Chagritepe Neolithic settlement

Abstract

The problem of the emergence of early production traditions in the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, located on the periphery of the ancient Near Eastern cultures, is one of the main research areas of archaeologists. Excavations of monuments related to agricultural cultures of the Neolithic period in the territory of Azerbaijan began as early as the 1950s. In the western region of Azerbaijan, in the middle basin of the Kura River, archaeological excavations have been carried out at about 15 Neolithic settlements to date. All these monuments, taking into account common features, were united under the name of the Shomutepe culture, named after the first extensively excavated settlement in Agstafa district in the 1960s. The Chagritepe settlement presented in this article also belongs to this culture. The constructions discovered at the monument during excavations have a circular, rarely oval plan. The labor tools were made of various types of stone, obsidian, flint, and bone. These include grinderss, sickle teeth, curry-combs, bone punchers, and other tools. People who led a sedentary life in Chagritepe were engaged in cattle-breeding. A grave was discovered at the settlement during the excavation.