This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavations (2004-2009) of Aknashen-Khatunarkh, a Neolithic site in the plain of Ararat. More than 300 m2 has been excavated of this tell, which is about 100 m in diameter and 3,5 m in height.The cultural layer, more than 4 m thick, was subdivided preliminarily into five horizons, the upper one (I) belonging to the Early Chalcolithic and the others (II-V) to the Late Neolithic. A series of 14C dates enables dating the Neolithic horizons to the first half of the 6th millennium.
On the basis of a multidisciplinary study of artefacts (obsidian chipped stone-more than 22 000 pieces, antler and bone industry, ground stone, pottery, etc.) and of floral and faunal remains, the main features of the material culture and economic life of this Late Neolithic settlement are brought to light. The culture represented at Aknashen-Khatunarkh has many common characteristics with contemporary cultures in the southern Caucasus (Shulaveri-Shomutepe culture, and Kültepe of the Nakhchevan) (revue)