Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Middle Paleolithic Lithic Technology and Behavior in the Hrazdan River Gorge, Armenia.

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

Under the guidance of Dr. Daniel S. Adler, Beverly A. Schmidt will conduct a technological analysis of curated and recently excavated lithic assemblages from the cave sites of Lusakert I and Yerevan I, located 25km apart in the Hrazdan Gorge, Armenia, dating to between 60,000 and 40,000 BP. Both sites are located within relatively shallow, naturally-formed columnar basalt caves in close proximity to numerous high-quality obsidian sources. Lusakert I is the only cave site from this time period in Armenia with stratified deposits of well-preserved archaeological material recovered using modern methods, while Yerevan I has traditionally been used as a benchmark assemblage for southern Caucasus lithic industries. However, the few available publications for the two sites present conflicting interpretations regarding the nature of early human technological behavior, site occupation and duration, mobility, and land-use. Therefore, it is even more important to substantiate or reject prior interpretations with a thorough and detailed analysis. Ms. Schmidt's research provides the first opportunity to conduct a variety of technical and behavioral studies in the area that would be comparable to published studies from neighboring regions. Armenia presents a gap in our knowledge of lithic technologies and behaviors in the Caucasus region, which is situated between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, incorporating areas of Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The identification of technological and stylistic variants in a lithic assemblage can be interpreted as markers of cultural traditions and innovations. Due to the influence on lithic technologies by raw material quality and availability, foraging practices, mobility range, and cost-benefit decision-making, it is possible to infer human behavioral patterns in flake production, reduction, resource acquisition and exploitation, planning and curation, economic efficiency, regional networks, and material transportation patterns. The main goal of Ms. Schmidt's project is to expand the limited knowledge of early human behavior in the southern Caucasus and to test hypotheses related to technology, behavior, site occupation and duration, mobility range, and raw material economy, establishing a dataset for comparisons with already published sites. This research will also contribute to the exchange of scholarly information both within the Caucasus, and between adjacent regions, in the form of academic publications, conference presentations, and online availability of site graphics, regional information, maps, and site reports. The collaboration and academic relationships established through Ms. Schmidt's research will continue to promote archaeological field research and technological analysis in Armenia, specifically the ongoing cooperation between Yerevan State University, the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Armenian National History Museum in Yerevan, and the University of Connecticut in the US.