Mashale III: a new archaeological site in the Eastern Pamir

An objective of the Russian-Tajik expedition in 2024 included the discovery of new archaeological sites along the Mashale River (Eastern Pamir). Previously, during work conducted in the 1970s, V.A. Zhukov identified four Stone Age sites in this valley: Mashale I, rock shelter Mashale, Mashale II, and Jarty Gumbez. During recent surveys, two new caves, Mashale III and Mashale IV, were discovered. This reviews the preliminary results of the archaeological study of the Mashale III cave. A test pit was placed within the cave, revealing a single layer containing diverse finds: bones and teeth of ovicaprids, including bones showing anthropogenic marks, isolated stone artifacts, and elongated bone beads. Fifteen ochre spots were identified on the cave walls, some of which are only visible via DStretch image processing. Since images are non-figurative, some spots may have a natural origin; however, the artificial origin of one arrow or human image, three linear and ochre dot marks are indisputable. Similar motifs have been recorded in the Sangi-Kashida, Darvaz-Tash-1, -2, and Naizatash-2 sites located in neighboring valleys. The discovered evidence allows for a preliminary chronological and cultural correlation of the Mashale III cave, tentatively associating the site with the Neolithic-Chalcolithic period. Given the limited number of artifacts and the site location (high above the river in a narrow section of the valley), it can be suggested that the cave was used as a temporary hunting shelter. Concurrently, the cave inhabitants likely created red ochre images on the walls, which may have had sacred meaning.