No wegian Jou nal o de elopmen o he In e na ional Science No 168/2025 41
THE NATURAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT AND STONE AGE SITES OF THE
GUZAR DISTRICT, SOUTHERN UZBEKISTAN: THE DISCOVERY OF THE BUTABULAK 1–6 AND
CHUCHUKBULAK COMPLEXES
Sodiqo a D.
Na ional Cen e o A chaeology, Academy o Sciences o he Republic o Uzbekis an, 81 Mi zo Ulugbek
S ee , Tashken , 100007, Uzbekis an
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17608964
Abs ac
This pape p esen s new da a on he S one Age o he Kashqada ya egion in sou he n Uzbekis an, ocusing
on ecen disco e ies in he Guza dis ic . Fieldwo k conduc ed in 2023–2025 e ealed se e al open-ai li hic
wo kshop si es (Bu abulak 1–6) and a Neoli hic se lemen (Chuchukbulak). These si es a e loca ed in a a o able
na u al se ing wi h ancien i e e aces and accessible aw ma e ial sou ces. The inds demons a e he high
a chaeological po en ial o he egion and p o ide e idence o cul u al con inui y om he La e Palaeoli hic o
he Neoli hic. The esul s con ibu e o a be e unde s anding o p ehis o ic human adap a ion and se lemen
pa e ns in sou he n Uzbekis an.
Keywo ds: Kashqada ya egion, Guza dis ic , Bu abulak, Chuchukbulak, S one Age, Paleoli hic, Neoli hic,
Uzbekis an
Loca ed in he hea o Cen al Asia, he e i o y
o Uzbekis an s ands ou o he ema kable di e si y o
i s S one Age cul u es. Ne e heless, some egions o
he coun y—despi e hei signi ican a chaeological
po en ial—ha e long emained insu icien ly explo ed.
A s iking example o his is he Kashkada ya egion,
pa icula ly i s moun ainous and oo hill zones, as well
as he a eas su ounding na u al sp ings [Tu g’uno a,
M. S. (2020). The s udy o he his o y o he S one Age
in Uzbekis an. Eu opean Jou nal o Resea ch and Re-
lec ion in Educa ional Sciences, 8(11), 113–118].
F om a physical-geog aphical pe spec i e, he
Kashkada ya basin ep esen s one o he key na u al
and geog aphical uni s o sou he n Uzbekis an. I is
bo de ed by he oo hills o he Hiso Range o he no h
and he Ka shi dese s o he sou h. The Ka shi oasis,
si ua ed be ween hese wo con as ing en i onmen s,
has his o ically se ed as a ansi ional ecological zone
a o able o ea ly an h opogenic p ocesses. The a -
chaeological si es analyzed in his pape —Bu abulak
1–6 [Muhammadiye , A., & B une , F., 2024] and
Chuchukbulak—a e loca ed in he Guza Dis ic , in he
sou hwes e n pa o he oasis, encompassing ancien
i e sys ems, allu ial plains, and piedmon zones.
Geog aphical Loca ion
The Guza Dis ic is loca ed in he sou he n pa
o he Kashkada ya egion, app oxima ely be ween
38°30′–39°10′ N la i ude and 66°20′–66°50′ E longi-
ude. I s no he n bounda y adjoins he oo hills o he
Hiso Moun ains, while he sou he n pa me ges wi h
he Ka shi Plain. The opog aphy g adually ises om
wes o eas , which in luenced he o ma ion o ancien
i e beds and he posi ioning o p ehis o ic se lemen s
along lu ial e aces.
Hyd ological Fea u es
The main wa e cou se o he egion is he Kash-
kada ya Ri e , ed by ibu a ies such as he
Guza da ya and Ka a U ada ya. These i e s a e
mainly supplied by snowmel and seasonal p ecipi a-
ion, wi h peak discha ge occu ing in sp ing. The o -
ma ion o ancien i e e aces led o he accumula ion
o allu ial sedimen s, wi hin which p ehis o ic si es
such as Bu abulak and Chuchukbulak a e loca ed. In
ce ain a eas, subsu ace eshwa e laye s p o ided
s able sou ces o d inking and domes ic wa e o an-
cien communi ies.
Geological S uc u e
Geologically, he Ka shi oasis consis s o Neo-
gene and Qua e na y sedimen a y ocks, including
sand, g a el, clay, limes one, and conglome a e. The
Guza Dis ic lies wi hin he piedmon allu ial- an
zone, whe e ancien i e and o en ial deposi s accu-
mula ed o e ime. Such geological condi ions ensu ed
he p oximi y o aw-ma e ial sou ces essen ial o p e-
his o ic s one- ool p oduc ion.
Clima e and Soil Condi ions
The egion is cha ac e ized by a d y con inen al
clima e, wi h summe empe a u es eaching +38–42
°C and win e empe a u es d opping o –5 o –10 °C.
Annual p ecipi a ion anges om 250 o 300 mm, all-
ing mainly in sp ing. P e ailing winds blow om he
wes and no hwes . Soil composi ion a ies: e ile al-
lu ial laye s occu along i e alleys, while b own and
s ony-g ay soils domina e in he oo hill zones. These
en i onmen al condi ions p o ided a o able habi a s
o hun ing, ga he ing, and, la e , ea ly ag icul u e.
Flo a and Fauna
The ege a ion co e is ypical o dese and oo -
hill landscapes. Dominan plan species include Halox-
ylon (saxaul), Alhagi (camel ho n), As agalus, Juni-
pe us, and Calligonum. These plan s we e likely used
as sou ces o uel and cons uc ion ma e ials in p ehis-
o ic imes. The auna includes gazelles, ha es, oxes,
wol es, wild sheep, and wa e owl such as ducks and
geese along i e cou ses—all o which se ed as majo
subsis ence esou ces o ancien hun e -ga he e com-
muni ies.
Landscape Zona ion
The Guza Dis ic belongs o he oo hill zone,
which, om a paleoecological pe spec i e, o e ed he
mos a o able condi ions o human se lemen . The
a ea ansi ions om he moun ain oo hills in he no h
o he Ka shi dese plain in he sou h. The p oximi y o
42 No wegian Jou nal o de elopmen o he In e na ional Science No 168/2025
wa e sou ces, e ile soils, and abundan na u al e-
sou ces con ibu ed o he concen a ion o p ehis o ic
habi a ion si es in his zone.
His o y o A chaeological Resea ch and New
Findings
In he Kashkada ya egion, he iden i ica ion and
s udy o Paleoli hic and Mesoli hic si es began la e
han in he Su khanda ya egion—mainly du ing he
la e So ie pe iod and he yea s o independence.[
Nishiaki, Y., O. A ipdjano , R. Soleymano , A. Ra-
jabo , H. Naka a, T. Miki, and S. A ai, 2017] In he
1960s, he A chaeological and Topog aphical Expedi-
ion o Kashkada ya (KATE) o he Ins i u e o Ancien
and Medie al A chaeology o he Academy o Sciences
o Uzbekis an was es ablished (in 1963). Howe e , he
ini ial ocus o his expedi ion was p ima ily on si es
om he Ea ly I on Age and his o ical pe iods. In he
1980s–1990s, he leade ship o KATE changed, and
om 1999 onwa ds, unde he di ec ion o P o esso R.
Kh. Sulaymono , he Kashkada ya A chaeological Ex-
pedi ion began o pay a en ion o S one Age si es as
well. As a esul , p e iously unknown Paleoli hic si es
in he egion we e disco e ed.
A new s age began in he ea ly 2000s wi h he ield
in es iga ions conduc ed by R. Kh. Suleymano , which
b ough his egion back on o he a chaeological map
o Uzbekis an. His exca a ions a he Ka akama and
Agillak[EPRA Jou nals. (2020). A chaeological e-
sea ch on he Anghilak and Ami Temu ca es o sou h-
e n Uzbekis an. In e na ional Jou nal o Mul idiscipli-
na y Resea ch, 7(4), 669-671] si es p o ided he i s
eliable e idence o Paleoli hic human occupa ion
wi hin he oasis.
Fu he su eys ha e since opened a new chap e
in he s udy o he egion’s p ehis o ic pas . In 2023–
2024, he Landscape A chaeology Depa men o he
Na ional A chaeological Cen e o Uzbekis an, unde
he di ec ion o PhD A. Muxammadiye , conduc ed ex-
ensi e ieldwo k in he Kashkada ya (Guza ) egion.
The esul s e ealed he g ea po en ial o his a ea o
unde s anding he ch onological and cul u al sequence
o he S one Age. One o he mos impo an ou comes
was he disco e y o a new open-ai li hic wo kshop
complex— he Bu abulak 1–6 si es. [Mukhammadiye ,
A., & Landscape A chaeology Depa men , Na ional
A chaeological Cen e o Uzbekis an. (2024). P elimi-
na y esul s o ield esea ch in he Guza Dis ic o
Kashkada ya Region [Unpublished manusc ip ].
These locali ies a e si ua ed in he Guza Dis ic ,
wi hin a small in e mon ane alley be ween he Ka a
U ada ya and Langa da ya i e s, ibu a ies o he
Guza da ya. The a ea lies along he no he n slopes o
he Chakcha Moun ains, a sou hwes e n ex ension o
he Hiso Range. Nume ous small a ines un no h and
no hwes , whe e ou c ops o Paleogene lin -bea ing
ocks p o ided abundan aw ma e ials.
Du ing he 2025 ield season, u he esea ch led
o he disco e y o he Chuchukbulak Neoli hic se le-
men , loca ed no a om he Bu abulak complex [ ig.
1]. This si e p o ides c ucial e idence o he cul u al
and ch onological con inui y o S one Age occupa ion
in sou he n Uzbekis an, b idging he La e Paleoli hic
and Neoli hic pe iods.
The disco e ies made by R. Kh. Suleymano a
he Angillak si e, oge he wi h he newly iden i ied
si es in he Guza Dis ic , con ibu e o econs uc ing
he cul u al sequence o he S one Age in he Ka shi
oasis. Based on li hic ypology, Suleymano en a i ely
a ibu ed he Angillak assemblage o he Obi ahma
cul u al adi ion. Howe e , he cul u al a ibu ion o
he disco e ed La e Paleoli hic si es emains open,
pending u he echnological and ypological analyses.
The cu en li hic collec ion is insu icien o allow a
de ini i e cul u al classi ica ion a his s age.
A he Bu abulak 1–6 complex, he echnical and
ypological cha ac e is ics o he eco e ed a i ac s,
along wi h he pa ina co e ing hei su aces, make i
possible o da e hem om he La e Paleoli hic o he
Neoli hic pe iod. Such ea u es a e ypically cha ac e -
is ic o s one-wo king wo kshops, and he composi ion
o he assemblage as well as he spa ial dis ibu ion o
inds sugges ha wo kshop-se lemen ype si es may
also exis in his a ea.
A p esen , hese collec ions a e being ho oughly
s udied, and de ini i e conclusions abou hem will be
p esen ed in u u e esea ch. Conside ing ha ield-
wo k a he Chuchukbulak Neoli hic se lemen is
planned o con inue in Ma ch–Ap il 2026, i is p ema-
u e o p o ide inal conclusions ega ding he o e all
collec ions.
No wegian Jou nal o de elopmen o he In e na ional Science No 168/2025 43
Figu e 1. Loca ion o he Bu abulak and Chuchukbulak a chaeological si es (p epa ed using QGIS 3.44.4).
Re e ences:
1. Nishiaki, Y., O. A ipdjano , R. Soleymano , A.
Rajabo , H. Naka a, T. Miki, and S. A ai (2017) An a -
chaeological econnaissance su ey o ca es and ock-
shel e s in he Kashkada ya Valley, Sou h Uzbekis an,
2014. Bulle in o he Ancien O ien Museum 36: 1–11.
2. Mukhammadiye , A., & Landscape A chaeol-
ogy Depa men , Na ional A chaeological Cen e o
Uzbekis an. (2024). P elimina y esul s o ield e-
sea ch in he Guza Dis ic o Kashkada ya Region
[Unpublished manusc ip ].
3. Muhammadiye , A., & B une , F. (2024,
May 30). Qa shi ohasining osh da i bo‘yicha
das labki adqiqo na ijala i [P elimina y esul s on he
s udy o he S one Age o he Ka shi Oasis]. In Issues
o he His o y and His o iog aphy o Cen al Asian
Cul u e: P oceedings o he In e na ional Scien i ic
and P ac ical Con e ence (pp. 38–40). Tashken , Uz-
bekis an. h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.12605988
4. Suleymano , R. K. (2002). P elimina y in es i-
ga ions a he Anghilak Ca e, Kashkada ya Region.
P oceedings o he Ins i u e o A chaeology o Uzbeki-
s an, 12, 45–52.
5. Tu g’uno a, M. S. (2020). The s udy o he his-
o y o he S one Age in Uzbekis an. Eu opean Jou nal
o Resea ch and Re lec ion in Educa ional Sciences,
8(11), 113–118.
6. Union In e na ionale des Sciences P éhis-
o iques e P o ohis o iques (UISPP). (2025). Abs ac s
o he 20 h UISPP Wo ld Cong ess: Paleoli hic cul-
u al laye s o Anghilak Ca e, Sou h Uzbekis an. Lis-
bon, Po ugal.
7. EPRA Jou nals. (2020). A chaeological e-
sea ch on he Anghilak and Ami Temu ca es o sou h-
e n Uzbekis an. In e na ional Jou nal o Mul idiscipli-
na y Resea ch, 7(4), 669-671.
