Russian and Azerbaijani archaeologists excavate the oldest cave of the USSR in occupied Artsakh

Russian archaeologists, together with their Azerbaijani colleagues, are excavating the Azokh cave (older name: Orvani andzav - ed.) in occupied Artsakh, which was considered the oldest cave in the USSR. According to Mikhail Shunkov, Head of the Stone Age Archeology Department at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientists will carry out a new dating of the cave, which will provide more complete data on the spread of people who left Africa more than 2 million years ago. Azokh Cave is a complex of six caves in Artsakh, which is known as a settlement of prehistoric people. It is considered one of the oldest human settlements in the Caucasus. Previously, it was dated approximately 800 thousand years ago. According to the scientist, this will make it possible to get more accurate data about the distribution of ancient people outside of Africa, which they left more than 2 million years ago.