The St. George Russian-American Archaeological Program (SGRAAP) is a collaborative research program established between Dr. Larry R. Kimball (Appalachian State University) and Dr. Nazim I. Hidjrati (North Ossetian State University) in 1995.
  The SGRAAP research team consists of Drs. Nazim Hidjrati (Project Director), Larry Kimball (Associate Director of International Expedition), Todd Koetje (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Director of the International Expedition), and Alan Deino (Berkeley Geochronology Center, dating).
The overall goals of the SGRAAP are:
- to investigate basic questions of the ancient human past through archaeological excavations at the deeply stratified Palaeolithic site of Weasel Cave in North Ossetia, Russia
- to provide for the collaboration of Russian, American, and scientists from other countries to investigate basic questions of the Palaeolithic.
Specifically, we are interested in the evolution of human consciousness, Stone Age technologies, and the human ecology of our most ancient human ancestors known in the Caucasus region. Currently this antiquity goes back ~1.6-1.8 million years ago.
Why St. George?
 St. George is the ancient pre-Christian, patron saint for the native peoples of the Caucasus Mountains. Today St. George is still respected as the god of the mountains, and the patron of travelers, knights, and (we pray) archaeologists!
Archaeological Background
 The Caucasus Mountains have seen only limited archaeological investigation, even though they possess many caves and rockshelters. The extensive human occupation of the Caucasus is hinted at by the discovery of Neandertal remains at Barakai and Matouozka Caves to the northwest, stratified Acheulean and Mousterian occupations at Kudaro Cave in Georgia, the ~1.0 million years ago dating of "pre-Acheulean" tools at Azych Cave in Azerbaidjan, and the highly significant discovery of 1.6-1.8 million year old hominid remains at Dmanisi in Georgia.
The Caucasus is important to our understanding of the radiation of early Homo sp. out of Africa, the evolution of Homo sapiens neandertalensis, and the replacement of Neandertals by Homo sapiens sapiens in this sector of Eurasia. Because the mountains are a natural barrier between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, all these peoples would have to face crossing and adapting to the Caucasus Mountains.
 A number of Palaeolithic sites have been investigated in North Ossetia over the past 16 years by Dr. Nazim Hidjrati. The most significant is Weasel Cave, excavated continuously since 1981. Weasel Cave is the first multi-component Paleolithic site investigated between the Caspian Sea and northwestern Caucasus. The cave is filled with archaeological deposits and associated roof-falls, which are deeply buried (>15 vertical meters). So far, 28 culture-bearing layers have been investigated. Layers 5-28 comprise the Paleolithic components.
 The base of the Paleolithic occupation has not yet been reached. Layer 5 is radiocarbon dated to: 32,980+/-1070 BP and 34,288+/-1235 BP, and has a Mousterian industry. The provisional chronology of the Middle Paleolithic deposits at Weasel Cave is: Layers 12-14 - Riss-Wurm Interglacial, Layer 15 -- Riss, and Layers 19-28 are possibly Mindel-Riss. Two volcanic ash layers are present in Layers 18 and 21 and are being dated by the single-crystal laser fusion Argon-Argon technique by Dr. Alan Deino (Berkeley Geochronology Center).
The archaeological contexts are in an excellent state of preservation and  have not been significantly modified by natural forces. The preservation of faunal and botanical remains (including carbonized wood and nutshell) are excellent. The stone tool assemblages provide an excellent record for the Middle Paleolithic human adaptation (assumedly of Neandertals, but their skeletal remains have yet to be discovered in the cave) of the northern Caucasus Mountains.
Results of the Collaboration to Date
The first results of the SGRAAP were presented at the Paleoanthropology Society meeting last April in New Orleans. Hidjrati, Kimball, and Koetje presented the paper Palaeolithic archaeology at Weasel Cave, north-central Caucasus, Russia. This communication summarized the first results of this on-going investigation. The paper is posted on the World Wide Web (see below).
This September, Hidjrati, Kimball, Deino, and Koetje plan a communication at the XIII Congress of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences at Forlì, Italy. By this time, Dr. Deino will have determined the antiquity of the lower layers 18 and 21.
1996 Excavations
The 1996 SGRAAP investigations take place in August, and will focus on:
- vertical excavations of the earliest strata (Levels 12-26)
- horizontal excavations for Level 13 to investigate the richest layer of Weasel Cave.
 The collection of additional artifactual and ecofactual remains from the earlier portions of Weasel Cave is crucial in our ability to build the bridge between the very early sites of Damanisi and Azych Cave to the south, with Kudaro, Barakai, and Matouozka Caves in the Caucasus. It is also important to continue deep with the excavations in order to find out just how old the archaeological sequence is at Weasel Cave.
The single crystal laser fusion Argon-Argon dating technique by Alan Deino will be expanded to include U/Thorium on the calcite deposits on lithic specimens by Dr. Ken Ludwig (also of the Berkeley Geochronology Center). Later, we anticipate the addition of ESR and TL dating to fine-tune the chronology. Microwear analysis is being undertaken by Larry Kimball and combined with the edge angle and attribute-analysis system of Hidjrati. With the assistance of Patricia Allen (ASU - Dept. of Physics), we will experiment with the new atomic force microscope technique developed by John Kimball, Larry Kimball and Patricia Allen. Todd Koetje is undertaking the analysis of site structure via the established k-means clustering approach. All of this is feasible due to the excellent excavation techniques of Hidjrati.
In addition, we plan to host the visits of Drs. Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard University), Anna Belfer-Cohen (Hebrew University), and Reid Ferring (University of North Texas) from their excavations at Dzudzuana near Tbilisi, Georgia.
Agreements of the Collaboration
Investigations of the St. George International Fund will be conducted on archaeological collections from North Ossetia. All archaeological discoveries will be the property of North Ossetia.
The results of the scientific investigations is the common property of SGRAAP with the exception of the founders judgment.
Archaeological materials can be loaned to other researchers for laboratory analysis in their country of origin under agreement with the SGRAAP on the condition that all archaeological materials be returned to North Ossetia.
SGRAAP is established as research fund account No. 92642 at the Appalachian State University Foundation, Inc. The ASU Foundation is the tax-exempt, non-profit fund raising organization for receiving private support to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. The American manager of the SGRAAP is:
- Dr. Larry R. Kimball, Director,
- ASU Laboratories of Archaeological Science
- Department of Anthropology Appalachian State University
- Boone, NC 28608 (704) 262-4899 (telephone)
- KIMBALLLR@APPSTATE.EDU (email)
The SGRAAP directors (Kimball and Hidjrati) are to expend the donated funds. Once a year, on or before January 15 of each year, the directors will prepare a financial report of the activities, donations, and expenditures of the SGRAAP over that period for their donators.
E-mail:
- Dr. Larry R. Kimball kimballlr@appstate.edu
- Dr. Nazim I. Hidjrati nosu@nosu.vladikavkaz.su
- Dr. Todd A. Koetje tkoetje@grove.iup.edu
This research was supported by a grant from the International Research & Exchanges Board, with funds provided by the U.S. Department of State (Title VIII) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. None of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed.
St. George Russian-American Archaeological Program
How You Can Help
If you are interested in helping the St. George Russian-American Archaeological Program, monetary donations are our greatest need for the 1996 International Expedition. Please send your tax-exempt contribution to:
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To: Ms. Joan Harmon (perryharmonj@appstate.edu -- E-mail)
Financial Records Coordinator
Founders Hall
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
(704) 262-4014
Yes, I would like to help the 2003Archaeological Expedition to Weasel
Cave in North Ossetia, Russia. Enclosed please find my check for the
amount of $ ________ for Fund No. 92642 --
St. George Russian-American Archaeological Program of the ASU Foundation, Inc. at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
From: ______________________________ Comments: _________________________
______________________________ ___________________________________
______________________________ ___________________________________
email address: ________________________ ___________________________________
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Thank very much for your interest in and assistance for the
St. George Russian-American Archaeological Program!!!
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