Research of Acheulian complexes at the site of Darwagchai-Zaliv-4 in 2019

The article presents the latest results of archaeological excavations at the Darvagchai-Zaliv-4 site with the main focus on describing and analyzing the archaeological section and collections of stone artifacts of the Final Early Paleolithic. The artifacts occurred in layers 3 and 5 (general stratigraphic column of the site). According to stratigraphy and planigraphy, they underwent minimal spatial displacement in post-depositional period. All stages of stone processing (from testing raw materials to production of tools) were present at the site. The most distinctive part of the collection were large pebble (choppers) and bifacially processed (choppers, pikes) tools. Tools on flakes included large series of scraper-shaped, spike-shaped, notched, and combined artifacts. Analysis of all aspects of lithic inventory has shown that the carriers of a single industrial tradition lived in that area during the emergence of the culture-bearing layers. All the above data makes it possible to conclude that the site was a repeatedly visited workshop-encampment, where mass production of the series of artifacts was carried out. The appearance and age of the typologically expressed artifacts indicate that these materials belonged to the Late Acheulean complexes of the Caucasus. Field archaeological studies have resulted in obtaining numerous new evidence on the earliest history of the region, which reveals more vivid picture of the evolution of stone industries in this territory in the Paleolithic since its earliest stages.