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Hovk 1 and the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Armenia

Hovk 1 and the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Armenia
Hovk 1 and the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Armenia
The territory of present day Armenia is a geographic contact zone between the Near East and the northern Caucasus. Armenian Middle and Upper Paleolithic records are both few and patchy as a result of the historical paucity of systematic archaeological research in the country. Consequently, it is currently difficult to correlate the Armenian Middle and Upper Paleolithic records with those from other neighboring regions. We present new archaeological and chronometric data (luminescence, U-Th, and 14C) from our ongoing research at Hovk 1 Cave in northeast Armenia. We discuss in particular two activity phases in Hovk 1 Cave for which we have outline chronometric data: (1) an early Middle Paleolithic occupational phase, dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to 104 ± 9.8 ka BPOSL; and (2) a Paleolithic occupational phase characterized by microlithic flakes dated by AMS 14C to 39,109 ± 1,324 calibrated years BPHulu. The two phases are separated by a hiatus in hominin occupation corresponding to MIS 4 and an episode in early MIS 3. These chronometric data, taken together with the preliminary paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Hovk 1 Cave and environment, suggest that these activity phases represent short-lived and seasonal use of the cave presumably by small groups of hunters during episodes of mild climate. Neither tool manufacture nor butchery appears to have taken place within the cave, and consequently, the archaeological record included, for the most part, finished tools and blanks. We address the chronology and techno-typological aspects of Hovk 1 lithics in relation to: (1) the Paleolithic records of Armenia, and (2) the broader interregional context of early Middle Paleolithic hominin occupation and the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in the Caucasus
neandertals, chronology, middle-upper paleolithic transition, southern caucasus, levallois, paleoenvironment
0047-2484
803-816
Pinhasi, R.
c7a93dd2-0d86-4dee-b11e-8ae2eed7981d
Gasparian, B.
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Wilkinson, K.
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Bailey, R.
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Bar-Oz, G.
013be38f-b06e-45bd-9709-f8af8befe06c
Bruch, A.
90063eed-183f-49ec-9ebf-7cb3301fb6cc
Chataigner, C.
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Hoffmann, D.
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Hovsepyan, R.
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Nahapetyan, S.
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Pike, A.W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Schreve, D.
d3530e16-568e-40b5-bb9d-d308f8f2fc83
Stephens, M.
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Pinhasi, R.
c7a93dd2-0d86-4dee-b11e-8ae2eed7981d
Gasparian, B.
0feddcae-a97a-4f1a-8bff-b4f1f2d51ef2
Wilkinson, K.
be8294d3-0670-4a23-944f-1aa6cf563b26
Bailey, R.
7fa4b662-655d-4a5a-b99e-3964fac0dfcb
Bar-Oz, G.
013be38f-b06e-45bd-9709-f8af8befe06c
Bruch, A.
90063eed-183f-49ec-9ebf-7cb3301fb6cc
Chataigner, C.
8ef275e3-f97b-49ef-b42d-70a6b331a522
Hoffmann, D.
1784f79c-53a0-47f9-8049-2e06a8719344
Hovsepyan, R.
7eec630f-63af-4c30-95e4-b9a5fc611cb2
Nahapetyan, S.
1a11808b-50f4-4d9c-af17-27b06ff1be62
Pike, A.W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Schreve, D.
d3530e16-568e-40b5-bb9d-d308f8f2fc83
Stephens, M.
8114316d-c6ec-4a56-9fdc-3c1d9f27e0de

Pinhasi, R., Gasparian, B., Wilkinson, K., Bailey, R., Bar-Oz, G., Bruch, A., Chataigner, C., Hoffmann, D., Hovsepyan, R., Nahapetyan, S., Pike, A.W.G., Schreve, D. and Stephens, M. (2008) Hovk 1 and the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Armenia. Journal of Human Evolution, 55 (5), 803-816. (doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.04.005).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The territory of present day Armenia is a geographic contact zone between the Near East and the northern Caucasus. Armenian Middle and Upper Paleolithic records are both few and patchy as a result of the historical paucity of systematic archaeological research in the country. Consequently, it is currently difficult to correlate the Armenian Middle and Upper Paleolithic records with those from other neighboring regions. We present new archaeological and chronometric data (luminescence, U-Th, and 14C) from our ongoing research at Hovk 1 Cave in northeast Armenia. We discuss in particular two activity phases in Hovk 1 Cave for which we have outline chronometric data: (1) an early Middle Paleolithic occupational phase, dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to 104 ± 9.8 ka BPOSL; and (2) a Paleolithic occupational phase characterized by microlithic flakes dated by AMS 14C to 39,109 ± 1,324 calibrated years BPHulu. The two phases are separated by a hiatus in hominin occupation corresponding to MIS 4 and an episode in early MIS 3. These chronometric data, taken together with the preliminary paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Hovk 1 Cave and environment, suggest that these activity phases represent short-lived and seasonal use of the cave presumably by small groups of hunters during episodes of mild climate. Neither tool manufacture nor butchery appears to have taken place within the cave, and consequently, the archaeological record included, for the most part, finished tools and blanks. We address the chronology and techno-typological aspects of Hovk 1 lithics in relation to: (1) the Paleolithic records of Armenia, and (2) the broader interregional context of early Middle Paleolithic hominin occupation and the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in the Caucasus

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More information

Published date: November 2008
Keywords: neandertals, chronology, middle-upper paleolithic transition, southern caucasus, levallois, paleoenvironment
Organisations: Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 345901
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/345901
ISSN: 0047-2484
PURE UUID: f1511253-e478-4641-bee3-85bcdb03b259
ORCID for A.W.G. Pike: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-8948

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Date deposited: 06 Dec 2012 11:26
Last modified: 11 Jul 2024 01:50

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Contributors

Author: R. Pinhasi
Author: B. Gasparian
Author: K. Wilkinson
Author: R. Bailey
Author: G. Bar-Oz
Author: A. Bruch
Author: C. Chataigner
Author: D. Hoffmann
Author: R. Hovsepyan
Author: S. Nahapetyan
Author: A.W.G. Pike ORCID iD
Author: D. Schreve
Author: M. Stephens

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