The earliest evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation in the Armenian Highlands at Aghitu-3 Cave

Abstract

With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39-24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39-36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36-32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32-29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29-24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands.

Pleistocene volcanism and the geomorphological record of the Hrazdan valley, central Armenia: linking landscape dynamics and the Palaeolithic record

“…Furthermore, given the elevation difference between the Lusakert Cave 1 terrace and the present channel of the Hrazdan, 42 m of further base level readjustment has occurred since 36 ka (c. 1.7 mm yr -1 ). The latter rate is considerably less than that observed for the Vorotan river in southern Armenia based on alluvial input into the Aghitu 3 (Layers 10 and 11) archaeological site (3.7 mm yr -1 since 32 ka, [Kandel et al, 2017]), but much higher than the averaged rate of uplift for the region (0.2-0.3 mm yr -1 ) as proposed by Mitchell and Westaway (1999).…”

“…Several archaeological sites attest to the region's importance; these include Dmanisi, Georgia, where the earliest evidence for Homo outside of Africa has been recovered (Gabunia et al, 2000(Gabunia et al, , 2001Ferring et al, 2011), and Nor Geghi 1, Armenia, which records early evidence for the use of complex stone tool technologies (Adler et al, 2014). Open-air and cave sites documenting Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic behaviours have been described (e.g., Adler et al, 2006;Liagre et al, 2006;Fernández-Jalvo et al, 2010;Mercier et al, 2010;Ghukasyan et al, 2011;Pinhasi et al, 2011;Adler et al 2012;Tushabramishvili et al, 2011;Egeland et al, 2014Egeland et al, , 2016Gasparyan and Arimura 2014;Moncel et al, 2015;Glauberman et al, 2016;Pleurdeau et al, 2016;Kandel et al, 2017); however, the chronology and nature of climatic and geomorphological changes in the region require further attention before a better comprehension of the rich archaeological record can be achieved.…”

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

“…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.…”

“…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).…”

Distinguishing between three modern Ellobius species (Rodentia, Mammalia) and identification of fossil Ellobius from Kaldar Cave (Iran) using geometric morphometric analyses of the first lower molar

“…The most common and diagnostic element in fossil vole samples are the teeth, in particular the first lower molars (m1). However, in Ellobius m1s morphological differences are hard to find, and there are apparently broad overlaps between the species (Maul et al, 2015;Kandel et al, 2017;.…”