Procurement and exchange of obsidian in the Middle Palaeolithic of western Azerbaijan (South Caucasus)

Abstract

Four key Middle Palaeolithic sites in the western part of Azerbaijan (Dashsalahly, Taglar, and Gazma caves, and Zar Grotto), provisionally dated to ca. 80,000–40,000 years ago, were examined for provenance of the obsidian artefacts (85 specimens) by the XRF method. The use of obsidian from ten primary sources was established. The majority of raw material was procured from locales situated ca. 20–160 km from the utilisation sites. Two remote sources were occasionally used, with distances of ca. 350–400 km in a straight line. This allows suggesting the existence of wide-ranging exchange networks in the Middle Palaeolithic of the South Caucasus created by Neanderthals.