Alternate name Azıx mağarası Region Nagorno-Karabakh Address Azıx | Location village of Azokh Excavation dates 1960, mid 1990s | |
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Archaeologists Mammadali Huseynov, Tanya King Similar Areni‑1 cave complex, Abrigo del Pez, Grotta delle Felci, Scladina, La Marche | ||
Bats in azokh cave 26 07 16
The Azokh Cave (Armenian: Ազոխի քարանձավը, Azerbaijani: Azıx mağarası) is a six-cave complex known as a habitation site of prehistoric humans. It lies near to the village of Azokh in Nagorno-Karabakh (de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, de jure Azerbaijan).
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The cave was discovered by the "Palaeolithic Archaeological Expedition" of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Mammadali Huseynov in 1960 and is considered to be the site of one of the most ancient locations of proto-human presence in Eurasia. A Neanderthal-like jaw bone found in 1968 is assumed to be over 300,000 years old and thus one of the oldest proto-human remains found in central Asia. Its discovery gave rise to the term Azykh Man. Archaeologists have suggested that the finds from the lowest layers are of a pre-Acheulean culture (730,000 to 1,800,000 years ago), that resembles the Olduwan culture named after Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge in many respects.
The poor quality of the 1960s excavation led to uncertainties over the chronological sequence of the layers. Excavations resumed in the mid 1990s. In 2002 an international research team headed by Tanya King discovered undisturbed entrances to the cave as well as fauna and stone tools. The cave is now considered to have housed some of the earliest groups of proto-humans in Eurasia. While little in the way of human remains have been discovered, objects and artifacts prove that the site was occupied by hominids over a period of nearly two million years.