UDC 930. 23 + 551.8

A. A. Zeynalov 1, S. S. Veliyev 2, E. N. Tagieva 2

Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan 31 G. Javid Ave., Baku, Azerbaijan Republic, Az1143

E-mail: azad2007@mail.ru

Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan 31 G. Javid Ave., Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, Az1143

E-mail: seyran_sibirli@mail.ru; tagelena@rambler.ru

Studies of the Gazma Mousterian cave site, the sediments of which were studied palynologically and granulometrically, showed that during the Mousterian period in Azerbaijan, people lived not only in the forest zone, but also in arid oak and juniper woodlands. Then the climate was arid, but wetter than it is now. It is established that a person began to settle in the Gazma cave during the period when the climate humidity began to increase. When the humidity began to decrease, the man left the cave.

Key words: Gazma, cave site, moustache, spikelets, palynological analysis, granulometric analysis, woodlands, climate.

Studies of the Azykh and Taglar Paleolithic cave sites on the southeastern slope of the Lesser Caucasus have provided rich material on the paleoecology of the ancient population living in forest landscapes. However, in the Paleolithic man also developed other landscapes, and in this respect the Mousterian cave site of Gazma is of interest, where palynological and granulometric analysis of sediments was carried out.

The territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic belongs to the Transcaucasian Highlands, the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus folded system, and is characterized by a long history of geological development - from Devonian to anthropogenic. Geological formations here consist of sedimentary (marine and continental) and intrusive rocks, strongly dislocated and often covered with post-Pliocene pebbles, conglomerates and travertines.

In the Oligocene, the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus entered the continental phase of development, and the Lesser Caucasus uplift occurred with the further deflection of the Araks depression, where intensive sedimentation took place in the Miocene. In the Pliocene, the trend of intensive uplift of the mountainous region and sinking of the neighboring Araks River valley intensified and the entire territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was completely drained. The beginning of the formation of the sloping plains bordering the Daralagez range from the south should also be attributed to this time. They are composed of salt-bearing rocks and are covered with Quaternary pebbles of varying thickness (Azizbekov, 1961).

The development of the Priaraksa folded-block region was often accompanied by volcanism. Most notable in terms of morphogenesis is the intense Cenozoic volcanism of the Late Alpine Orogenic stage, which manifested itself against the background of tectonic rearrangement of the ancient and formation of the modern structural plans of this region (Gadzhiev, 1999).

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1. General view of the Gazma cave.

The relief of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is determined by the presence of the Zangezur and Daralagez ranges on its territory, the slopes of which are divided by numerous rivers and their tributaries into a number of massifs. The area of the cave under study is located in the north-western part of the republic, on the south-western spurs of the Daralagez range and part of its watershed and includes the basins of the lower and middle reaches of the Eastern Arpachay, Nakhichevanchay rivers and a large right tributary of the latter - Dzhagrychay.

Gazma Cave was discovered in 1983 by the Paleolithic archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan under the leadership of M. M. Huseynov and A. K. Jafarov (Jafarov, 1992). The cave is located in the Sharur district of the republic, 3 km northeast of the village of Tananam and 11 km northwest of the village of Garabaglar, on the left slope of a dry valley in the Arpachay River basin, at an absolute altitude of 1450 m and 30 m above the river level (Fig. 1).

It is located in the dolomitized limestones of the Upper Triassic and is a corridor-type cave. The height of the entrance part is slightly more than 2 m, the width is approx. 6 m. At 12 m from the drip line, the cave diverges into two arms: the left one continues horizontally for approx. 7 m, the right one is approx. 13 m long, rising stepwise (the height of the steps is 0.5 - 1.0 m) to the roof of the cave at an angle of 60°, ending in a dead end. The difference in cave height at the end and beginning reaches 10 m (Yyyubov and Yliyev, 1973).

Excavations in the cave in 1987 - 1990 were conducted under the direction of A. K. Jafarov, in 2008-2009-A. A. Zeynalov (Fig. 2). Archaeological excavations revealed more than 30 m2 of the cave area at the level of the Mousterian layers. A 6-meter cross-section of the cave was obtained in the entrance part (Fig. 3) and almost 3-meter deep.

2. Excavation plan of the Gazma Cave (Jafarov, 1992).

a-zero line plan;

b - earthen floor of the cave;

b-a modern drip line.

3. Cross section of the Gazma cave.

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The incisions revealed six layers with a thickness of approx. 3 m. Layer I is Late Holocene and contains fragments of pottery from the Eneolithic, Bronze, and Medieval periods, as well as a few osteological remains belonging to domestic animals. Layers II and III are loam of various shades, containing a large amount of fine-grained material.

Layers IV-VI containing stone artefacts of the Mousterian period and traces of hunting and economic activity, in particular, a large amount of osteological material and foci, are of the greatest interest. In general, the entire thickness of the Paleolithic cultural layers (layers IV-VI) is lithologically homogeneous - it is a light loam, slightly varying in color, with focal and silty interlayers and limestone rubble.

Observations show that the cave was most intensively populated during the deposition of layers V and VI. It is in them that the greatest number of bones, coal and stone tools were found. The most powerful focal layers are also found in these layers. In particular, two foci were found in layer VI; one of them, located in the center of the cave, faces the cave's interior with its open side and is surrounded on three sides by large flat stones.

775 stone artefacts were found in the Mousterian layers of the Gazma Cave. The majority of the collection consists of obsidian products (690 copies), while the rest is made of flint and chert.

There are seven nuclei in the collection, six of them made of obsidian and one made of flint. Single-and double-sided nuclei, extremely worked, are residual forms.

By the nature of secondary processing, stone products can be divided into several groups that characterize the technical and typological features of the stone industry. Among them, Levallois and Mousterian pegs, various scrapers, limes, knives, scrapers, flakes, plates, and industrial waste were identified.

In the cultural deposits of the Gazma Cave, more than 15 thousand people were also found. bones. The species composition of the fauna was determined by D. V. Hajiyev and S. D. Aliyev. Faunal remains represent mainly large mammals, rodents and birds and belong to 24 animal species. Osteological material mainly includes fragments or small fragments of diaphysis of tubular bones of large mammals, which made it difficult to determine their species affiliation. The fauna includes: Pleistocene donkey Equus hidruntinus Reg., goat Capra sp., ram (wild) Ovis sp., hare Lepus europaeus L., pika Ochotona sp., dog Canis sp., badger Meles meles L., primitive bull Bos primigenius, cave lion Felis spelaeus, cave bear Spelaearctos spelaeus Ros., deer Cervus elaphus L., horse Equus caballus L., gazelle Gazella subgutturosa Guld., rodents Rodentia and other species of theriofauna (Jafarov, 1999).

Late Pleistocene (Early Khvalynian) deposits in the Gazma region were studied palynologically in two sections. The first one is located in the entrance part of the cave. 12 samples* taken from the cross section of the cave, line A-C, were examined (see Figures 2, 3). The samples were extremely poor in pollen. A total of 57 pollen grains of rather poor preservation were found in them (eaten, mechanically destroyed, flattened, crumpled, etc.). Therefore, the spore-pollen diagram was constructed in units of pollen grains (Fig.4, a).

The pollen of tree species is represented by single grains of oak (Quercus) and alder (Alnus), which are recorded in layers I, III and VI. Among herbaceous plant pollen (50 pollen grains) Haze plants (Chenopodiaceae) predominate, with slightly less pollen from cereals (Poaceae) and wormwood (Artemisia), but, like haze plants, they are present in almost all samples. Pollen grains of Asteraceae (Asteraceae) and Ericaceae (Ericaceae) are also found. A representative of centipede spores (Polypodiaceae) was found in sample 12.

The greatest amount of pollen is concentrated in layers I, II, V, VI. It should be noted that the cultural layers begin with layer IV, which is most pollen-depleted. The general nature of the pollen found reflects rather xerophilic conditions of vegetation existence.

For the second section, obtained near the above-described site, on the 40-meter terrace of the Arpachay River with an absolute elevation of 950 m above sea level, the spore-pollen diagram from the same-age sediments was also constructed by the number of pollen grains (Fig. The sediments are very poor in pollen and spores; among the pollen of trees and shrubs, single grains of oak (Quercus), grape (Vitis) and juniper (Juniperus) are found. The pollen of herbaceous plants is more abundant and diverse, representatives of various grass and coastal coenoses with a predominance of the latter are noted. Sedge pollen dominates the entire spectrum. The lower part of the diagram (sample 20) is most rich in pollen: pollen of all woody and herbaceous plants found in the spectrum and single spores of fern (Polypodiaceae) are noted. This spectrum reflects the conditions of vegetation growth in a swampy area, in the immediate vicinity of the river.

* Samples were processed in 1990 at the Laboratory of Evolutionary Geography of the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

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4. Spore-pollen diagram of sections of the Gazma Cave (a) and the Arpachay River (b).

1 - clay sand; 2-buried soil; 3-loam; 4-sandstone; 5-sandy clay; 6-clastic material; 7-sum of tree pollen; 8-sum of herbaceous pollen; 9-soil cover.

5. Granulometric composition of the deposits of the Gazma cave,%.

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A general analysis of the above-described spectra suggests the existence of sparse oak forests in this period of time. They obviously consisted of a very frost-and drought-resistant eastern oak (Quercus macr anthera). Some islands of such forests have been preserved to this day only along the Nakhichevanchay and Alinjachay rivers in the altitude range of 1500 - 1900 m. Light oak forests with xerophilic grasses were combined with arid juniper woodlands on rocky slopes. This indicates a wetter climate than it is now. Now it is so dry here that the conditions are unfavorable even for the growth of this drought-resistant oak. A wetter climate is also indicated by the granulometric composition of the deposits of the Gazma Cave*. Six samples from cave deposits were examined: one from layers III and VI and two from layers IV and V showed a predominance of small rock fragments up to 40 mm in size, which account for 70-95% of the total number of fragments. The proportion of larger fragments (from 40 to 80 mm) does not exceed 15-20 %, the content of large fragments (80 mm or more) is negligible (Fig. 5). The rock containing the Gazma cave - dolomitized limestone - is strongly fractured. Moisture entering the cracks contributes to their expansion and disintegration of the rock. As a result, the number of wrecks increases significantly, mainly small ones. It follows that during the ancient man's stay in the cave, the climatic conditions of the Gazma region were quite humid. An increase in the proportion of small fragments from the bottom up along the section indicates that humidity was constantly increasing during this period.

Thus, it can be argued that in the Mustier era in the territory of Azerbaijan, people lived not only in forests, but also in a strip of woodlands. In the Gazma area, these were light oak forests and arid juniper woodlands with xerophilic grasses. Apparently, then the living conditions for a person were much more favorable than they are now. The climate was arid, but much wetter. Perhaps there was also a forest belt slightly higher up the slope. Interestingly, human habitation in the Gazma cave coincides with an increase in the humidity of the climate of the entire area. When the humidity began to decrease, the man left the cave.

List of literature

Azizbekov Sh. A. Geologiya Nakhichevanskoy ASSR [Geology of the Nakhichevan ASSR], Moscow: Gosgeoltekhizdat, 1961, 502 p.

Gadzhiev V. D. Paleogeomorphology of Meso-Cenozoic volcanism regions of Nakhchivan and Talysh. Baku: Agrydag Publ., 1999, 194 p.

Jafarov, A. K., A new multi-layered Gasma mousterian site in Azerbaijan, RA. - 1992. - N 2. - pp. 270-274.

Jafarov A. K. The Middle Paleolithic of Azerbaijan. Baku: Elm Publ., 1999, 343 p.

Əyyubov F. C., Əliyev А. Ə. Naxçivan karst mağaralarin morfoloji SSR EA Yer haqqmda seriyasi. - 1973. - N 3. - S. 41 - 46.

The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 26.01.10.

* Samples were processed in 2003 in the Paleogeography Department of the Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

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