Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave
Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Armenian Highlands and wider southern Caucasus region emphasises the significance of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (c. 57–29 ka) as a crucial period for understanding hominin behaviours amidst environmental fluctuations. Ararat-1 cave, situate...
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Quaternary Science Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033423000540 |
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| author | Jennifer E. Sherriff Artur Petrosyan Dominik Rogall David Nora Ellery Frahm Tobias Lauer Theodoros Karambaglidis Monika V. Knul Delphine Vettese Dmitri Arakelyan Shira Gur-Arieh Paloma Vidal-Matutano Jacob Morales Helen Fewlass Simon P.E. Blockley Rhys Timms Ani Adigyozalyan Hayk Haydosyan Phil Glauberman Boris Gasparyan Ariel Malinsky-Buller |
| author_facet | Jennifer E. Sherriff Artur Petrosyan Dominik Rogall David Nora Ellery Frahm Tobias Lauer Theodoros Karambaglidis Monika V. Knul Delphine Vettese Dmitri Arakelyan Shira Gur-Arieh Paloma Vidal-Matutano Jacob Morales Helen Fewlass Simon P.E. Blockley Rhys Timms Ani Adigyozalyan Hayk Haydosyan Phil Glauberman Boris Gasparyan Ariel Malinsky-Buller |
| author_sort | Jennifer E. Sherriff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Armenian Highlands and wider southern Caucasus region emphasises the significance of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (c. 57–29 ka) as a crucial period for understanding hominin behaviours amidst environmental fluctuations. Ararat-1 cave, situated in the Ararat Depression, Republic of Armenia, presents potential for resolving emerging key debates regarding hominin land use adaptations during this interval, due to its well-preserved lithic artefacts and faunal assemblages. We present the first results of combined sedimentological, geochronological (luminescence and radiocarbon), archaeological and palaeoecological (macrofauna, microfauna and microcharcoal) study of the Ararat-1 sequence. We demonstrate sediment accumulation occurred between 52 and 35 ka and was caused by a combination of aeolian activity, cave rockfall and water action. Whilst the upper strata of the Ararat-1 sequence experienced post-depositional disturbance due to faunal and anthropogenic processes, the lower strata remain relatively undisturbed. We suggest that during a stable period within MIS 3, Ararat-1 was inhabited by Middle Palaeolithic hominins amidst a mosaic of semi-arid shrub, grassland, and temperate woodland ecosystems. These hominins utilised local and distant toolstone raw materials, indicating their ability to adapt to diverse ecological and elevation gradients. Through comparison of Ararat-1 with other sequences in the region, we highlight the spatial variability of MIS 3 environments and its on hominin land use adaptations. This demonstrates the importance of the Armenian Highlands for understanding regional MP settlement dynamics during a critical period of hominin dispersals and evolution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:15:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e7446b82aa8146feaa52289b397a7317 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-0334 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:41:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | Quaternary Science Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-e7446b82aa8146feaa52289b397a73172024-03-08T05:19:21ZengElsevierQuaternary Science Advances2666-03342024-01-0113100122Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 caveJennifer E. Sherriff0Artur Petrosyan1Dominik Rogall2David Nora3Ellery Frahm4Tobias Lauer5Theodoros Karambaglidis6Monika V. Knul7Delphine Vettese8Dmitri Arakelyan9Shira Gur-Arieh10Paloma Vidal-Matutano11Jacob Morales12Helen Fewlass13Simon P.E. Blockley14Rhys Timms15Ani Adigyozalyan16Hayk Haydosyan17Phil Glauberman18Boris Gasparyan19Ariel Malinsky-Buller20Department of Geography, School of Global Affairs, Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy King's College London, UK; Corresponding author.Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, ArmeniaThe Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, IsraelThe Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, IsraelDepartment of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USAMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany; Terrestrial Sedimentology Research Group, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, GermanyThe Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Geological and Mining Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, SpainDepartment of Archaeology, Anthropology and Geography, University of Winchester, Winchester, UKHistoire Naturelle de L’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194), Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Homme et Environnement, Equipe Nomade, CNRS, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France; Dipartimento Degli Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università Degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Económicas y Ecológicas durante La Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, SpainInstitute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, ArmeniaInstitute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany; The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, Haifa University, IsraelDepartamento de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, SpainTARHA Research Group, Department of Historical Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, SpainMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, GermanyCentre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UKCentre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, UKInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, ArmeniaInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, ArmeniaInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia; The Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and Universitat Rovirai I Virgili, Tarragona, Spain; Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, ArmeniaThe Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, IsraelArchaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Armenian Highlands and wider southern Caucasus region emphasises the significance of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (c. 57–29 ka) as a crucial period for understanding hominin behaviours amidst environmental fluctuations. Ararat-1 cave, situated in the Ararat Depression, Republic of Armenia, presents potential for resolving emerging key debates regarding hominin land use adaptations during this interval, due to its well-preserved lithic artefacts and faunal assemblages. We present the first results of combined sedimentological, geochronological (luminescence and radiocarbon), archaeological and palaeoecological (macrofauna, microfauna and microcharcoal) study of the Ararat-1 sequence. We demonstrate sediment accumulation occurred between 52 and 35 ka and was caused by a combination of aeolian activity, cave rockfall and water action. Whilst the upper strata of the Ararat-1 sequence experienced post-depositional disturbance due to faunal and anthropogenic processes, the lower strata remain relatively undisturbed. We suggest that during a stable period within MIS 3, Ararat-1 was inhabited by Middle Palaeolithic hominins amidst a mosaic of semi-arid shrub, grassland, and temperate woodland ecosystems. These hominins utilised local and distant toolstone raw materials, indicating their ability to adapt to diverse ecological and elevation gradients. Through comparison of Ararat-1 with other sequences in the region, we highlight the spatial variability of MIS 3 environments and its on hominin land use adaptations. This demonstrates the importance of the Armenian Highlands for understanding regional MP settlement dynamics during a critical period of hominin dispersals and evolution.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033423000540Middle PalaeolithicMIS 3GeoarchaeologyGeochronologyFaunal analysisArmenia |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer E. Sherriff Artur Petrosyan Dominik Rogall David Nora Ellery Frahm Tobias Lauer Theodoros Karambaglidis Monika V. Knul Delphine Vettese Dmitri Arakelyan Shira Gur-Arieh Paloma Vidal-Matutano Jacob Morales Helen Fewlass Simon P.E. Blockley Rhys Timms Ani Adigyozalyan Hayk Haydosyan Phil Glauberman Boris Gasparyan Ariel Malinsky-Buller Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave Quaternary Science Advances Middle Palaeolithic MIS 3 Geoarchaeology Geochronology Faunal analysis Armenia |
| title | Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave |
| title_full | Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave |
| title_fullStr | Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave |
| title_full_unstemmed | Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave |
| title_short | Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the Armenian Highlands during MIS 3: Evidence from Ararat-1 cave |
| title_sort | palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of hominin occupations of the armenian highlands during mis 3 evidence from ararat 1 cave |
| topic | Middle Palaeolithic MIS 3 Geoarchaeology Geochronology Faunal analysis Armenia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033423000540 |
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