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Upper Palaeolithic Settlement and Mobility in the Armenian Highlands: Agent-Based Modeling, Obsidian Sourcing, and Lithic Analysis at Aghitu-3 Cave

DOI:10.1007/s41982-019-00025-5
Authors:
Ellery Frahm at Yale University
Ellery Frahm
Andrew W. Kandel at Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften
Andrew W. Kandel
  • Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften
Boris Gasparyan at National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
Boris Gasparyan
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Abstract and Figures

Excavations at Aghitu-3 Cave in Armenia revealed stratified Upper Palaeolithic archaeological horizons (AHs), spanning from 39 to 36,000 cal BP (AH VII) to 29–24,000 cal BP (AH III) and from which we identified the sources of 1120 obsidian artifacts. Not only does AH III—deposited at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum—have the most artifacts from non-regional sources but also the artifacts originate from the greatest variety of sources, including two ≥ 270 km on foot in different directions. The amount of retouch and density of lithics—as expressed by whole assemblage behavioral indicators (WABI)—suggest a trend from more expediency to more curation between the deposition of AHs VII and IV. This was followed by a substantial shift back to expediency during the deposition of AH III, corresponding to greater logistical mobility. Here, we use agent-based modeling (ABM) to interpret these data. Greater interactions between foraging groups are not an unavoidable outcome of a shift from residential to logistical mobility. Some variables (i.e., lithic stock, use intensity, provisioning strategy) can be ruled out, while other variables (i.e., decreased source abundance, a shift to direct procurement) appear inconsistent with the archaeological data. Territory spacing, in contrast, has a clear and predictable effect. A small decrease in territory spacing can yield notable increases in inter-group contact opportunities and can be explained by an increase in population densities as the climate cooled. Following this scenario, we assume that, as AH III accumulated, the cave’s occupants not only moved farther distances but also more frequently encountered neighboring groups.
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Upper Palaeolithic Settlement
and Mobility in the Armenian Highlands: Agent-Based
Modeling, Obsidian Sourcing, and Lithic Analysis
at Aghitu-3 Cave
Ellery Frahm, et al. [full author details at the end of the article]
#Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
Excavations at Aghitu-3 Cave in Armenia revealed stratified Upper Palaeolithic ar-
chaeological horizons (AHs), spanning from 39 to 36,000 cal BP (AH VII) to 29–
24,000 cal BP (AH III) and from which we identified the sources of 1120 obsidian
artifacts. Not only does AH III—deposited at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum—
have the most artifacts from non-regional sources but also the artifacts originate from
the greatest variety of sources, including two ≥270 km on foot in different directions.
The amount of retouch and density of lithics—as expressed by whole assemblage
behavioral indicators (WABI)—suggest a trend from more expediency to more curation
between the deposition of AHs VII and IV. This was followed by a substantial shift
back to expediency during the deposition of AH III, corresponding to greater logistical
mobility. Here, we use agent-based modeling (ABM) to interpret these data. Greater
interactions between foraging groups are not an unavoidable outcome of a shift from
residential to logistical mobility. Some variables (i.e., lithic stock, use intensity, provi-
sioning strategy) can be ruled out, while other variables (i.e., decreased source abun-
dance, a shift to direct procurement) appear inconsistent with the archaeological data.
Territory spacing, in contrast, has a clear and predictable effect. A small decrease in
territory spacing can yield notable increases in inter-group contact opportunities and
can be explained by an increase in population densities as the climate cooled. Follow-
ing this scenario, we assume that, as AH III accumulated, the cave’soccupantsnotonly
moved farther distances but also more frequently encountered neighboring groups.
Keywords Computer simulation .NetLogo .Hunter-gatherers .Agent-based modeling
(ABM) .Whole assemblage behavioral indicators (WABI)
Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-019-00025-5
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... This layer was exposed over a small area and yielded only a small lithic collection. The main raw material used at the site was obsidian, transported mostly from a source located ~ 30-40 km north-west of the site, with a few items originating from sources located ~ 110-150 km in the same direction (Frahm et al., 2019;Kandel et al., 2017). At Aghitu-3, levels III-VI display technological characteristics similar to the assemblages from Ortvale Klde and Bondi caves, dominated by a unidirectional reduction sequence for bladelet production and to a lesser extent blades. ...
... There were no ecological or natural barriers between the Southern Caucasus and Armenian Highland sites, and at least one obsidian raw material source (Chikiani) was shared between the two regions (Adler, 2002;Adler et al., 2006;Malinsky-Buller et al., 2021b) . Additionally, inhabitants of the late MP and early UP used the same obsidian sources in the Armenian Highlands (Frahm et al., 2019(Frahm et al., , 2021Kandel et al., 2017;Malinsky-Buller et al., 2021b). ...
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... Considered in relation to artifact density, the ratio of tools to the total number of artifacts, or retouch frequency, is commonly assessed to determine the degree of emphasis on core reduction and blank production versus tool use and discard in stratified, palimpsest lithic artifact assemblages like those at Barozh 12 (cf. Kuhn 1992; Barton and Riel-Salvatore 2014;Clark and Barton 2017;Frahm et al. 2019). While this ratio can be considered flawed due to varying levels of control on site sampling and calculating artifact densities and sedimentation rates (Kuhn and Clark 2015), it can depict general trends in palimpsest assemblage formation and suggest the intensity of site occupation in relation to residential or logistical mobility and place or individual toolstone provisioning (Binford 1980;Kuhn 1992Kuhn , 1995Barton and Riel-Salvatore 2014). ...
... For data description, see Table 19. Following Clark and Barton (2017: Fig. 1 and Table 1) and Frahm et al. (2019: Fig. 6), extremes of this dataset indicate low-density, more curated assemblages suggesting residential mobility and individual provisioning, and high-density, more expedient assemblages suggestive of logistical mobility with place provisioning (Fig. 18b). The significantly high source diversity observed in the surface assemblage likely reflects biased collection of diagnostic artifacts from a large surface area. ...
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Barozh 12 is a late Middle Paleolithic open-air locality in western Armenia dating from 60,000 to 31,000 years ago. Stratified deposits with high densities of obsidian artifacts permit the analysis of diachronic trends in manufacture, reduction, discard, and toolstone provisioning as related to technological organization in the context of hunter-gatherer mobility and land use. Throughout much of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, the occupants of Barozh 12 employed consistent unidirectional-convergent and unidirectional Levallois and "para-Levallois" core reduction techniques. Site occupation intensity varied over time, with changing emphasis on local core reduction and tool discard. Obsidian artifact sourcing indicates predominantly local toolstone exploitation, while blanks bearing retouch were intermittently transported to Barozh 12 over distances up to ~190 linear km. As a repeatedly visited, persistent place in regional settlement systems, this site records a range of mobility strategies and differential use of diverse eco-geographic zones. This study - a detailed analysis of late Middle Paleolithic technological organization at an open-air site in the Armenian highlands - broadens the regional record of Late Pleistocene hominin technological behaviors and settlement dynamics during a crucial period of human evolution.
... Over the last decade, the use of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to analyse the elemental composition of obsidian artefacts and source material has been integrated into MP artefact assemblage analysis (Adler et al., 2014;Frahm et al., 2014aFrahm et al., ,b, 2016aFrahm et al., ,b, 2019aFrahm et al., ,b, 2020Glauberman et al., 2020b;Malinsky-Buller et al., 2020. So far, thousands of obsidian MP artefacts of all type classes (cores, flakes, tools, chips) have been sourced. ...
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... Several other Pleistocene sites have provided small-mammal studies in the Middle East: Qesem Cave Maul et al. 2016), Hummal (Maul et al. 2015), Aghitu-3 Cave (Kandel et al. 2017;Nishiaki and Akazawa 2018;Frahm 2019), Nesher Ramla (Weissbrod and Zaidner 2014), Amud Cave (Belmaker and Hovers 2011), Misliya Cave (Weissbrod and Weinstein-Evron 2020), Dzudzuana Cave (Belmaker et al. 2016), Kaldar Cave (Rey-Rodríguez et al. 2020, Shanidar Cave (Tilby et al. 2020), Kudaro Caves (Baryshnikov 2002) and Karain Cave (Demirel et al. 2011). ...
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Located at the crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia, the Southern Caucasus is a prime location to study occupations by H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis and anatomically modern humans. Azokh Cave is an important site for the understanding of human evolution in its archaeological, palaeontological, environmental and ecological context. The main objective of this work is to use rodents to infer the climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the formation of the site. The small-mammal remains come from the archaeological excavation campaigns carried out in Azokh 1 in 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2018; they are from Unit V, Units III–IV and Unit II. The small-mammal assemblage is composed of at least 13 taxa: seven arvicoline, two cricetine, two gerbilline, one dipodid and one murine species. Units III–IV do not yield enough material to draw palaeoclimatic inferences. The palaeoclimatic conditions for Units V and II, ascertained by means of the bioclimatic model, suggest temperatures and precipitation similar to nowadays; the climate seems to be relatively warm-temperate in both units. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction by means of habitat weighting points to an environment mainly composed of desert and steppe habitats, as well as portions of grassland and forest. This interpretation differs from that inferred from the large-mammal and archaeobotanical data, which indicate a woodland environment. These differences could be explained by the origin of the accumulation. There was no evidence of a major palaeoenvironmental or palaeoclimatic change between the Middle and Late Pleistocene layers, indicating favourable conditions throughout the study period.
... Which particular outcrops were exploited can reveal information on territoriality or lack thereof, while the distance and directionality between an artifact's discard provenience and its origin outcrop can shed light on past mobility patterns or trade networks (e.g. Boulanger et al. 2005Boulanger et al. , 2006Boulanger et al. , 2012Boulanger et al. , 2015Burke 1997;Ditchfield and Ward 2019;Eren et al. 2021;Evans et al. 2010;Frahm 2012Frahm , 2014Frahm , 2020Frahm et al. 2014Frahm et al. , 2016Frahm et al. , 2019Frahm et al. , 2020Hamilton et al. 2009Hamilton et al. , 2013Hoard et al. 1993;Hofman et al. 1991;Huckell et al. 2011;Luedke 1993;McCoy et al. 2010;Parish 2018;Parish and Finn 2016;Quigg et al. 2011;Shackley 2007;Speer 2014aSpeer , 2014bSpeer , 2016Speer , 2019Speer and Jennings 2019;White 2014;Wyckoff 2005). ...
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... Once again, the success of studying Paleolithic network formation will depend in part on the geological environments of study areas. Localities with multiple sources of raw material of similar quality will be the most amenable to this kind of research (e.g., Frahm et al. 2019;Tomasso and Porraz 2016). Temporal resolution is also a potentially confounding factor in attempting to reconstruct ancient networks from displacements of objects. ...
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