Dzudzuana: An upper palaeolithic cave site in the caucasus foothills (Georgia)

Ofer Bar-Yosef, Anna Belfer-Cohen, Tengiz Mesheviliani, Nino Jakeli, Guy Bar-Oz, Elisabetta Boaretto, Paul Goldberg, Eliso Kvavadze, Zinovi Matskevich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The report announces the important radiocarbon-dated sequence recently obtained at Dzudzuana Cave in the southern Caucasus foothills. The first occupants here were modern humans, in c. 34.5-32.2 ka cal BP, and comparison with dated sequences on the northern slope of the Caucasus suggests that their arrival was rapid and widespread. The rich, well-dated assemblages of lithics, bone tools and a few art objects, coloured fibres, pollen and animal remains deposited at Dzudzuana through 20 millennia provide an invaluable point of reference for numerous other sites previously excavated in western Georgia. Detailed information has been placed in a supplementary excavation report online. The data support the significance of these excavations for a better understanding of modern human dispersals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)331-349
Number of pages19
JournalAntiquity
Volume85
Issue number328
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Archaeology
  • General Arts and Humanities

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