Location Daş Salahlı village | ||
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Region Gazakh rayon, Azerbaijan Periods Paleolithic and Mesolithic | ||
Damjili (Azerbaijani: Damcılı mağarası) – is a half-circular shaped cave site in Azerbaijan, where evidence of prehistoric human presence during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic was discovered. The site is situated in the South-Eastern part of the Avey Mountain of the Small Caucasus, that extends from Daş Salahlı village in the Gazakh rayon to the Khram River. The name Damjili is an allusion to "weeping water", that rinses through the natural cracks in the limestone cave walls (the Azeri word Damji (Azerbaijani: damcı) translates to drop).
Damjili cave is the biggest cave among Avey Mountain caves. It has an area of 360 km2 (139.0 sq mi). The front side of the cave has been destroyed. The height of the cave's rear side is 4 m (13.1 ft). Various stone tools, arrowheads, flint knives, remains of hearth and fossilized bones of animals have been found out during excavations.
Traces of ochre were found in a grotto of the cave, lending credence to the idea, that the occupants had a desire to deal with symbolism and aesthetics. The sediment layers, in which the ochre was found are mixed with more tardy ones which suggests that the use ochre dates back to the Mousterian culture.