Paravani-2, a Late Upper Palaeolithic rock-shelter site in the Javakheti highland, Southern Caucasus (Georgia)

Abstract

In the second half of the last century, numerous excavations were carried out in the Southern Caucasus, particularly in Georgia. However, most of the sites excavated were given a cultural attribution based on the material found, in the absence of absolute radiocarbon dating. Errors concerning the cultural attribution of sites appear to have occurred, as revealed by our re-excavation (2012–2014) of the Paravani-2 rock shelter, which was initially considered to be a pre-Ceramic Neolithic site. Most of the occupation of this site in fact dates from the end of the Upper Palaeolithic, between the very beginning of the post-LGM deglaciation and the Bølling-Allerød warming. Situated at an altitude of over 2000 m in the immediate vicinity of the only obsidian source in the region, the Chikiani volcano, the lithic industry and faunal remains found in this shelter provide valuable information on the culture, subsistence and mobility of the late Pleistocene human groups in the Caucasus.