An article co-authored by Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki of the University of Tokyo, leading researcher at the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology Dr. Azad Zeynalov, and ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology staff members — Khazar University's Department of History and Archaeology faculty Dr. Yagub Mammadov (leading researcher) and Ulviyya Safarova (researcher) — was published on June 5, 2026, in issue 52 of the journal Paléorient, one of the most authoritative international publications in the archaeology of the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Central Asia, published by CNRS and indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) of Web of Science and the Scopus database.

The article, titled "A New Look at the Dash Salakhly Middle Paleolithic Cave: The Cave and Lithic Assemblage," presents the results of field research conducted in 2023 under the leadership of Dr. Yaqub Mammadov and Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki — 65 years after the cave's initial discovery — and revisits the stone tools unearthed in 1958. The research was carried out by the "Azerbaijan–Japan Damjili International Archaeological Expedition," jointly organized by the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the University of Tokyo, at the eponymous Middle Paleolithic cave located near the village of Dash Salakhly in the Gazakh district. It should be noted that the Dash Salakhly cave was first recorded and studied in 1958 by Mammadali Huseynov.

The identification of the cave's location and the organization of the work were made possible with the support of Musa Mursagulyev, Director of the "Keshikchidag State Historical and Cultural Reserve," and the reserve's staff, as well as Saadat Aliyeva, then-head of the "Avey State Historical and Cultural Reserve."

The cave's prolonged absence from research was linked to its proximity to the border with the Republic of Armenia and related security concerns. Following the 44-day Patriotic War, it became possible to resume research in numerous areas, including the Dash Salakhly cave.

Link: https://journals.openedition.org/paleorient/6087?fbclid=IwY2xjawSSxFNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEezao9sXfxrUX0FyJmcww-U-DTc_neKbdlSd7eSAy8NjSFGylMAu17wTNX8aw_aem_5oREd_UQhT5lw-sDyu2YkA