Browsing by Author "Oikonomou, Ioannis A.K."
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- The role of lithic technology in shaping mobility and decision-making: the case of Ararat-1 CavePublication . Cabrita Nora, David André; Frahm, Ellery; Oikonomou, Ioannis A.K.; Karampaglidis, Theodoros; Gasparyan, Boris; Petrosyan, Artur; Buller, Ariel MalinskyStudies of lithic technological organization have progressed from static typological classifications to analyses of dynamic processes of tool production, use, and discard. These analyses reveal the intricate interplay of human behavior and environmental adaptation. This paper investigates lithic technology, emphasizing the dichotomy of curated and expedient technologies by examining the differential strategies employed in raw material acquisition, tool production, and discard. It also explores how environmental, economic, and mobility factors interplay and shape lithic assemblages. Focusing on Ararat-1 cave, a late Middle Paleolithic site in the Armenian Highlands, we conducted an integrative techno-typological study of 1770 lithic artefacts spanning five stratigraphic units, identifying distinct raw material reduction strategies for obsidian and chert. Obsidian artefacts exhibited a focus on retouching and rejuvenation, indicative of curated technologies associated with high residential mobility, while the chert showed evidence of primary reduction and blank production, reflecting expedient strategies. By integrating module flake analysis and reviewing the Whole Assemblage Behavioral Indicators (WABI) framework, suggesting the addition of smaller debitage, we highlighted dual mobility patterns reflected in the site assemblage. This approach offers a refined understanding of lithic technological systems, providing insights into MIS 3 mobility and site function in the Armenian Highlands.
- Unravelling the formation processes and depositional histories of the middle palaeolithic Ararat-1 cave, Armenia: a multiscalar and multiproxy geoarchaeological approachPublication . Oikonomou, Ioannis A.K.; Karampaglidis, Theodoros; Fenn, Kaja; Gur-Arieh, Shira; Cabrita Nora, David André; Sánchez-Romero, Laura; Rogall, Dominik L.; Vettese, Delphine; Gasparyan, Boris; Petrosyan, Artur; Malinsky-Buller, ArielThe sedimentary sequence of Ararat-1 Cave encapsulates an intricate depositional archive (Marine Isotope Stage 3), crucial for our understanding of the Middle Palaeolithic in the Armenian Highlands and beyond. The study of this record is accomplished through the use of a multi-proxy geoarchaeological framework of analysis, incor porating stratigraphical, micromorphological, sedimentological, mineralogical, chemical, magnetic, micro archaeological and geochronological methods. These analyses demonstrate the predominance of geogenic pro cesses, including rockfalls, grain and debris flows, interbedded with aeolian sedimentation, as well as localised pyroclastic material in-wash events. Post-depositional alterations are primarily linked to intense bioturbation, as well as minimal karst-induced cementation and minor phosphate diagenesis. The study of the anthropogenic and biogenic records indicates dynamic human-animal habitation histories. Human visits, associated with combus tion and consumption activities, were infrequent and short-lived, representing brief occupation episodes in a cave habitually visited by carnivores and herbivores. This high-resolution reconstruction of Ararat-1 Cave for mation histories improves our understanding of regional settlement and mobility patterns, highlighting the presence of Middle Palaeolithic groups that temporarily camped in the Ararat Depression.