PALEOLITHIC PERIOD FINDINGS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF LAKE AYAKAGITMA

Abstract

The initial archaeological and exploration studies on the territory of the Ayakagytma depression were
carried out by an archaeological expedition led by A.V.Vinogradov in the 1960s, when several locations
of stone tools of the Middle Paleolithic era were discovered. Since Uzbekistan gained its independence,
intensive archaeological studies have been carried out within the territory of the Ayakagytma depression
by the Uzbek-Polish (since 1995) and Uzbek-French (since 2009) joint international expeditions. Here the
Neolithic site of Ayakagytma was discovered and studied to make the findings internationally known. The
research was carried out in two directions: the Neolithic and Paleolithic monuments across this territory
were studied. In 2012, in the vicinity of the depression, 11 sites were recorded by stone artifacts, tentatively
attributed to the Late Paleolithic.
In the summer of 2021, a team of specialists from the Samarkand Institute of Archeology and Samarkand
State University carried out reconnaissance and field research on the northern side of the Ayakagytma
depression. As a result, a new Neolithic site, Ayakagytma 2, was discovered here. A collection of stone
artifacts (over 15 items) of the Paleolithic time was collected at the site and its environs. Those also
comprised flakes and plates, covered with thick patina.
The Neolithic site identified here is single-layered. However, the Paleolithic artifacts moved here as a
result of the destruction of the ancient side of the depression under the influence of natural phenomena.
Based on the state of conservation and execution technique, these stone products can be attributed to the
Middle Paleolithic. This article is devoted to the technical and typological studies of the above-mentioned
collection of stone tools.