the 2009 (5 blocks) and 2013 (2 blocks) field seasons. The blocks were dried in an oven at 60˚C for 48 hours and then imbedded in a mixture of unsaturated polyester resin, styrene, and a catalyzer (MEKP) in a 7:3:0.025 ratio at the Chemistry department of University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Upon curing, they were cut into 7 x 5 x 1 cm slabs and shipped to Spectrum Petrographics Inc., Vancouver, USA for the manufacture of 18 thin sections (samples MM1-5) and to CENIEH, Burgos, Spain, for 5 thin sections (samples MM6 and 9). All thin sections are 30 µm-thick. They were observed under a polarizing Nikon Eclipse E-800 microscope at 2x, 4x, 10x, and 20x. Standardized descriptive guidelines (47) were used. Mineralogy In 2008, a column of samples was taken at 0.02 m intervals for Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Representative mineralogical samples were obtained by homogenizing several grams of collected sediment. Powdered samples were analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy using a Thermo-Nicolet Nexus 470 FTIR spectrometer. A few tens of micrograms of homogenized sample or discrete particles were ground with an agate mortar and pestle. About 0.1 mg or less of the sample was mixed with about 80 mg of KBr (IR-grade). A 7 mm pellet was made using a hand press (Qwik Handi-Press, Spectra-Tech Industries Corporation) without evacuation. The spectra were collected between 4000 and 400 cm-1 at 4 cm-1 resolution. Macroscopic observations The stratigraphic sequence of NG1 comprises five lithological units (Units 5-1) of predominantly alluvial genesis that formed in two cycles (Figs. 2, S2-S5). Cycle 1 comprises Units 5-2. Normal bedding in Units 5-3 suggests that deposition was initially on a channel to floodplain interface (Units 5 and possibly 4) but later on the floodplain, during low energy flood events (Units 4 and 3-2). Macroscopic features indicative of periodic waterlogging and incipient soil formation were observed in Units 4-2. The artifact-bearing Unit 2 has a dark gray color and a relatively high organic content (6-8%, cf. 4-6% in Units 5-3) (Table S1). Cycle 2 is separated from Cycle 1 by the unconformity at the top of the palaeosol (Unit 2) and is represented only by Unit 1. Micromorphological observations All of the stratigraphic units (5-1) exhibit a homogeneous lithological composition comprising polymictic (polygenetic) sand-sized pyroclastic shards and few quartz grains in a clayey groundmass. The pyroclastic composition is basaltic and comprises common feldspar (calcic plagioclase and sanidine), pyroxene, olivine, sphene, and vesicular and fibrous glassphenocrysts as well as few trachytic shards. These and the isolated phenocrysts show variable angular to rounded surfaces and do not exhibit strong alteration states. There are also few sand-sized, subrounded detritic rocks (quartzite and weathered limestone). In Units 4-1 the sand is unsorted, whereas the sand in the top of Unit 5 it is moderately well sorted and finer-grained (fine sandsized and smaller) (Table S2). All of the stratigraphic units exhibit iron mottling indicative of poor drainage (Figs S6) and Units 4-1 show intersecting channels (<1 cm) filled with micritic or needle-fiber calcite. Overall, this calcitic microfabric is comparable to documented examples of pedogenic laminar groundwater calcrete (48-50). Unit 3 exhibits a granostriated b-fabric indicative of in situ clay translocation and few irregular fissures throughout the unit. Frequent massive, strongly birefringent clay infillings were observed in Units 2-1. Unit 2 contains common microscopic humified plant matter in a granular groundmass bioturbated by rootlets (Fig S7A). Microscopic fragments of obsidian flakes are present in Units 3-1 (Fig S7B). Mineralogical observations (FTIR) The FTIR results are summarized in Table S3, in which the identified mineral phases are given in decreasing absorption intensity. The analyzed sediments contain feldspars (plagioclase), quartz, carbonates, and clay minerals such as kaolinite, smectite, and/or illite. The sediments of Unit 1 and at the top of Unit 2 (Samples NG1-01 to NG1-12) show a characteristic IR absorption at 3688 cm-1 that could be assigned to hydroxyl vibration of low crystallinity kaolinite and/or of other serpentine group minerals. The carbonate concretions show absorptions of calcite sometime mixed with clay minerals. The matrix of the sediments does not show carbonate absorptions, suggesting that the calcite is mainly "confined" into infillings and laminations. Conclusions Field observations together with bulk, micromorphological, and mineralogical analyses indicate that the NG1...
Curated character of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefact assemblages in Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria), 2024
The dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia during MIS 3 in the Late Pleistocene is marked by technological shifts and other behavioral changes, known in the archaeological record under the term of Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP). Bacho Kiro Cave in north Bulgaria, re-excavated by us from 2015 to 2021, is one of the reference sites for this phenomenon. The newly excavated lithic assemblages dated by radiocarbon between 45,040 and 43,280 cal BP and attributed to Homo sapiens encompass more than two thousand lithic artifacts. The lithics, primarily from Layer N1-I, exist amid diverse fauna remains, human fossils, pierced animal teeth pendants, and sediment with high organic content. This article focuses on the technological aspects of the IUP lithics, covering raw material origin and use-life, blank production, on-site knapping activities, re-flaking of lithic implements, and the state of retouched lithic components. We apply petrography for the identification of silicites and other used stones. We employ chaıˆne ope´ratoire and reduction sequence approaches to profile the lithics techno-typologically and explore the lithic economy, particularly blade production methods, knapping techniques, and artifact curation. Raw material analysis reveals Lower Cretaceous flints from Ludogorie and Upper Cretaceous flints from the Danube region, up to 190 km and 130 km, respectively, from Bacho Kiro Cave, indicating long-distance mobility and finished products transport. Imported lithic implements, were a result of unidirectional and bidirectional non-Levallois laminar technology, likely of volumetric concept. Systematic on-anvil techniques (bipolar knapping) and tool segmentation indicate reflaking and reshaping of lithic implements, reflecting on-site curation and multifaceted lithic also regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia. A limited comparison with other IUP sites reveals certain shared features and regional variations. Bacho Kiro Cave significantly contributes to understanding the technological and behavioral evolution of early Homo sapiens in western Eurasia.