Economy and status of Neolithic to Early Bronze age sites in the Southern Caucasus during the 6th‐3rd mill. BCE: The evidence from ground stone tools
Keywords:
economy; Caucasus; macrolithic implements; Neolithic; Bronze Age
Abstract
In the Southern Caucasus, the evolution of the Neolithic to Bronze age (6th-3rd millenia BCE) economies is often investigated through the prism of adaptation to constrasted landscapes and environments (arid plain, high moutains, subtropical western coasts) and strategies of natural resource exploitation. This overview of the main technological and functional characteristics of ground stone tools from about 20 sites in the Kura Valley (Georgia, Azerbaijan) contributes to the discussion surrounding these questions. After an overview of the evolution of the grinding equipment and stone tool manufacture within a long term perspective, from the Late Neoliothic to the Early Bronze Age, several issues are adressed. The composition of the macrolithic toolkit is a key issue when discussing the importance of agriculture versus pastoralism in the economy of these populations, which evolved in different regional and environmental contexts. Its management also contributes to our understanding of the degree of sedentarity versus mobility of the populations. Finally, we discuss how the technical evolution of the macrolithic toolkit reflects the principal global changes occurring during this long period of time (neolithisation, emergence of metallurgy, and the mining phenomenon) and their cultural meaning. Our initial results underline the significance of some implements as cultural markers, and also contribute to defining the common cultural background and regional specificities within the South Caucasus region.
References
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Kushnareva, K. 1997, The southern Caucasus in Prehistory. Stages of cultural and socioeconomic development from the 8th to the 2nd millennium BC, translated by H.N. Michael. University Museum Monograph Vol. 99, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: 279 p.
Lyonnet, B., (Ed.) 2007, Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe millénaires avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient. Editions recherches sur les civilisations, Paris, 295 p. (in French) ("The cultures of Caucasus (7e-3rd millenium before Christ). Their relation with the Near East").
Lyonnet, B. 2007, La culture de Maïkop, la Transcaucasie, l’Anatolie orientale et le Proche-Orient: relations et chronologie. In : Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe siècle avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient, (Lyonnet, B., Ed.), Editions Recherches sur les civilisations, Paris: p. 189-198. (in French) ("The Majkop culture, Transcaucasia, eastern Anatolia and the Near East: relations and chronologies").
Lyonnet, B., Guliev, F., Helwing, B., Aliyev, T., Hansen S. & Mirtskhulava, G. (Eds.) 2012, Ancient Kura 2010-2011: The first two seasons of joint field work in the southern Caucasus. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan, 44: 1-190.
Marro, C., Bakhshaliyev, V. & Ashurov, S. 2011, Excavations at Ovçular Tepesi (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan). Second preliminary report: the 2009-2010 seasons. Anatolia Antiqua, 19: 53-100. doi:10.3406/anata.2011.1089
Niebieridze, L. 1986, Paнный Ступень Звездазападноза Кавказ Скойран Земледельческой культура. Mietsniereba, Tbilisi. 124 p. (in Russian) (“The development of agriculture in Western Caucasus”).
Nishiaki, Y, Guliyev, F. & Kadowaki, S. 2015, Chronological contexts of the earliest Pottery Neolithic in the South Caucasus: Radiocarbon dates for Goytepe and Haci Elamxanli Tepe, Azerbaijan. American Journal of Archaeology, 119: 279–294. doi:10.3764/aja.119.3.0279
Palumbi, G. & Chataigner, C. 2014, The Kura-Araxes culture from the Caucasus to Iran, Anatolia and the Levant: between unity and diversity. A synthesis. Paléorient, 40(2): 247-260. doi:10.3406/paleo.2014.5645
Sagona, A. 2014, Rethinking the Kuro-Araxes Genesis. Paléorient, 40(2): 131-154. doi:10.3406/paleo.2014.5634
Stöllner, T., Craddock, B., Gambaschidze, I., Gogotchuri, G., Hauptmann, A., Hornschuch, A., Klein, F., Löffler, I., Mindiashwili, G., Murwanidze, B., Senczek, S., Schaich, M., Steffens, G., Tamasashvili, K. & Timberlake, S. 2014, Gold in the Caucasus: New research on gold extraction in the Kura-Araxes Culture of the 4th millennium BC and early 3rd millennium B.C.. In: Metalle der Macht, (Meller, H., Pernicka, E. & Risch, R., Eds.), Tagungen des landesmuseums für vorgeschichte, Halle: p. 71-110.
Tamazashvili, K. 2014, Prehistoric mining implements from Georgia. Mtsignobari, Tbilisi, 140 p.
Wright, K. 1992, A Classification System for Ground Stone Tools from the Prehistoric Levant. Paléorient, 18(2): 53-81. doi:10.3406/paleo.1992.4573
Arimura, M., Badalyan, R., Gasparyan, B. & Chataigner, C. 2010, Current Neolithic Research in Armenia. NEO-LITHICS, 1(10): 77-85.
Badalyan, R., Lombard, P., Avetisyan, P., Chataigner, C., Chabot, J., Vila, E., Hovsepyan, R., Willcox, G. & Pessin, H. 2007, New data on the Late Prehistory of the Southern Caucasus. The excavations at Aratashen (Armenia): Preliminary report. In: Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe siècle avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient, (Lyonnet, B., Ed.), Editions Recherches sur les civilisations, Paris: p. 37-61.
Badalyan, R., Harutyunyan, A., Chataigner, C., Le Mort, F., Chabot, J., Brochier, J.E., Balasescu, A., Radu, V. & Hovsepyan, R. 2010, The settlement of Aknashen-Khatunarkh. A Neolithic site in the Ararat plain (Armenia): Excavation Results 2004-2009. TÜBA-AR, 13 (2010): 185-218.
Chataigner, C., Badalyan, R. & Arimura, M. 2014, The Neolithic of the Caucasus. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 34 p. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.013.13
Chikovani, G. 1999, Shida-Kartli V-VIth millennium BC Ph.D [Shida-Kartli V-VIth millennium BC Ph.D]. Center for archaeological research publications, Tbilisi, 305 p.
Courcier, A., Bakhtiyar, J., Idriss, A., Farhad, G., Moritz, J., Lyonnet, B., Mukhtarov, N. & Museibli, N. 2017, The ancient metallurgy in Azerbaijan from the end of the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (6th-3rd millennium BCE): an overview in the light of new discoveries and recent archaeometallurgical research. In: The Kura Projects. New Research on the Later Prehistory of the Southern Caucasus, (Helwing, B., Aliyev, T., Lyonnet, B., Guliyev, F., Hansen, S. & Mirtskhulava, G., Eds), Archäologie in Iran und Turan 16: 25-35.
Djavakhishvili, A. 1998, Ausgrabungen in Bereekldebi (Shida-Kartli). Georgica, 21: 7-20. (in German) ("Excavations in Bereekldebi (Shida-Karlti")
Djavakhishvili, A. 1973, Строительное дело и архитектура поселений Южного Кавказа V-III тыс. до н.э., Center for archaeological research publications, Tbilisi. (in Russian) ("Rules of architecture of the South Caucasus V-IIIth before our era")
Dubreuil, L. 2004, Long-term trends in Natufian subsistence: a use-wear analysis of ground stone tools. Journal of Archaeological Science, 31: 1613-1629. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2004.04.003
Guliyev, F. & Nishiaki, Y. 2014, Excavations at the neolithic settlement of Göytepe, west Azerbaijan, 2010-2011. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Vol. 2, (Bielinski, P., Gawlikowski, M., Kolinski, R., Lawecka, D., Soltysiak, A., & Wygnanska, Z., Eds.), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden: p. 3-16.
Hamon, C. 2007, Modes de subsistance et activités dans le Chalcolithique du Caucase nord : étude fonctionnelle des outils en pierre de la culture de Maïkop, In: Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe siècle avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient, (Lyonnet, B., Ed.), Editions Recherches sur les civilisations, Paris: p. 189-198. (in French) ("Subsistance and activities in north Caucasian Chalcolithic: functional studies of stone tools from Majkop culture")
Hamon, C. 2008a, From Neolithic to Chalcolithic in the Southern Caucasus: Economy and macrolithic implements from Shulaveri-Shomu sites of Kwemo-Kartli (Georgia). Paléorient 34(2): 85-136. doi:10.3406/paleo.2008.5258
Hamon, C. 2008b, Functional analysis of stone grinding and polishing tools from the earliest Neolithic of north-western Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 1502-1520. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.10.017
Hamon, C., Jalabadze, M., Agapishvili, T., Baudouin, E., Koridze, E. & Messager, E. 2016, Gadachrili Gora: Architecture and organisation of a Neolithic settlement in the middle Kura Valley (6th millennium BC, Georgia). Quaternary International, 395: 154-169. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.01.055
Hamon, C. 2016, Salt from Duzdaği (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan): tools, techniques and organisation at a mining site in the Caucasus from the 5th to 3rd millennium BC. Journal of Field Archaeology, 41(4): 510-528. doi:10.1080/00934690.2016.1201615
Hansen S., Mirtskhulava G. & Bastert-Lamprichs K. 2013, Neolithic settlements of the 6th millennium BC in the southern Caucasus. In: Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia, (Nieuwenhuyse, O. P., Bernbeck, R., Akkermans, P.M.M.G. & Rogasch, J., Eds.), Brepols, Turnhout: p. 387-396.
Kiguradze, T. 1986, Neolithische Siedlungen von Kvemo-Kartli, Georgien. Materialen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie Vol. 29, C.H. Beck, München, 117 p. (in German) ("The neolithic sites from Kvemo-Kartli, Georgia")
Kiguradze, T. & Sagona, A. 2003, On the origins of the Kura-Araxes cultural complex. In: Archaeology in the Borderlands. Investigations in Caucasia and beyond, (Smith, A.T. & Rubinson, K.S., Eds.). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Monograph Vol. 47, University of California, Los Angeles: p. 38-94.
Kushnareva, K. 1997, The southern Caucasus in Prehistory. Stages of cultural and socioeconomic development from the 8th to the 2nd millennium BC, translated by H.N. Michael. University Museum Monograph Vol. 99, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: 279 p.
Lyonnet, B., (Ed.) 2007, Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe millénaires avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient. Editions recherches sur les civilisations, Paris, 295 p. (in French) ("The cultures of Caucasus (7e-3rd millenium before Christ). Their relation with the Near East").
Lyonnet, B. 2007, La culture de Maïkop, la Transcaucasie, l’Anatolie orientale et le Proche-Orient: relations et chronologie. In : Les cultures du Caucase (VIe-IIIe siècle avant notre ère). Leurs relations avec le Proche-Orient, (Lyonnet, B., Ed.), Editions Recherches sur les civilisations, Paris: p. 189-198. (in French) ("The Majkop culture, Transcaucasia, eastern Anatolia and the Near East: relations and chronologies").
Lyonnet, B., Guliev, F., Helwing, B., Aliyev, T., Hansen S. & Mirtskhulava, G. (Eds.) 2012, Ancient Kura 2010-2011: The first two seasons of joint field work in the southern Caucasus. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan, 44: 1-190.
Marro, C., Bakhshaliyev, V. & Ashurov, S. 2011, Excavations at Ovçular Tepesi (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan). Second preliminary report: the 2009-2010 seasons. Anatolia Antiqua, 19: 53-100. doi:10.3406/anata.2011.1089
Niebieridze, L. 1986, Paнный Ступень Звездазападноза Кавказ Скойран Земледельческой культура. Mietsniereba, Tbilisi. 124 p. (in Russian) (“The development of agriculture in Western Caucasus”).
Nishiaki, Y, Guliyev, F. & Kadowaki, S. 2015, Chronological contexts of the earliest Pottery Neolithic in the South Caucasus: Radiocarbon dates for Goytepe and Haci Elamxanli Tepe, Azerbaijan. American Journal of Archaeology, 119: 279–294. doi:10.3764/aja.119.3.0279
Palumbi, G. & Chataigner, C. 2014, The Kura-Araxes culture from the Caucasus to Iran, Anatolia and the Levant: between unity and diversity. A synthesis. Paléorient, 40(2): 247-260. doi:10.3406/paleo.2014.5645
Sagona, A. 2014, Rethinking the Kuro-Araxes Genesis. Paléorient, 40(2): 131-154. doi:10.3406/paleo.2014.5634
Stöllner, T., Craddock, B., Gambaschidze, I., Gogotchuri, G., Hauptmann, A., Hornschuch, A., Klein, F., Löffler, I., Mindiashwili, G., Murwanidze, B., Senczek, S., Schaich, M., Steffens, G., Tamasashvili, K. & Timberlake, S. 2014, Gold in the Caucasus: New research on gold extraction in the Kura-Araxes Culture of the 4th millennium BC and early 3rd millennium B.C.. In: Metalle der Macht, (Meller, H., Pernicka, E. & Risch, R., Eds.), Tagungen des landesmuseums für vorgeschichte, Halle: p. 71-110.
Tamazashvili, K. 2014, Prehistoric mining implements from Georgia. Mtsignobari, Tbilisi, 140 p.
Wright, K. 1992, A Classification System for Ground Stone Tools from the Prehistoric Levant. Paléorient, 18(2): 53-81. doi:10.3406/paleo.1992.4573
Published
01-Jun-2021
How to Cite
Hamon, C. (2021). Economy and status of Neolithic to Early Bronze age sites in the Southern Caucasus during the 6th‐3rd mill. BCE: The evidence from ground stone tools. Journal of Lithic Studies, 7(3), 18 p. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.3086
Issue
Section
Articles from the 2nd Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research
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