Abstract
The cave of Getahovit-2 is situated in north-eastern Armenia, in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus which dominate the valley of the Kura. The excavations (2011–2017), carried out by the Armenian-French mission ‘Caucasus’, have revealed several phases of occupation – Upper Palaeolithic (ca 22,000 cal BC), Chalcolithic (ca. 4700-4050 cal BC), and early Middle Ages (ca. 900–1200 cal AD). Although the cave is near outcroppings of flint (lower valley of the Aghstev river), the artifacts found there are mainly in obsidian, whatever the period of occupation. During the Chalcolithic period (levels IV-III), the cave served as a shelter for herds, as seen in the succession of coprolite deposits, that were regularly burned to clean the floor of the cave. The origin of the populations that sheltered their herds in this cave is difficult to determine. LA-ICP-MS analyses have been carried out to study the provenance of the obsidian artifacts found in level III. Corroborated by the techno-typological study of the artifacts, they have enabled the differentiation of two assemblages: the first, coming from deposits situated on Armenian territory (Geghasar, Gutansar, Arteni, Tsaghkunyats) and consisting of blanks knapped by percussion (flakes above all), and the second coming from deposits situated in Georgia (Chikiani) or Turkey (region of Sarıkamış) and consisting of pressure-flaked blades. In the lower part of level III (ca 4700-4400 cal BC), the provenance of the obsidian (mainly Gutansar) suggests links with the south, the Ararat plain. For the upper part of level III (ca. 4400-4050 cal BC), it is the outcrops situated farther north (Tsaghkunyats) that were the origin of almost 60% of the pieces analysed. Based on environmental, cultural and ethnographic data, we discuss the role of the cave of Getahovit-2 and the mobility of the human groups who occupied it in the 5th millennium BC.
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