Chronology and Cultural Variability of the Middle Paleolithic of the Caucasus: data synthesis over the last quarter century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2025.4.20.30Keywords:
archaeology, Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals, chronology, cultural variability, CaucasusAbstract
The Middle Paleolithic in terms of the number of sites (over 400) is the most fully represented Paleolithic period in the Caucasus. However, a generally accepted scheme of cultural and chronological development of the Middle Paleolithic of this region has not yet been elaborated. The article provides a brief history of the study of this issue since the 2000s, and presents a synthesis of modern data that significantly changed our understanding of the chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of the Caucasus. The various Mousterian industries presented in the Caucasus, associated with the Eastern Micoquian in Europe, and Mousterian in the Levant and Zagros, indicate the Caucasian region was inhabited by culturally diverse Neanderthal populations from at least three different centers during the Middle Paleolithic.
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