PRELIMINARY SOIL MINERALOGY OF THE HAGHTANAKH 3 SITE, NORTHERN ARMENIA

Cultural materials at Haghtanakh 3 lie within the deep soils of a volcanic bluff near the Debed River, formerly mined for what are thought to be pedogenic gypsum deposits. Field pedology of this Lower Paleolithic archaeological site revealed a series of paleosols rich in precipitates. We are currently conducting x-ray diffraction, and organic carbon, sulfate, phosphate, and carbonate content analyses of soil profile samples to better understand their mineralogy and chemistry.

Initial XRD results indicate precipitates are composed of calcium phosphate and carbonate rather than sulfate. This mineralogy speaks to a soil chemical environment very different than hypothesized and has implications for the soil's faunal artifact preservation potential. Some samples also contain allophane, which - coupled with ash found in soil micromorphological samples from a neighboring site - indicates the deposition of volcanic ash at the site and possibly throughout the region. Future soil laboratory analyses will continue to address soil formation as well as seek to understand the flow of water across and through the bluff, and the physical and chemical interaction of the sizable soil precipitate deposits with Lower Paleolithic artifacts.

This geoarchaeological assessment is part of the Lori Depression Paleoanthropology Project, an interdisciplinary effort to increase our understanding of Paleolithic adaptations in this region. Our work aims to address the context and environment of archaeological occupation. The deepest excavation trench provided a combined soil profile approximately 4 m deep. When coupled with ongoing biophysical analyses and planned chronometric and stable isotope analyses, this profile will serve as a detailed paleoclimate record possibly spanning the last 1.8 Ma.