Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology) Research Papers (original) (raw)

The Black Sea lies at the junction of three major cultural areas: Europe, Central Asia, and the Near East. It plays a crucial role in enduring discussions about the impact of complex Near Eastern societies on European societies, and the repercussions of early urbanization across Eurasia. This book presents the first comprehensive overview of the Black Sea region in the prehistoric period. It penetrates artificial boundaries imposed by traditions, politics, and language to encompass both the European and Asiatic coasts and both Eastern European and Western scholarly literature. With a critical compilation and synthesis of archaeological data, this study situates the prehistoric Black Sea in a global historical context. By adopting the perspective of technology and innovation, it transcends a purely descriptive account of material culture and emphasizes society, human interaction, and engagement with the material world.

The “chieftain’s grave” in the Kurgan of Maikop epitomizes for over a century the spectacular wealth of the North Caucasian Early Bronze Age. Perhaps even more remarkable than the material and artistic value of its objects appears the involvement of North Caucasian society with the developed urban centers of the Near East. Andrew Sherratt insightfully described Maikop as “the world’s first ‘barbarian’ society, generated on the fringe of the area of initial urban expansion” and transmitting lifestyle and technology to the steppe region. The traditional opinion sets this transmission in the context of large-scale urbanization and long-distance state-controlled trade at a developed stage of the Near Eastern economic system. A more recent alternative view, though, perceives Maikop as an offspring of the Near Eastern urban economies and trading networks in their formative phase during the Uruk period. The span of about one thousand years between these two contexts provides reason for an enduring dispute over the chronology of the Maikop period. This paper reviews the available evidence for dating the North Caucasian Early Bronze Age and comments on the recent shift to “high” dating and its implications.

Graves and settlements of the 5th millennium BC in North Caucasus attest to a material culture that was related to contemporaneous archaeological complexes in the northern and western Black Sea region. Yet it was replaced, suddenly as it seems, around the middle of the 4th millennium BC by a “high culture” whose origin is still quite unclear. This archaeological culture named after the great Maikop kurgan showed innovations in all areas which have no local archetypes and which cannot be assigned to the tradition of the Balkan-Anatolian Copper Age. The favoured theory of Russian researchers is a migration from the south originating in the Syro-Anatolian area, which is often mentioned in connection with the so- called “Uruk expansion”. However, serious doubts have arisen about a connection between Maikop and the Syro-Anatolian region. The foreign objects in the North Caucasus reveal no connection to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris or to the floodplains of Mesopotamia, but rather seem to have ties to the Iranian plateau and to South Central Asia. Recent excavations in the Southwest Caspian Sea region are enabling a new perspective about the interactions between the “Orient” and Continental Europe. On the one hand, it is becoming gradually apparent that a gigantic area of interaction evolved already in the early 4th millennium BC which extended far beyond Mesopotamia; on the other hand, these findings relativise the traditional importance given to Mesopotamia.

- by Zviad Sherazadishvili and +7
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Anatolian Studies, Pottery (Archaeology)
- by Zviad Sherazadishvili and +6
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
- by Svend Hansen and +2
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- Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Obsidian

During 2007 archaeological survey of Little Zab River in Sardasht district in northwest Iran, six typical Uruk (Uruk-related) sites were brought to light. One of the important ones is Tepe Badamyar Rabat, with typical Bevelled Rim Bowls pottery that is considered as the first evidence of
Uruk materials in northwest Iran. In addition to Rabat, the Uruk materials found in Tepe Baghi, Tepe Waliv, Tepe Molla Yousef, Tepe Lavin and Tepe Goman provide an opportunity for studying the one millennium gap between Hasanlu VIIIA (Pisdeli) and VIIC (Kura-Araxes) in the southern
parts of Lake Urmia, which is seen as a key unknown period in the archaeology of NW Iran. The Uruk evidence found in the mentioned sites mainly belongs to the Middle and Late Uruk periods (3600/3500–3100 BC).

- by Akbar Abedi and +2
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- Chalcolithic Archaeology, Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Ancient Near East, Uruk Expansion
- by Zviad Sherazadishvili and +5
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Pottery (Archaeology), Hellenistic History, Iberian Studies

The article is addressed to the issue of long-distance contacts and social networks between the Upper Palaeolithic of the Northwestern Caucasus and other regions, basing on finds (artifacts from mammoth tusk, azurite sandstone pebble, Black Sea marine mollusc shells, and obsidian artifacts) from the Upper Palaeolithic layers at Mezmaiskaya Cave. Personal decorations from mammoth tusk found at Mezmaiskaya suggest rare contacts between culture-unrelated Upper Palaeolithic groups in the Northwestern Caucasus and Russian plain. Recurrent obsidian procurement from two specific remote obsidian sources at Mezmaiskaya suggests that there were two well-established social networks between Upper Palaeolithic humans in the Northwestern Caucasus and related human groups in the North-central and South Caucasus. The evidence of obsidian transport from Mezmaiskaya outlines borders of the Upper Palaeolithic cultural area with similar human population and culture in the Caucasus, within wich the Upper Palaeolithic groups in the North and South Caucasus had regular social-cultural relations, including exchange of obsidian raw material. Finds of Black Sea marine shells and an azurite sandstone pebble at Mezmaiskaya are discussed as non-utilitarian objects derived from remote areas located on the paths of the two obsidian exchange networks that likely outline directions and limits of direct movements of Upper Palaeolithic humans from the Northwestern Caucasus.

Recent studies of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in the northwestern Caucasus are focused on the research of relations between natural (climate and environment) and social (behavior and adaptations) factors that governed settlement dynamics of Neanderthal and anatomically modern human populations in the region. The majority of Middle Paleolithic sites in the region show temporal changes within a local variant of the Eastern Micoquian industry between approximately 90 and 40 thousand years (ka) ago. The final stage of the Eastern Micoquian occupation in the northwestern Caucasus is notable in that the number of Neanderthal sites increases, and these sites show a higher variety and spread towards the eastern boundary of the region. The research provides new data indicating that ecology and subsistence of late Neanderthals were affected by a large, catastrophic volcanogenic event, which likely caused the Neanderthal extinction, and that was followed by a subsequent reoccupation of the region by Upper Paleolithic modern humans. In addition, recent genetic analyses indicate that a population turnover is likely to have occurred, either in the Caucasus or throughout Europe, towards the end of Neanderthal history. In the northwestern Caucasus, Upper Paleolithic sites are found mostly in caves or rockshelters, and show two major periods of modern human occupation: (1) Upper Paleolithic, from ~39/38 ka to the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum; and, (2) Epipaleolithic, from the Last Glacial Maximum to ~11/10 ka. The Upper Paleolithic sites are rare, while the Epipaleolithic sites are quite numerous in the region. After the Last Glacial Maximum, milder conditions of the Late Glacial promoted an increase in the number of sites and mobility of the Epipaleolithic human groups. A high mobility is confirmed by the facts that similar Epipaleolithic industries are found in the Southern and Northern Caucasus and that the same obsidian sources were exploited in both regions. Results of recent studies indicate that the most crucial factors for hominin settlement during the entire Upper Pleistocene in the northwestern Caucasus were favorable climatic and environmental conditions. In comparison to other regions, including the Levant, the Caucasus' archaeological record shows distinct regional peculiarities and a specific pathway of Upper Paleolithic development, which we identify as the "Caucasus Upper Paleolithic". In support of this view, the results of two recent palaeogenomic analyses of two human individuals from the Southern Caucasus indicate that the first modern humans in the Caucasus shared ancestry with Upper Paleolithic humans of Western Asia, and that the first Upper Paleolithic modern humans in the Caucasus belonged to a distinct ancient clade, which split from the European Upper Paleolithic populations about 45 ka ago, shortly after the expansion of modern humans into Europe.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +1
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- Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Archaeology of Caucasus, Paleolithic Europe, Upper Paleolithic

Recent ground surveys in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia have investigated a previously undocumented group of sites along a ridge overlooking the upper Kura river valley. Features and artefacts recorded at Varneti suggest long but episodic occupation from the Chalcolithic to the later medieval periods, with prominent phases in the Early to Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. Varneti has the potential to contribute to understanding economic and strategic aspects of the long-term settlement pattern in the southern Caucasus, especially the interplay between lowland and highland zones. Its position in the landscape, at a transitional point between the river valley and the upland pasture (yayla), may explain its persistent use by agro-pastoral communities that operated in varied cultural situations. The survey results help us frame a series of questions regarding economic and social dynamics at a local and regional scale and the continuity and discontinuity of practice in highland environments through long timespans. -------- Des prospections de terrain récemment effectuées dans la région de Samtskhe-Javakheti dans le sud de la Géorgie se sont concentrées sur un groupe de sites jusqu’à maintenant inexploré le long d’une crête surplombant la vallée de la rivière Kura. Les sites et objets relevés à Varneti indiquent que cette zone a été occupée longtemps mais épisodiquement à partir du Chalcolithique jusqu’à la fin du Moyen Age, particulièrement à l’âge du Bronze ancien et moyen et à l’âge du Bronze final jusqu’au début de l’âge du Fer. Varneti est capable de contribuer à notre connaissance des aspects économiques et stratégiques du milieu habité sur la longue durée dans le Caucase méridional et de nous éclairer sur les rapports entre les zones de hauteurs et les terres basses. La situation de Varneti dans le paysage, à la charnière entre la vallée et les hauts pâturages (yayla) explique son occupation persistante par des communautés agropastorales vivant sous divers régimes culturels. Les résultats de nos prospections nous permettent de formuler une série de questions sur les vecteurs économiques et sociaux à l’échelle locale et régionale et de nous interroger sur la continuité ou la discontinuité des pratiques dans un milieu montagneux sur la longue durée. (Translation by Madeleine Hummler) --------- Eine neue Geländeaufnahme in der Gegend von Samtskhe-Javakheti in Südgeorgien hat eine bisher unbekannte Gruppe von Fundstellen entlang eines Hügelkamms oberhalb des Flusstals der Kura. Die Stätten und Artefakten, die wir vermessen haben, zeigen, dass Varneti sehr lang aber episodisch besiedelt war, nämlich von der Kupferzeit bis zum Spätmittelalter, mit Hauptphasen in der Früh- bis Mittelbronzezeit und in der Spätbronzezeit bis Früheisenzeit. Varneti kann uns wertvolle Hinweise über die wirtschaftliche und strategische Gestaltung der langfristigen Besiedlung im Südkaukasus geben, vor allem über die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den Tief- und Hochlandzonen. Seine Lage in der Landschaft, zwischen dem Flusstal und den Hochweiden (yayla) erklärt vielleicht, warum dieser Bereich immer wieder von Viehzüchter- und Ackerbauergemeinschaften in verschiedenen kulturellen Umständen besiedelt wurde. Die Ergebnisse der Geländeaufnahmen helfen uns, die Fragestellungen über die wirtschaftliche und soziale Dynamik auf lokaler und regionaler Ebene zu formulieren und die Kontinuität oder Diskontinuität der Praxis über einem längeren Zeitraum im Tiefland und Hochland zu untersuchen. (Translation by Madeleine Hummler)

- by Ünsal YALCIN
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anatolian Archaeology, Archaeometry

This is a catalogue of all the ancient objects (pre-Christian and pre-Islamic) from the Caucasus region in the British Museum. The material includes two collections of objects from the central Caucasus (Koban culture), one formed by Prince Naourouz and the other by the surgeon and mountain climber Clinton Dent. In addition to 168 objects identified as being of Caucasian type, the catalogue includes 32 objects that are broadly described as being of Scythian type. Thjere is no suggestion that any of these Scythian-type objects come from the Caucasus, but there are a number of Scythian royal tombs situated around the Kuban River on the north side of the Caucasus.

Изучение сырьевых стратегий в палеолите Кавказа обнаруживает существование удаленных миграций древнего человека. Обсидиан в каменном веке был сырьем, которое высоко ценилось и транспортировалось на расстояния более 200–250 км. В Приэльбрусье, в долине р. Баксан, расположено крупное месторождение обсидиана, который поступал на СевероЗападный Кавказ в среднем и верхнем палеолите. Но в этом регионе не было известно ни одного стратифицированного памятника эпохи среднего палеолита и только в 2016 г. открыта первая пещерная стоянка Сарадж-Чуко. Отложения конца палеолита известны только в навесах Сосруко и Бадыноко. Опорным памятником для разработки вопросов хронологии и динамики культуры верхнего палеолита — мезолита Центрального Кавказа является навес Сосруко. Исследования 2017 г. позволили получить новые данные по палеолиту Приэльбрусья.

- by Liubov Golovanova and +1
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Lithic Technology, Archaeology of Caucasus

The topic of the study is a cultural spatial analysis of iron axes occurring as one of the types of striking weapons at the beginning of the Early Iron Age on a relatively wide area, above all in eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin and on the Lower Danube, in the inventory of cultures and cultural groups with nomadic elements, such as the Vekerzug culture and Ciumbrud group, partly also the Ferigile culture. Important comparative material is represented by the finds of iron battleaxes from the Early Iron Age grave units in the North Caucasus and partly also Transcaucasia (Koban culture, proto-Maeotian group of sites, Early Maeotian culture).

In this paper, the authors report results of a detailed technological and typological analysis of the Epipalaeolithic assemblages from three stratified sites in the North Caucasus that were excavated in recent years at a modern scientific level with application of sediment water screening, which allowed to obtain numerous microlithic artefacts. The lithic analysis of the assemblages indicates a gradual development in the knapping technology, which resulted in the first application of the pressure flaking technique in the final Epipalaeolithic, and innovations in the tool set, particularly in the assortment of geometric microliths. The authors consider the stone industry transformations at the edge of Pleistocene and Holocene in the context of cultural continuity during the final Epipalaeolithic and up to the beginning of the Holocene in the region.

- by Liubov Golovanova and +2
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- Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Lithic Technology, Archaeology of Caucasus, Lithics
- by Zviad Sherazadishvili and +7
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Anatolian Studies

In this article we refer to the history of investigation of the so called
''cyclopean'' fortresses in Armenia, conventionally dividing it into three
phases.
1. The first phase of the study of defense systems of ancient Armenia
starts at the end of the 19th century and is connected with the names of
Atrpet, T. Toramanyan, N. Mar (in Shirak and Aragats) and A. Ivanovsky (in
Gavar).
2. The next phase begins in 30's of the 20th century, when A.
Hajyan, L. Gyuzalyan, B. Piotrovskiy studied fortresses in the north-western
parts of the mountain Aragats, I. Meshchaninov, S. Barkhudaryan - in
western and south-western parts of the Sevan Lake basin. In 1960s S. Esayan,
K. Ghafadaryan and S. Chilingaryan continued researches in Tavush region,
and G. Mikaelyan in the Sevan Lake basin. Especially G. Areshyan and K.
Ghafadaryan play an important role in typologizing of Bronze and Iron Age
fortresses in 1980s.
3. Since the 1990s a new phase has began in history of research of
the problem. Armenian-Italian joint archaeological expedition (S.
Hmayakyan, H. Sanamyan and R. Biscione) classified the Sevan Lake basin
defense systems, Armenian-American joint expedition (R. Badalyan, A.
Smith) - that of Aragatsotn region. During 2011-2014 the Institute of
Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA excavated in sites Margahovit (Lori
region), Sotk 1, Sotk 2 and Norabak 1 (Gegharkunik region), with special
reference to investigation of fortification systems in order to date them:
already the first results are apparent, which allow separate distinguishing
features among Bronze and Iron Age defensive structures.

Multidisciplinary investigations into Paleolithic sites make it possible to identify all the main stadials in the Late Pleistocene history of the North Caucasus, including Heinrich stadials 6 (ca. 63-60 kyr) and 5 (ca. 48-47 kyr) for the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the coolings correlate with volcanic events. The results of geochemical and microprobe research into the deposits and volcanic glasses from cave sites in the northwest and northern central Caucasus are published for the first time. On some multilayer sites, changes in lithic industries by the end of the Middle Paleolithic are revealed. The results of a genetic study of a Neanderthal individual from layer 2 of Mezmaiskaya Cave and several later Neanderthals from Europe showed that, by the end of the Middle Paleolithic, a large-scale genetic turnover of the Neanderthal population was likely to occur. The global cooling of Heinrich 4 was a frontier where the Middle Paleolithic industries vanished and evidence of the penetration of the Upper Paleolithic industries associated with Homo sapiens first emerged in the northwest Caucasus. These industries appear as a completely established cultural tradition. The migration of modern humans to the Caucasus from the Near East is confirmed by the results of studying obsidian transport. The Last Glacial Maximum is the main climatic event during the Upper Paleolithic era. Paleoclimate events of this period had a great impact on the human settlement of the Caucasus. After the Last Glacial Maximum, the Epi-Paleolithic culture of the Caucasus shows numerous innovations in technology. One important result of the interdisciplinary research of the Late Pleistocene sites in the North Caucasus is understanding the impact made by climatic stresses and coolings associated with intensification of volcanic activity on the ecological niches of the ancient population.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +1
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- Geoarchaeology, Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Archaeology of Caucasus, Prehistory

“Dragon stones” (Armenian vishapakar) are standing stones carved with animal imagery found in the high-altitude summer pastures of modern Armenia and neighboring regions. So far, their existence has been largely ignored by the international scientific community and their function and dating have remained the object of speculation. In June 2012, an Armenian–German team started the first systematic archaeological investigation of the Armenian dragon stones. This article offers an introduction to the topic and presents the results of the first fieldwork season. Most importantly, it reveals for the first time that the dragon stones are systematically associated with Bronze Age burial mounds. Thus, dragon stones are unraveled as a monumental feature of a previously unknown high-altitude mortuary landscape, probably connected with the economic exploitation of summer pastures by early transhumant pastoralists.

- by Alessandra Gilibert and +1
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- Armenian Studies, Landscape Archaeology, Caucasus, High altitude environments

В статье анализируются новые данные об охотничьем вооружении неандертальцев на Северном Кавказе. Применение типологического и трасологического анализов каменных индустрий дает основание выделять обсидиановые наконечники копий на стоянке загросского мустье в гроте Сарадж-Чуко в Приэльбрусье. Уникальное костяное
острие, найденное в индустрии восточного микока Мезмайской пещеры, позволяет обсуждать вопрос появления cпециализированной охоты. Применение метода ИК-спектроскопии доказало применение клеящих мастик для закрепления наконечников.

- by Liubov Golovanova and +1
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- Use Wear Analysis, Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Archaeology of Caucasus, Paleolithic Europe

Saradj-Chuko Grotto is located about 70 km from Mount Elbrus (5642 m), the two-peaked cone of a dormant volcano, Russia’s and Europe’s highest mountain. Near Saradj-Chuko Grotto and Zayukovo lies the only obsidian source known in the Northern Caucasus. Stone Age people highly valued obsidian as a raw material. They transported obsidian both from the Northern Caucasus into Transcaucasia, and from the Southern Caucasus into the northwestern Caucasus. Discovered as an archaeological site first in 2016, Saradj-Chuko Grotto has yielded the oldest human occupation in Kabardino-Balkaria and the entire Elbrus region. At Saradj-Chuko Grotto, the study of obsidian tools
has given the first evidence for the Middle Paleolithic population with the Zagros Mousterian, migrated from the Southern and Lesser Caucasus to the western tributaries of the Terek River into
the Northern Caucasus.
This monograph presents the results from interdisciplinary research conducted in 2017-2019 in the Saradj-Chuko Grotto. The data includes the paleoclimate and geomorphological analyses, and
reconstruction and a discussion of hunting and raw material procurement strategies used by the Middle Paleolithic people. The development and local features of the Middle Paleolithic material culture in this region and the Neanderthal interregional contacts are detailed, as well as the impact of paleoclimatic changes and volcanic eruptions on human settlement in the Elbrus region.
The book is intended for both professional experts and students of archaeology, history, geology, paleontology, paleogeography, as well as for teachers, historians, and members of the public interested
in humankind’s history. Both this book’s scope and contents should make it of great interest to allreaders who want to learn about the ancient history in the Caucasus.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +2
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Obsidian, Flint (Archaeology)

Изучением каменного сырья, методов и вариантов его использования в палеолите сегодня занимается особая археологическая дисциплина – петроархеология. Современная методика изучения каменного сырья в археологических комплексах состоит из нескольких этапов, включая обязательные полевые работы по поиску месторождений сырья исследуемого региона и проведение петрографических, минералогических, геохимических анализов образцов каменного сырья со стоянок и месторождений. Авторами подобная методика использована при изучении индустрий восточного микока на Северо-Западном Кавказе. На основании проведенного анализа сделаны выводы об особенностях организации поселений, сырьевых стратегиях, территориальности, мобильности, культурных контактах и ареалах неандертальцев в среднем палеолите данного региона. Представлены основные аналитические результаты проведенного исследования.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +1
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Flint (Archaeology), Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), North Caucasus
- by Roland Linck and +2
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- Archaeological Method & Theory, Archaeological geophysics (Archaeology), Caucasus, Neolithic Archaeology

Located in the north-central Caucasus, about 70 km from the highest European mountain peak of Elbrus (5640 m asl) and 7 km from the only obsidian source (Zayukovo or Baksan) known in the Northern Caucasus, Psytuaje rockshelter is the first stratified late Epipaleolithic site dated from the beginning of the Holocene that was intensively investigated in this region. The multidisciplinary research that we carried out at Psytuaje rockshelter provides new important data on subsistence strategies and culture of the Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer groups during the terminal Pleistocene. The new evidence from Psytuaje rockshelter reviewed in the region context suggests that the late Epipaleolithic culture and hunter-gatherer subsistence developed continuously during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and up to the early Holocene in the north-central Caucasus. The late Epipaleolithic population of this region shows succesful adaptations to changing environmental conditions across the transition that included changes in subsistence strategies, such as the exploitation of a wider variety of natural resources, and a number of technological innovations that ensured the improvement of hunting weapon.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +2
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- Paleobotany, Paleography, Flint (Archaeology), Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology)

Аннотация. Отмечается проблема, что в настоящее время все большее количе-ство данных указывает на то, что переход от раннего к среднему палеолиту был слож-ным процессом социокультурных преобразований, который охватывает длительный период от конца кислородно-изотопной стадии 8 до конца стадии 6 (между 250-150 тыс. л. н.), и имеет свои особенности в разных регионах. В результате начало эпохи среднего палеолита на Северо-Западном Кавказе сейчас датируется периодом КИС 5 (130-75 тыс. л. н.). Авторы предполагают, что в период теплого межледниковья неан-дертальцы, носители индустрий с листовидными бифасами, значительно расширяют свой ареал обитания и появляются на Северо-Западном Кавказе. Таким образом, мустьерские индустрии с листовидными бифасами формируют древнейший хроноло-гический пласт среднего палеолита от Центральной Европы до Северного Кавказа. Ключевые слова: средний палеолит, каменные индустрии, датирование, Северо-Западный Кавказ. ВВЕДЕНИЕ В настоящее время все большее количество данных указывает на то, что переход от раннего к среднему палеолиту был сложным процессом социокультурных преобразований, который охватывает длительный пе-риод от конца кислородно-изотопной стадии 8 до конца стадии 6 (между 250-150 тыс. л. н.) и имеет свои особенности в разных регионах. Начало эпохи среднего палеолита на Северо-Западном Кавказе сейчас можно достаточно уверенно датировать периодом КИС 5 (130-75 тыс. л. н.), которая начинается микулинским межледниковьем. Мустьерские инду-стрии с листовидными бифасами и отщеповой техникой расщепления формируют древнейший хронологический пласт среднего палеолита.

- by Liubov Golovanova and +1
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- Flint (Archaeology), Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology), Archaeology of Caucasus, Lithics

Bu çalışma, Ardahan İli 2013 Yılı Arkeolojik Yüzey Araştırmasının kısa bir değerlendirmesidir. İlin merkez ilçesinde yeni keşfedilen bazı arkeolojik kültür varlıkları üzerine detaya inmeyen ilk gözlemler bu çalışmada yer almaktadır. 2013 yılı araştırmalarında tespit edilen arkeolojik alanlar Tunç ve Erken Demir Çağları'na tarihlenmektedir. Çeğilli çevresindeki üç adet kule yapısı ve bir Yüksek Yayla Yerleşimi (Kale Yerleşimi); Yokuşdibi'nin kuzeyinde bir kaleye ait olması gereken kalıntılar; Sulakyurt'un kuzeyi ve kuzeydoğusunda bir Tunç Çağı yerleşimi ve yine Tunç Çağı'na ait olması gereken dış duvarlar ile güçlendirilmiş bir Yüksek Yayla Yerleşimi (Kale Yerleşimi) bildiride bahsi geçen arkeolojik alanlardandır.

- by Sami Patacı
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology

A method for a multivariate assessment of cultural changes at stratified sites is proposed. It is based on technological properties of ceramics and the occurrence of various categories of flint implements. The method is applied to the stratigraphic sequences of Chalcolithic fortresses in northwestern Caucasus (late 5 th – 4 th millennia BC): Meshoko and Yasenova Polyana. Properties of ceramics include hardness, assessed on the Mohs' scale, wall thickness, and frequency of fragments tempered with calcium carbonate. For Meshoko, S.M. Ostashinsky's data on the number of implements made of high-quality colored flint, splintered pieces (pièces écaillées), and the total number of segments, points, inserts, scrapers, and perforators were used as well. Each of these parameters undergoes regular changes from the lower to the upper levels of the stratigraphic sequence: ceramics progressively deteriorates whereas the flint industry becomes more and more sophisticated. These changes proceed in parallel. Data were subjected to the principal component analysis. The first principal component can be regarded as a generalized measure of cultural change. Results support the view of the excavators (A.D. Stolyar and A.A. Formozov): changes were caused by a gradual replacement of one culture by another. The earlier culture, associated with constructors of the Meshoko fortress, had evidently been introduced from Transcaucasia. The culture that replaced it was more archaic, a few copper tools notwithstanding, and apparently autochthonous. It alone can be termed the Culture of Ceramics with Punched Node Decoration—the name erroneously used

Here we present data on lithic raw material exploitation, obtained from petrography and geochemical analyses, and the examination of an archaeological collection from the Middle Palaeolithic at Saradj-Chuko Grotto, the only MP stratified site known in the Zayukovo (Baksan) obsidian source area, North-Central Caucasus, Russia. From 2016 an excavation was undertaken and new artefacts and datations were obtained. At the same time, a field survey in the region has permitted also to collect information about the geology and geomorphology of obsidian-bearing deposits. The petrographic and chemical analysis, using XRF has allowed to determine the chemical composition of obsidian and flint. Among 6 main regional sources, The origin of flint seems to be local and the main obsidian source is the Zayukovo one.

- by Ekaterina Doronicheva and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Flint (Archaeology), Prehistory of Caucasus (Prehistoric Archaeology)