HADJOH-2: A MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC WORKSHOP-CAMP IN NORTHWESTERN CAUCASUS

Abstract

This article outlines the results of a multidisciplinary study of a stratifi ed Middle Paleolithic site Hadjoh-2, northwestern Caucasus, situated at the outcrop of high-quality Shahan fl int. During fi ve fi eld seasons, more than 6-meter deep deposits were excavated over an area of ca 33 sq. m. Ten lithological strata and four habitation horizons were identifi ed. Excavations focused on the bottom layers 6 and 7. During their accumulation, the site occupied a fl oodplain terrace on the right bank of the Sredniy Hadjoh River, a right tributary of the Belaya. Because the terrace dates to the Middle/Late Pleistocene boundary, the site is no earlier than the beginning of Late Pleistocene, 130–120 ka BP. Results of pollen analysis suggest that the climate was cold and dry, and subalpine and alpine meadows prevailed around the site at that time. The study of lithic assemblages shows that the bottom layers accumulated when the site was a workshop near the fl int outcrops. In both layers, knapping debris such as cores, chips, and small fragments predominate. Most tools are unfi nished bifacial forms. These assemblages are paralleled by the Eastern Micoquian industries of Mezmaiskaya, Barakaevskaya, Monasheskaya, and Ilskaya.