Material Characterization and Chronological Framework of the Boyukdash Monument Based on Archaeometric Methods

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to analyze and critically discuss the hypothesis that the Boyukdash monument in Gobustan exhibits a complex, multilayered structure, and that its chronological framework and material composition can be more reliably constrained through integrated archaeometric methods.

The scientific novelty of this study lies in its first comprehensive application of multiple archaeometric techniques – including radiocarbon dating, thermoluminescence (TL), electron spin resonance (ESR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) – to the Boyukdash monument in Gobustan, enabling a more accurate chronological framework and a more detailed material characterization than previously available. Additionally, the study provides archaeometric evidence supporting the multilayered stratigraphic structure of the site.

Conclusions. The Boyukdash archaeological site within the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape has been investigated through an integrated archaeometric approach by the combined use of a multi-proxy archaeometric framework. The use of complementary trapped-charge dating methods (ESR, TL) in conjunction with radiocarbon (¹⁴C) has resulted in a coherent chronological framework for the site. The results show a distinct bi-temporal stratigraphy: the ESR-dated dental specimen and related material culture date the primary settlement phase to around 1.9 ka BP, while the ESR-dated molluscan shell from the Anazaga shelter indicates a much earlier Late Pleistocene presence around 14.4 ka BP. The radiocarbon age of 12.6 ka BP indicates that the Anazaga (Boyukdash) hearth was in use during the terminal Pleistocene and the earliest Holocene. This confirms the site’s palimpsestic nature, with the rock art shelter containing deposits millennia older than the main habitation structures. Furthermore, a highly consistent manufacturing process is indicated by mineralogical and spectroscopic analyses (XRD and ATR-FTIR) of the ceramic assemblage (samples N1-N4).

The chronological results indicate several distinct phases of activity at the Boyukdash site. The ESR age of the mollusc shell (~14.4 ka BP) and the radiocarbon date of charcoal (~12.6 ka BP) correspond to the Late Pleistocene occupation of the Anazaga shelter. The thermoluminescence age obtained from ceramic materials (~6.8 ka BP) likely reflects later Holocene settlement activity. Finally, the ESR age of the dental specimen (~1.9 ka BP) suggests a subsequent phase of human presence during the late prehistoric or early historic period. These results collectively confirm the palimpsestic character of the site and demonstrate that the archaeological deposits at Boyukdash accumulated through multiple episodes of occupation separated by long chronological intervals.