Pages: 257-278

Recent research shows evidence of human migrations from Western Asia into Central Asia during the final Pleistocene — early Holocene transition. The Eastern Caspian region serves as a bridge between these two regions. The rockshelter of Dam-Dam-Cheshme-2, located in the Eastern Caspian, is one of the region’s most important multilayer stratified sites. It was discovered and excavated by A. P. Okladnikov in 1950s, but only a short description of the site’s stone tool assemblage has been published. This article presents a comprehensive attribute analysis of the lithic industry from the Mesolithic level of Dam-Dam-Cheshme 2 and reveals the features of application of pressure techniques. The findings allowed a correlation with materials collected from adjoining regions. This industry demonstrates important similarities with Mesolithic assemblages of the Southern Caspian, suggesting that this macroregion was one whole cultural area between ca. 12—10 kyr bp.

Keywords: Eastern Caspian, Mesolithic, Trialetian Mesolithic culture, knapping technology, microliths

Information about authors:

Saltanat Alisher kyzy (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Svetlana Shnaider (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Kseniya Kolobova (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Andrey Krivoshapkin (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]