International Journal of Archaeology

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The Malacological Evidence of Animal Remains from the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia

Received: Mar. 28, 2018    Accepted: Apr. 12, 2018    Published: May 08, 2018
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Abstract

Systematic archaeological excavations at Areni-1 cave in the Republic of Armenia provided rich archaeozoological remains, among of which a large collection of water and terrestrial mollusks remains in different preserving degree (Phylum Mollusca) was separated. The recorded species mainly belong to the class Gastropoda (9 families, 8 genera, 8 species), which provide important information about the prevailing ecology during the periods of habitation and usage of the cave by Late Chalcolithic and Medieval inhabitants. The archaeological and zoological evidence could suggest a possible occurrence of rodents and birds, which are predators feeding on land mollusks. Finally, snail assemblages of Areni-1 cave suggest, that the climate regimes, vegetation and environment are similar to the present.

DOI 10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13
Published in International Journal of Archaeology ( Volume 6, Issue 1, June 2018 )
Page(s) 18-22
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mollusca Remains, Areni-1 Cave, Armenia, Archaeozoology

References
[1] Akramowski, N. N. [1971a]. Nekotorye itogi izucheniya sovremennoy fauny mollyuskov Armenii. In: Mollyuskiputi, metody i itogi ikh izucheniya. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Zoologicheskiy Institut, Leningrad.
[2] Akramowski, N. N. [1971b]. Kratkiy katalog sovremennoy fauny mollyuskov Sovetskoy Armenii. Biol. Zhur. Arm. 24, pp. 3-12.
[3] Akramowski, N. N. [1976]. Fauna Armyanskoy SSR, Mollyuski (Mollusca). Akademiya Nauk Armyanskoy SSR, Institut Zoologii, Yerevan.
[4] Areshian, G. E., Gasparyan, B., Avetisyan, P., Pinhasi, R., Wilkinson, K., Smith, A., Hovsepyan, R. & Zardaryan, D. [2012]. The Chalcolithic of the Near East and south-eastern Europe: discoveries and new perspectives from the cave complex Areni-1, Armenia. Antiquity 86, pp. 115-130.
[5] Barnard, H. Dooley, A. N., Areshian, G., Gasparyan, B., Faull, K. F. [2010]. Chemical evidence for wine production around 4000 BCE in the Late Chalcolithic Near Eastern highlands. Journal of Archaeological Science 38, pp. 977-984.
[6] Hunt, C. O. [1993]. Mollusk taphonomy in caves: a conceptual model. Cave Science 20, pp. 45-49.
[7] Likharev, I. M. [1958]. Molluscs - Mollusca. Terrestrial molluscs of Caucasia. In: Animal of the USSR. 5. the mountain areas of the European part of the USSR, Moskow, pp. 464-476.
[8] Pinhasi, R., Gasparian, B., Areshian, G., Zardaryan, D., Smith, A., Bar-Oz, G. and Higham, T. [2010]. First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands. PLOS ONE 5 (6) (http://www.Plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0010984).
[9] Richardson, C. A. [2001]. Molluscs as archives of environmental change. Oceanography, Marine Biology Annual Review 39: 103–164.
[10] Smith, A., Bagoyan, T., Gabrielyan, I., Gasparyan, B. [2014]. Late Chalcolithic and Medieval Archaeobotanical Remains from Areni-1 (Birds’ Cave), Armenia. In: “Stone Age of Armenia, A Guide-book to the Stone Age Archaeology in the Republic of Armenia”, Publisher: Center for Cultural Resource Studies, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, Editors: Gasparyan, B., Arimura, M., Tokyo, pp. 233-260.
[11] Stapleton, L., Margaryan, L., Areshyan, G. E., Pinhahi, R., Gasparyan, B. [2014]. Weaving the Ancient Past: Chalcolithic Basket and Textile Technology at the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia. In: “Stone Age of Armenia, A Guide-book to the Stone Age Archaeology in the Republic of Armenia”, Publisher: Center for Cultural Resource Studies, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, Editors: Gasparyan, B., Arimura, M., Tokyo, pp. 219-232.
[12] Sysoev, A. V. & Schileyko, A. A. [2009]. Land Snails and Slugs of Russia and Adjacent Countries. Sofia/Moscow, 312 p.
[13] Wilkinson, K. N., Gasparian, B., Pinhasi, R., Avetisyan, P., Hovsepyan, R., Zardaryan D. [2012]. Areni-1 Cave, Armenia: A Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age settlement and ritual site in the southern Caucasus. Journal Field Archaeol. Vol. 37, NO1, pp. 20-33.
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    Noushig Zarikian, Laura Arutyunova, Boris Gasparyan. (2018). The Malacological Evidence of Animal Remains from the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia. International Journal of Archaeology, 6(1), 18-22. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13

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    ACS Style

    Noushig Zarikian; Laura Arutyunova; Boris Gasparyan. The Malacological Evidence of Animal Remains from the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia. Int. J. Archaeol. 2018, 6(1), 18-22. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13

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    AMA Style

    Noushig Zarikian, Laura Arutyunova, Boris Gasparyan. The Malacological Evidence of Animal Remains from the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia. Int J Archaeol. 2018;6(1):18-22. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13,
      author = {Noushig Zarikian and Laura Arutyunova and Boris Gasparyan},
      title = {The Malacological Evidence of Animal Remains from the Areni-1 Cave, Armenia},
      journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {18-22},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20180601.13},
      abstract = {Systematic archaeological excavations at Areni-1 cave in the Republic of Armenia provided rich archaeozoological remains, among of which a large collection of water and terrestrial mollusks remains in different preserving degree (Phylum Mollusca) was separated. The recorded species mainly belong to the class Gastropoda (9 families, 8 genera, 8 species), which provide important information about the prevailing ecology during the periods of habitation and usage of the cave by Late Chalcolithic and Medieval inhabitants. The archaeological and zoological evidence could suggest a possible occurrence of rodents and birds, which are predators feeding on land mollusks. Finally, snail assemblages of Areni-1 cave suggest, that the climate regimes, vegetation and environment are similar to the present.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AU  - Noushig Zarikian
    AU  - Laura Arutyunova
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    T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7595
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20180601.13
    AB  - Systematic archaeological excavations at Areni-1 cave in the Republic of Armenia provided rich archaeozoological remains, among of which a large collection of water and terrestrial mollusks remains in different preserving degree (Phylum Mollusca) was separated. The recorded species mainly belong to the class Gastropoda (9 families, 8 genera, 8 species), which provide important information about the prevailing ecology during the periods of habitation and usage of the cave by Late Chalcolithic and Medieval inhabitants. The archaeological and zoological evidence could suggest a possible occurrence of rodents and birds, which are predators feeding on land mollusks. Finally, snail assemblages of Areni-1 cave suggest, that the climate regimes, vegetation and environment are similar to the present.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Depatment of Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

  • Department of Invertebrates and Soil Zoology, Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydro-Ecology, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

  • Department of Armenia’s Early Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

  • Section