6000-year-old settlement discovered in Azerbaijan

The Shabran archaeological expedition led by head of the Department of ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Ph.D in History Safar Ashurov has been carrying out excavations in the vicinity of the Chakalliktapa monument in the Shabran region said to date to the fourth and beginning of the third millennium BC.

Credit: ANAS/AzerNews

Excavation revealed the ruins of round houses with a light roof structure were found. One of the houses had a brazier of Early Bronze period, similar to those found in the Kura-Araz culture territories of Azerbaijan.

In the western part of the excavation a circular house with walls made by river stones and three utility wells was founded.

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Credit: ANAS/AzerNews

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Credit: ANAS/AzerNews

The material and cultural finds include a large variety of tools, grinding stones, flints, arrowheads and a vessel in the shape of a jug. The semicircular handles found on most ceramic samples are typical of the Kura-Araz culture.

Evidence suggests that the site's inhabitants practiced agriculture and cattle breeding, and were also engaged in hunting.

The discovery of bone awls and needles indicate that textiles were also produced in the settlement.

Source: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences [September 10, 2019]