TASHKENT, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Uzbek archaeologists have discovered a Neanderthal dwelling dating back to approximately 100-40 thousand years BC in a cave in the southern Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage said Thursday.
Excavations in the Khatak cave, discovered in 2021, have been underway since early this month by Uzbek archaeologists, including an Australian paleontologist from the Center for Human Evolution Studies at Griffith University, it said.
"In a hard-to-reach cave formed at a height of 15-20 meters above the base of a vertical rock, they discovered a complete picture of the life of Neanderthals: the remains of ash, a round hearth, as well as stone weapons and crushed bones of wild animals," the ministry said.
The ministry called for creation of an archaeological museum of the Khatak cave to preserve the unique monument located on the territory of the Surkhon State Reserve. ■
