The MIS 4 environmental stress impact on hominin occupation in the northwestern Caucasus: New evidence from the Hadjoh 2 site. (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Doronicheva, Ekaterina; Golovanova, Liubov; Doronichev, Vladimir; Nedomolkin, Andrey; Tregub, Tamara; Volkov, Maksim; Rusakov, Aleksey; Korzinova, Anastasiya; Muriy, Aleksandr
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 47(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: Northwestern Caucasus -- Middle Palaeolithic -- MIS 4 impact; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103781
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Highlights: Hadjoh 2 preserves four Middle Paleolithic layers dating from 120 to 100 ka to 50–45 ka. Flint knapping workshops are represented in all layers. Some of Hadjoh 2 assemblages are reminiscent of the variant of Eastern Micoquian. New evidence indicates MIS 4 depositional hiatus and lack of hominins at Hadjoh 2. Data suggests the lowest intensity of hominin occupation of the region during MIS 4. Abstract: The Hadjoh 2 open-air site is one of a few Middle Palaeolithic sites known in the northwestern Caucasus, which provide evidence of both the early (MIS 5) and late (MIS 3) stages of the Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the region. The 2020 multidisciplinary research indicates that Hadjoh 2 preserves four distinct Middle Palaeolithic layers, which house the evidence for hominins that produced the Middle Palaeolithic assemblages and visited the site periodically from about 120–100 ka in MIS 5d to about 50–45 ka in MIS 3. At present, Hadjoh 2 is the only Middle Palaeolithic open-air site in the North Caucasus, in which the site's lithostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental conditions were investigated by means of modern-level studies, including palynological and paleopedologic analyses, and magnetic proxy data.