Papers by Yoshihiro Nishiaki
Middle and Upper Paleolithic Sites in the Eastern Hemisphere
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
In order to contribute to understanding the processes of the dispersals of early modern humans fr... more In order to contribute to understanding the processes of the dispersals of early modern humans from Africa and their replacement over or assimilation of the other hominins, particularly Neanderthals, who settled earlier in Eurasia, a database project was launched in 2010. It aimed to register Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites and their archaeological records relevant to understand those processes in west Eurasia. The database, NeanderDB, was expanded in 2016 to incorporate the data from east Eurasia. Further, the new database, termed PaleoAsiaDB, registers data on the "technological modes" for Asia and parts of Africa and Europe. This chapter presents an outline of our project and the characteristics of the PaleoAsiaDB.
The Middle and Upper Paleolithic of Central Asia display cultural links with those of both East a... more The Middle and Upper Paleolithic of Central Asia display cultural links with those of both East and West Asia. Human fossils also exhibit intriguing patterns as represented by the occurrences of Neanderthals and early modern humans coming from the west and by the Denisovans, whose distribution is considered to situate mainly in East Asia. The records of Central Asia registered in PaleoAsiaDB, consisting of archeological, anthropological, and environmental data from 207 cultural assemblages, indicate a further need to develop a reliable chronological framework for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Particularly unclear is a chronology for the Middle Paleolithic and its transition to or replacement by the initial/early Upper Paleolithic.
The Shahrizor Plain is an intermontane valley located in the eastern part of the Sulaymaniyah Gov... more The Shahrizor Plain is an intermontane valley located in the eastern part of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan, where its local prehistory has gradually come into view through various ongoing investigations during the last decade. However, archaeologists have struggled to explain the apparent chronological hiatus that exists in the local Late Neolithic settlements around 6000 cal BC. In order to fill this gap, our new field project began at Shakar Tepe in September 2019, and successfully recovered the cultural deposit which yielded distinctive artifact assemblages dated to the late 7 th millennium BC. In addition, some evidence of Chalcolithic occupation was also found.
Tepe Abdul Hosein is a rare early Neolithic settlement in the Central Zagros that has received co... more Tepe Abdul Hosein is a rare early Neolithic settlement in the Central Zagros that has received controlled stratigraphic excavations. However, since the excavations in 1978, its chronological position has remained unclear, and the potential for Neolithization research in the Zagros Mountains has not been fully exploited. This paper presents a reconstruction of the stratigraphy, a new set of radiocarbon dates, and a diachronic analysis of the lithic assemblages. The results indicate that the major Neolithic occupations in this settlement consisted of at least two phases-the early (ca. 8250-7800 cal. BC) and late ones (ca. 7600-7550 cal. BC)-and that there was a significant evolution of lithic techno-typology over this time period. The observed patterns are an important addition to our still-incomplete database to understand the Early Neolithic development in the Central Zagros, whose distinct features should be evaluated from both regional and supra-regional perspectives. Résumé. Tepe Abdul Hosein est un site rare du Néolithique ancien dans le Zagros central qui a fait l'objet de fouilles stratigraphiques contrôlées. Cependant, depuis les fouilles de 1978, sa position chronologique est restée incertaine et le potentiel de recherche sur la néolithisation dans les monts Zagros n'a pas été pleinement exploité. Cet article présente une reconstruction de la stratigraphie, un nouvel ensemble de datations au radiocarbone et une analyse diachronique des assemblages lithiques. Les résultats indiquent que les principales occupations néolithiques dans cette colonie ont comporté au moins deux phases : la plus ancienne (ca. 8250-7800 cal. BC) et la phase récente (ca. 7600-7550 cal. BC), et qu'il s'est produit une évolution de la techno-typologie lithique au cours de cette période. Les modèles observés sont un ajout important à notre base de données encore incomplète pour comprendre le développement du Néolithique ancien dans le Zagros central, dont les caractéristiques distinctes doivent être évaluées d'un point de vue régional et suprarégional. SEARCH Tout OpenEdition Entrées d'index
The advent of the Neolithic period in Central Asia was marked by the establishment of the Jeitun ... more The advent of the Neolithic period in Central Asia was marked by the establishment of the Jeitun culture during the 7th-6th millennium BCE in the northern foothills of the Kopet Dagh Mountains, South Turkmenistan. Unlike this widely recognized notion, Neolithization in the core regions of Central Asia, further to the east, remains to be clarified. Here, we present new data from the Hissar mountain region, close to the eastern end of western Central Asia. The 2015-2019 excavations of the newly discovered rock shelter of Kaynar Kamar, Uzbekistan, yielded a well-dated cultural sequence spanning over ten millennia starting from the beginning of the Holocene for the first time in this part of Central Asia. The archaeological records indicate a significant cultural change in the early 6th millennium BCE, which likely reflects the introduction of the food production economy in tandem with the Neolithization events occurring in the west. This new result supports the hypothesis of a swift dispersal of the Neolithic economy in western Central Asia. Simultaneously, it helps delineate the environmental conditions that hindered further dispersal to the east.
Sickle elements constituted one of the most important stone tools for early farming societies. Th... more Sickle elements constituted one of the most important stone tools for early farming societies. The present study analyzed such tools from Göytepe in the Middle Kura Valley of Azerbaijan, the mid-sixth millennium BC, one of the earliest Neolithic settlements in the South Caucasus, to examine their manufacturing technologies, morphological characteristics, and ways of use. The results revealed the prevalence of oblique hafting of flake-blade elements in the bone handle with bitumen at this site. Oblique hafting is known to have flourished in the Neolithic Northern Mesopotamia until the early sixth millennium BC, indicating a strong link between the Neolithic societies of these regions. However, this technique was no longer popular in Northern Mesopotamia in the middle of the sixth millennium BC, when Göytepe was occupied. Another intriguing finding is that the sickle handles at Göytepe were made of animal bones, whereas those of the earlier settlements in the same region (Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe) were apparently wooden. These results suggest the great potential of the study of sickle manufacturing technology to contribute to deciphering the entangled cultural relationships between the South Caucasus and Northern Mesopotamia during the crucial period of Neolithic development.
Recent studies on the Neolithization in the southern Caucasus indicate the sudden emergence of ag... more Recent studies on the Neolithization in the southern Caucasus indicate the sudden emergence of agropastoral communities in the early 6 th millennium cal. BCE. To explore a new line of cultural evidence, this paper examines refuse disposal behavior by presenting spatial distributions of chipped and ground stone refuse at Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe, one of the earliest agricultural settlements in the southern Caucasus. The spatial analysis aims to clarify refuse distributions in the excavated area (10 × 10 m) by characterizing the spatial units with three kinds of data, including 1) architectural contexts, 2) associations with conspicuous refuse (e.g. large obsidian cores and clusters of complete ground stones), and 3) densities of lithic refuse by categories related to production technology, tool functions, and preservation states. The results indicate various discard patterns, including de facto refuse, caches/storages, provisional discard, and multiple scales of secondary dumps. We will then discuss how such intra-site variability in refuse management is potentially linked to the residential mobility of the inhabitants at Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe. Lastly, we review residential mobility and refuse discard behaviors in the Late Neolithic in the Upper Mesopotamia as possible exogenous cultural links.
Current research indicates that full-fledged Neolithic societies emerged in the Southern Caucasus... more Current research indicates that full-fledged Neolithic societies emerged in the Southern Caucasus in the early sixth millennium BC, most likely through interaction with and/or the immigration of the Neolithic societies of Southwest Asia. However, the absence of late seventh millennium BC excavated sites has prevented us from being able to interpret the processes in relation to earlier indigenous foraging societies. The 2016-2019 excavations at Damjili Cave, west Azerbaijan, revealed a stratified cultural sequence of the key Mesolithic-to-Neolithic transition period for the first time. Its radiocarbon chronology identified a rather abrupt emergence of the Neolithic economy at around 6000 cal BC, at least in the study region, urging a reconsideration of the long-standing claim that some other form of earlier Neolithic society had existed before this. At the same time, the stratigraphic analysis of cultural remains revealed continuity in certain elements of tool manufacturing and use from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic. This complex situation shows the need for evaluating the degree to which indigenous foraging societies contributed to the Neolithization of the Southern Caucasus, rather than focusing merely on immigration models.
The fi rst two were found to represent different phases of one of the earliest Neolithic cultures... more The fi rst two were found to represent different phases of one of the earliest Neolithic cultures of the Southern Caucasus, and the third belongs to the transitional phase of the Mesolithic to Neolithic; thus, the combined results of these fi eld campaigns allow us to trace how the earliest Neolithic socio-economy emerged and developed in the study region. The comprehensive descriptions of the Göytepe research results were published as a monograph in 2020 (Nishiaki, Y. and F. Guliyev, Göytepe-The Neolithic Excavations in the Middle Kura Valley, Azerbaijan. Oxford: Archaeopress). The present volume is the second report, covering the investigations at Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe. As with the Göytepe volume, the results of a series of multidisciplinary studies are presented. The research at Hacı Elamxanlı Tepe was realized with the support of a number of colleagues and institutions, to whom we would like to express our deepest gratitude. First of all, our sincere thanks go to Dr. Maisa N. Ragimova, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, the National Academy of Sciences, for issuing us a permit for our archaeological work. We also thank our colleagues, who greatly contributed to the fi eld campaigns:
The advent of the Neolithic period in Central Asia was marked by the establishment of the Jeitun ... more The advent of the Neolithic period in Central Asia was marked by the establishment of the Jeitun culture during the 7th-6th millennium BCE in the northern foothills of the Kopet Dagh Mountains, South Turkmenistan. Unlike this widely recognized notion, Neolithization in the core regions of Central Asia, further to the east, remains to be clarified. Here, we present new data from the Hissar mountain region, close to the eastern end of western Central Asia. The 2015-2019 excavations of the newly discovered rock shelter of Kaynar Kamar, Uzbekistan, yielded a well-dated cultural sequence spanning over ten millennia starting from the beginning of the Holocene for the first time in this part of Central Asia. The archaeological records indicate a significant cultural change in the early 6th millennium BCE, which likely reflects the introduction of the food production economy in tandem with the Neolithization events occurring in the west. This new result supports the hypothesis of a swift dispersal of the Neolithic economy in western Central Asia. Simultaneously, it helps delineate the environmental conditions that hindered further dispersal to the east.
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Papers by Yoshihiro Nishiaki