Main types of macrotools in the Acheulean complexes of Southeastern Dagestan

The article describes the development of main forms of macrotools in the Late Acheulean complexes from the Darvagchay geoarchaeological region (the middle course of the Darvagchay River). The collections of stone artefacts contain the items obtained in the excavations of recent years, including field archaeological research at the Darvagchay-Bay-1 and Darvagchay-Bay-4 sites in 2020. The chronology of cultural horizons at these sites was established from the results of malacofauna analysis, paleomagnetic studies, and a series of OSL dates. Two cultural and chronological complexes have been identified from technical and typological indicators of stone artifacts as well as absolute and relative chronology. The morphological features of the Acheulean macrotools and their detailed comparative analysis are described. The main reason for the differences in the complexes under study was primarily their chronological position. Despite the fact that they were separated by a considerable period of time, these Late Acheulean industries have more similarities with each other than with any archaeological materials of Dagestan and the entire Caucasus. On the basis of the whole set of data, it is clearly shown that these sites represent different chronological stages in the development of a single tradition of stone production. The Early Paleolithic complexes of the Darvagchay geoarcheological region show a number of morphological and typological features which distinguish them from the Acheulian industries of other regions. However, these archaeological materials are in good agreement with the general development of the Stone Age in the Caucasus, showing the features typical of the later Early Paleolithic of the local regional appearance.