Kiçik Tepe
Mission MEAE Boyuk Kesik
Présentation du site
The Franco-Azerbaijani excavation of the Kiçik Tepe site aims to better understand the mechanisms of the Neolithisation process in the South Caucasus region on the fringes of the Near Eastern heartland. In this context, the question of the socio-economic organisation of Neolithic communities in the middle Kura valley is a central issue of this programme. The new research aims to reconstruct the spatial, functional and social organisation of the Kiçik Tepe settlement, whose architectural remains are preserved in an exceptional state. Through an interdisciplinary study combining geomorphology, palynology, archaeobotanical studies and isotopic analyses, we are attempting to understand how the site functioned and how it was organised in relation to neighbouring sites that have already been excavated.
Historique des travaux
The Kiçik Tepe site was explored during three excavation campaigns (2017–2019) as part of the activities of the Boyuk Kesik Mission under the auspices of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Previous excavations have yielded groundbreaking results, demonstrating for the first time the existence of a ‘breaking point’ around 5700-5500 BC in the organisation of the household.
Recherche de bénévoles
ebaudouin@parisnanterre.frAutres projets en lien avec le site
ANR Access ERC “EArTH”
Selected bibliography
- Palumbi G., Guliyev F., Astruc L., Baudouin E., Berthon R., D’Anna M.B., Decaix A., Gratuze B., Hamon C., Poulmarc’h M., Ricci A., Alakbarov V. (2021), New data and perspectives on the early stages of the Neolithic in the Middle Kura River Valley (South Caucasus). The 2017-2019 excavations at Kiçik Tepe, Western Azerbaijan, Archaeological Research in Asia, 27 : 100308
- Baudouin E., Decaix A., Brunacci E., Guliyev F., Palumbi G. (2019), Domed or flat? The case study of Building 21 at Kiçik Tepe (Middle Kura Valley, Azerbaijan) and a reconsideration of the Neolithic roofing architecture in the South Caucasus, Paléorient, 48(2) : 61-86.
Equipe Commarque, cl. O. Huard, Centre National de Préhistoire- MC
CC BY Michel Van Assche