Stone Age sites identified in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region

Archaeologists surveying Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region have discovered previously unknown Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites alongside a remarkable collection of ancient petroglyphs depicting hunters, animals and a mysterious solar symbol.

The discoveries were made during archaeological fieldwork carried out in September in the Zaamin and Sharaf-Rashidov districts by specialists from Uzbekistan’s Cultural Heritage Agency and the Ya. Gulyamov Samarkand Archaeological Institute.

Researchers identified several new Stone Age sites around settlements in the Zaamin district, providing further evidence that communities repeatedly occupied the Zaamin oasis and surrounding Turkestan Range over thousands of years.

Preliminary investigations identified a Palaeolithic site in the eastern part of Achchi village, while another site, near the village of Peshagor, has been attributed to the Neolithic period.
Additional Neolithic material was discovered in the western part of Achchi and around the village of Arzha.

The presence of both Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites within the same relatively small geographical area is particularly important to researchers. It suggests that this part of the Zaamin oasis and Turkestan Range provided favourable conditions for human occupation across widely separated periods of prehistory.

The discoveries could consequently help archaeologists reconstruct how Stone Age communities moved through the landscape, where they established settlements and camps, and how they exploited the natural resources of the mountainous region.

A separate survey produced another significant discovery near the village of Ravots in the Sharaf-Rashidov district.
While exploring the left bank of the Ravotsoy River, archaeologists identified a previously undocumented complex of rock art carved into shale outcrops.

Approximately 30 petroglyphs have so far been recorded across seven rock faces.

The images depict a range of human and animal subjects, including a hunter, mountain goat, cattle and a dog. Among the most striking carvings is the figure of a hunter firing a bow.