Damjili Cave Camp: Tracing the Transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic

Damjili Cave represents the earliest oldest settlement site for pastoral-agricultural tribes in the Middle Kura basin. The transition from hunting to animal husbandry can be clearly observed here, demonstrating the region’s significant role in early agricultural history.

Agricultural evidence includes domesticated cereal grains such as wheat and barley, legumes, and animal husbandry involving sheep, goats, and cattle, indicating the existence of a full developed food-producing economy by around 6000 BCE.

An approximately 8,500-year-old stone figurine discovered in 2025 represents the earliest known three-dimensional human representation from the Mesolithic period in the South Caucasus. This Mesolithic figurine is highly significant for understanding the transformation of the symbolic worldview of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and early Neolithic farmers.

In terms of tool evolution, the transition from microlithic hunter tools to specialized agricultural implements (grinding stones, sickle blades) reflects a technological shift. The cave shows evidence of human occupation by Neanderthals, Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, the earliest Neolithic farmers, and later populations during Antiquity and the Middle Ages.