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Abstract

Personal ornaments serve as a critical proxy for tracing the social networks and information technologies of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. This paper investigates the cultural geography of the prehistoric Caucasus by analyzing personal ornaments, specifically red deer (Cervus elaphus) canine pendants, recovered from the pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) layers of Dzudzuana and Satsurblia caves (Georgia). Drawing on evolutionary costly signaling theory, this research evaluates whether the production of these pendants represents localized independent invention or participation in a widespread Eurasian social signaling network.

Methodologically, this study employs a two-pronged approach. First, it establishes an ecological baseline, a "biogeography of scarcity", by comparing the frequency of red deer in broader Western Georgian faunal assemblages with the targeted prevalence of red deer pendants. Assessing this discrepancy tests whether these specific animal products were opportunistic local resources or high-value, costly signals acquired through long-distance mobility and exchange. Second, it applies a chaîne opératoire framework to analyze the taphonomic and technological signatures, such as deliberate surface scraping and bifacial gouging, on both published and newly observed museum specimens.

By utilizing the Southern Caucasus as an anchor to compare local manufacturing gestures against broader Eurasian practices, this research aims to identify potential transcontinental "social manuals" of craftsmanship. Ultimately, exploring these material life histories sheds light on how Ice Age populations utilized standardized symbolic technologies to negotiate group identity, trustworthiness, and social boundaries during a period of extreme climatic oscillation.