Barozh 12: Formation processes of a late Middle Paleolithic open-air site in western Armenia

Evidence for Middle Palaeolithic occupation and landscape change in central Armenia at the open-air site of Alapars-1

“…The MIS 4–3 artefact assemblages are produced on both local and distant obsidian sources, suggesting an obsidian exploitation territory that extended over a wide geographic area (the most distant raw material is located more than 100 km away on foot). It is worth noting that obsidian sourcing at regional MP sites indicates the long-distance exploitation of the same obsidian sources, with overlapping artefact transports among source areas and archaeological sites (Frahm et al, 2014, 2016; Glauberman et al, 2016, 2020). This pattern suggests that extensive social networks were well established in this region during MIS 4–3.…”

“…The current MP record indicates that throughout the fluctuating environmental conditions of MIS 5–3 hunter-gatherers were well adapted to a diverse array of biomes that were segregated by sharp topographic gradients. MP sites of variable size and density with artefact and faunal assemblages have been documented in palaeo-lake margins in basins, fluvial/floodplain settings in a variety of topographic positions, and ecotones between mountain ranges and basins (Adler et al, 2006; Ghukasyan et al, 2011; Pinhasi et al, 2011; Gasparyan et al, 2014; Moncel et al, 2015; Egeland et al, 2016; Frahm et al, 2016; Sherriff et al, 2019; Glauberman et al, 2020). Alapars-1 documents repeated but variable high-elevation occupations, thus broadening our understanding of the range of niches MP hominins were capable of exploiting in the rugged and ecologically diverse terrain of the Armenian highland.…”

“…During MIS 4 (71–57 ka) and mostly during MIS 3 (57–29 ka), there is a relatively higher abundance of archaeological assemblages in the Armenian highlands and the Southern Caucasus in comparison to any previous period (e.g., Adler et al, 2008, 2012; Gasparyan et al, 2014; Moncel at al., 2015; Glauberman et al, 2016, 2020; Pleurdeau et al, 2016; Douka and Higham, 2017; Kandel et al, 2017). Assemblage B, dated to 63 ± 6 and 67 ± 7 ka, adds to this corpus of sites, but is older than most of the others.…”

“…40 ka BP) (Pinhasi et al, 2008; Ghukasyan et al, 2011; Adler et al, 2012, 2014; Bar-Oz et al, 2012; Gasparyan et. al., 2014; Glauberman et al, 2016, 2020). Yet despite this progress, current knowledge of the temporal patterns of MP occupations is discontinuous, and without identifying and excavating additional sites, the links between environmental conditions and hominin adaptations cannot be understood.…”

“…The majority of chronometrically dated sites fall between ca. 60 and 30 ka BP, during MIS 4 and 3 (Adler et al, 2008, 2012; Gasparyan et al, 2014; Douka and Higham, 2017; Kandel et al, 2017; Glauberman et al, 2020).…”