Archaeologists excavating a cave in northeastern Turkey have uncovered rare evidence of hunter-gatherer life dating back about 14,000 years. The discovery of cave stone tools, a fireplace, and personal ornaments at Koskarlı Cave offers a new look at how people lived near the end of the last Ice Age.
The findings provide some of the first systematic evidence of ancient hunter-gatherers in the eastern Black Sea region during this poorly understood period.
The research, led by Hülya Çalışkan Akgül, focuses on Koskarlı Cave in the Söğütlü Valley, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Trabzon. Researchers discovered the cave in 2019. Systematic excavations began in 2024 under the Trabzon Museum and Karadeniz Technical University.
The cave sits about 1,030 meters (3,380 feet) above sea level and 24 meters (79 feet) above a nearby creek. Its location is particularly important because most research into this period in Anatolia has focused on southern sites.
Ancient fireplace reveals human activity
During the first excavation season, researchers investigated several areas inside and around the cave. They excavated 16 square meters (172 square feet) in the main trench.
The upper layer contained a mixture of ancient artifacts and more recent material. Researchers found both Epipalaeolithic and much older Middle Paleolithic objects there. Modern activity and other disturbances appear to have mixed these finds. A deeper layer provided much clearer evidence.
Researchers identified an intact Epipalaeolithic occupation layer containing ash, fine sediment and carbonized material. Burned soil and flint altered by heat point to a fireplace that people used inside the cave.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and bone places the occupation near the end of the 13th millennium B.C. The results indicate that people were using the cave roughly 14,000 years ago. The stone tools found in the layer also support the dating.
Stone tools point to work inside the cave
Researchers recovered a large collection of chipped stone artifacts. Most were made from flint in red, green, and yellow shades. The excavation also produced obsidian and a smaller number of tools made from dacitic rock. The sources of the flint and obsidian remain unknown.
Evidence suggests that hunter-gatherers produced many of their tools at the cave. Archaeologists found stone cores, partly prepared blades and debris left behind during toolmaking.
The collection includes scrapers, blades, small bladelets, points, perforators and burins. Researchers also found small crescent-shaped stone tools known as lunates.
Several lunates show specialized forms of shaping and retouch. Similar technologies appear at other Epipalaeolithic sites across Anatolia and the Levant. Microlithic tools, including lunates, have also been documented at Late Pleistocene sites in the Caucasus.
The similarities could eventually help researchers investigate connections between prehistoric communities across these regions.
Pendants offer clues to personal adornment
Two finds provide a more personal view of the cave’s inhabitants. Archaeologists discovered a grooved piece of antler and a perforated animal tooth. Researchers believe the objects show that people used personal ornaments.
The excavation also produced animal remains and mollusk shells. Researchers have not yet identified the species represented in those finds. Future studies will examine the animal and plant remains to learn more about food, environmental conditions, and how people used the landscape.
Cave fills a gap in Black Sea archaeology
Koskarlı Cave stands near a natural geographic link between Anatolia and the Caucasus. That position could make the site especially important for understanding prehistoric movement and cultural exchange.
The discovery also fills a major regional gap. Archaeologists have extensively studied Epipalaeolithic communities in southern Anatolia, but evidence from the eastern Black Sea area remains limited. Koskarlı Cave is the first systematically investigated Epipalaeolithic context in the region.
Researchers plan to continue excavations and laboratory studies at the site. Further work could reveal how hunter-gatherers adapted to environmental changes as the Late Pleistocene gave way to the Early Holocene.
For now, the fireplace, stone tools, and personal ornaments provide a rare snapshot of people who occupied a mountain cave about 14,000 years ago. Their remains could help explain how prehistoric communities lived and moved across a key crossroads between Anatolia and the Caucasus.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
