The cave is an important prehistoric site which has been occupied by different human groups for a long time.

[2] The ancient layers of the Middle Paleolithic have yielded Neanderthal fossil remains that may date from around 300,000 years ago.

[3] The cave was discovered by the "Palaeolithic Archaeological Expedition" of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) under the leadership of Mammadali Huseynov in 1960 and is considered to be the site of one of the most ancient locations of proto-human presence in Eurasia.

The poor quality of the 1960s excavation, in which no taphonomic data was collected,[5] led to uncertainties over the chronological sequence of the layers.

In 2002 an international research team headed by Tania King discovered undisturbed entrances to the cave as well as fauna and stone tools.