OLDOWAN SITES OF DAGESTAN IN THE CONTEXT OF EURASIAN PREHISTORY

In the early 21st century, a substantial group of Oldowan sites was discovered in Central Dagestan. The thickness of the early Quaternary deposits at most of these sites exceeds 70 meters, containing more than three dozen cultural layers. In the majority of these layers, archaeological remains are represented solely by flint tools, while some layers also contain numerous faunal materials. Interdisciplinary studies of these cultural layers have underscored the fundamental importance of the data obtained for addressing the problem of the initial human settlement in Eurasia. Diverse data obtained during excavations of the multi-layered sites of Ainikab 1, Muhkai 1, Muhkai 2 and 2a, and Gegalashur 1 indicate the presence of ancient humans in the Caucasus, at the junction of Southeastern Europe and Western Asia, no later than 1.95 million years ago. The data suggest that the actual date of this event is likely older, a matter currently under ongoing research. The cultural layers of the Oldowan sites in Central Dagestan span nearly the entire Early Pleistocene, permitting the chronological placement of the Oldowan and Early Acheulean periods and their corresponding cultures within the local Paleolithic periodization scheme. Results based on comparative-typological and technological analysis of complexes from different levels of cultural strata at these sites are firmly grounded in direct stratigraphic data, leaving little room for ambiguous or alternative interpretations regarding both the age and the temporal evolution of the technical and typological characteristics of the stone industries. Such an opportunity for detailed study is presently unmatched in any other region of Eurasia. The technical and typological characteristics of stone tools from the lower and middle sections of the studied sites correspond to the classic Oldowan industry. Materials from the upper sections, however, indicate the decline of the Oldowan era and the transition to the Early Acheulean.