11
Woolley, S., l., 1934
The royal Cemetery: A Report on the Predynastic and Sargonid Graves Excavated between
1926 and 1931. 2 vols. Contributions by E.R. Burrows et al. Publications of the Joint
Expedition of the British Museum and of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
to Mesopotamia: Ur
Excavations, vol. 2, London.
Zahlhaas, G., 2002
Luristan Antike Bronzen Aus Dem Iran, Munchen.
Figure 1: Geographical Distribution of Spiral-end Belts and dotted technique objects in Iran
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12
Figure 2: Plain spiral-end belts, Marlik (Negahban 1995, figs. 87, 88, 90, 91);
the sketches has been redrawn
Figure 3: Spiral-end belts with repoussé bosses
decorations, Marlik, (Negahban 1995: figs. 86, 89)
the sketches has been redrawn
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Current status of archaeological research in Eastern Caspian region
S.V. Shnaider
1,2
, R. Kurbanov
3, 4
, S. Alisher kyzy
5
1
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia
2
Altai State University, Barnaul, Russia
3
Moscow State University, Russia
4
Institute of Geography RAS, Moscow, Russia
5
Novosibirsk State University, Russia
Keywords: Eastern Caspian, Final Pleistocene, Early Holocene, Mesolithic, knapping technology,
geometric microlith
Introduction
Caspian Sea is situated in the
Centre of Eurasia; it is surrounded by Zagros, Caucasus, Turan –
regions of important routs of human migrations in the past. And Caspian Sea was a natural barrier which
determined a likely migration route for Paleolithic-Neolithic human populations. Because of its central
geographic location, the area also channeled culture, technology, and other forms of exchange between
adjoining regions Europe, Near East, Central Asia from the first modern human occupation into Eurasia
up to the present day.
Unfortunately not all areas of Caspian region are studied evenly; the territory of Eastern Caspian
is very poorly understood. Previous investigations of prehistory in the Eastern Caspian were conducted
in the middle of 20th century by A.P. Okladnikov (Okladnikov, 1954; 1966) and later by G.E. Markov
(Markov, 1966) and also these studies greatly suffer from the absence of absolute radiocarbon dates.
The researchers studied (Djebel, Dam-Dam-Cheshme-1, 2, Kaylui, Kuba-Sengir). They suggested that this
industries belong to Mesolithic industries with geometric microliths were usually suggested to represent
direct migrations from the Zagros and South Caspian. Later S.K. Kozłowski (Kozłowski, 1996) proposed to
include these materials in
Trialetian culture, characterized by massive geometric microliths (length 30–
60 mm), which vary in the chronological sequence: trapezoid / asymmetrical triangle / lunate.
A re-studying of the materials from Okladnikov’s excavations and Late Quaternary sections of the
region has recently been carried out by our team. This presentation focuses on the new preliminary
results about the role of Eastern Caspian region in ancient human history.
Materials and methods
We analyzed archaeological collections from the Dam-Dam-Cheshme-2, Kaylui and Kuba-Sengir
sites. For each site, we aggregated information concerning geological context and stratigraphy from
published materials.
For each collection, we conducted lithic attribute analysis (after Monigal, 2002) with
special
attention to technologically and typologically significant attributes, including typology of the dorsal
surface, ventral surface, proximal edge, striking platform parameters, lateral profile, cross sectional
morphology, and metric characteristics. To estimate the age of undated tool assemblages, we
conducted detailed typological comparisons with other well-dated Central Asian and Zagrosian
archaeological assemblages and produced a hypothesized chronology for the consideredmaterials.
Results
Based on technological attributes we identified a few techno-typological
stages of lithic industries
development. Flint was the most commonly utilized raw material During the Final Pleistocene – Early
Holocene transition time. The predominant primary reduction strategy was aimed at blade and small
blade production. The tool kits from this period contain mostly geometric microliths. The lunates and
triangles are characteristic for early
complexes, the triangles and trapezoids – for late complexes. The
length of the lunates is 20–50 mm, triangles and trapezoids 15–25 mm.
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