The prehistory of Georgia is the period between the first human habitation of the territory of modern-day nation of Georgia and the time when Assyrian and Urartian, and more firmly, the Classical accounts, brought the proto-Georgian tribes into the scope of recoded history. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ... An Assyrian winged bull, or lemmasu. ... Urartu at its greatest extent 743 BC Urartu (Biainili in Urartian) was an ancient kingdom in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highland, and it centered around Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD...

Stone Age

Sketch of Homo georgicus fossils found at Dmanisi

Humans have been living in Georgia for an extremely long time, as attested by the discoveries, in 1999 and 2002, of two Homo erectus skulls (H. georgicus) at Dmanisi in southern Georgia. Archaeological clues from the basalt lavabed in which the skulls were embedded, including hundreds of stone tools found at the site, yielded an age of approximately 1.6-1.8 million years.^[1] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dmanisi is a site in eastern Georgia approximately 85 km southwest of Tbilisi in the Mashavera River Valley. ... Binomial name †Homo erectus (Dubois, 1892) Synonyms † Pithecanthropus erectus † Sinanthropus pekinensis † Javanthropus soloensis † Meganthropus paleojavanicus Homo erectus (Latin: upright man) is an extinct species of the genus Homo. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dmanisi is a site in eastern Georgia approximately 85 km southwest of Tbilisi in the Mashavera River Valley. ...

The first uninterrupted primitive settlement on the Georgian territory dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, more than fifty thousand years ago. Crude stone tools have been unearthed in Shida Kartli and Abkhazia. Interestingly, the Lower Paleolithic settlements have also been discovered in the highlands of Georgia, particularly in the caves of Kudaro (1,600 m above sea level), and Tsona (2,100 m). Moreover, archaeology at the Javakheti Plateau revealed open-air settlements at 2,400 m above the sea level. Buffered by the Caucasus Mountains, and benefiting from the ameliorating effects of the Black Sea, the region appears to have served as a biogeographical refugium throughout the Interglacial. These geographic features spared the Southern Caucasus from the severe climatic oscillations and allowed humans to prosper throughout much of the region for many millennia.^[2] The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. ... Shida Kartli is a region of Eastern Georgia. ... National anthem Aiaaira Official languages Abkhaz, with Russian having co-official status and widespread use by government and other institutions Political status De facto independent Capital Sukhumi Capitals coordinates President Sergei Bagapsh Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab Independence  â€“ Declared  â€“ Recognition From Georgia  23 July 1992  none Currency Russian ruble Official... The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. ... The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system between the Black and Caspian seas in the Caucasus region, usually considered the southeastern limit of Europe. ... NASA satellite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... South Caucasus, also referred to as Transcaucasia or Transcaucasus, is the southern portion of the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia, extending from the Greater Caucasus to the Turkish and Iranian borders, between the Black and Caspian Seas. ...

Late Paleolithic cave dwellings have been investigated in Devis Khvreli, Sakazhia, Sagvarjile, and Gvarjilas Klde. At that time, eastern portion of the South Caucasus appears to be relatively scarcely populated in contrast to the valleys of Rioni and Kvirila in western Georgia. The Paleolithic ended some 10,000-12,000 years ago to be succeeded by the Mesolithic culture. It was when the geographic medium and landscapes of the Caucasus were finally shaped as we have them today. Signs of Neolithic culture, and the transition from foraging and hunting to agriculture and stockraising, are found in Georgia from 5000 BC. The early Neolithic sites are chiefly found in western Georgia. These are Khutsubani, Anaseuli, Kistriki, Kobuleti, Tetramitsa, Apiancha, and Makhvilauri. In the 5th millennium BC, the Kura (Mtkvari) basin also became stably populated, and settlements such as those at Tsopi, Aruchlo,^[3] and Sadakhlo along the Kura in eastern Georgia are distinguished by a long lasting cultural tradition, distinctive architecture, and considerable skill in stoneworking. In around 6000-4200 BC, the Southern Caucasus housed the flourishing late Neolithic/Eneolithic complex known as the Shulaveri-Shomu culture. Radiocarbon dating at Shulaveri indicates that the earliest settlements there date from 4659 BC, plus or minus 210 years.^[4] The Rioni River (Georgian რიონი) is the principal river of western Georgia. ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age[1]) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... Kobuleti is a town in Georgias southwestern region of Ajaria. ... // Events 4860 BC - Mount Mazama in Oregon collapses, forming a caldera that later fills with water and becomes Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. ... Mtkvari (Kura) River near Old Town, Tbilisi Kura (Georgian მტკვარი - Mtkvari, Azerbaijani Kür) is a river in the Caucasus Mountains. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos copper stone) period, also known as the Eneolithic or Copper Age period, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 (14C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years[1]. Raw, i. ...

In the highlands of eastern Anatolia and South Caucasus, the right combination of domesticable animals and sowable grains and legumes made possible the earliest agriculture. In this sense, the region can justly be considered one of the “cradles of civilization.”^[4] The entire region is surmised to have been, in the period beginning in the last quarter of the fourth millennium BC, inhabited by people who were probably ethnically related and of Hurrian stock. The ethnic and cultural unity of these two thousand years is characterized by some scholars as Chalcolithic or Encolithic. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... (5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC - other millennia) Events City of Ur in Mesopotamia (40th century BC). ... The word Hurrian may refer to: An ancient people of the Near East, the Hurrians. ... The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos copper stone) period, also known as the Eneolithic (Aeneolithic) or Copper Age period, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. ...

From c. 3400 BC to 2000 BC, the region saw the development of the Kura-Araxes or Early Transcaucasian culture centered on the basins of Kura and Araxes. During this era, economic stability based on cattle and sheep raising and noticeable cultural development was achieved. The local chieftains appear to have been men of wealth and power. Their burial mounds have yielded finely wrought vessels in gold and silver; a few are engraved with ritual scenes suggesting the Middle Eastern cult influence. This vast and flourishing culture came into contact the more advanced civilization of Akkadian Mesopotamia, but went into a gradual decline and stagnated c. 2300 BC, being eventually broken up into a number of regional cultures. One of the earliest of these successor cultures is the Bedeni complex in eastern Georgia. The Kura-Araxes culture was a important Chalcolithic (copper-stone age) and bronze age culture that flourished in the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran from about 4000 B.C. to 2200 B.C. after which they were presumably overrun and absorbed by the Hurrians, who swept down from the... Aras, Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz (Persian: ارس, Azerbaijani: Araz), is a river rising in Anatolia in Turkey, flowing along the Turkey-Armenia border, then along the Iran border, entering Azerbaijan, and falling into Kura river as a right tributary. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The Akkadian Empire usually refers to the Semitic speaking state that grew up around the city of Akkad north of Sumer, and reached its greatest extent under Sargon of Akkad. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ...

Bronze and Iron ages

At the end of the third millennium BC, Georgia entered the Bronze Age, and there is evidence of considerable economic development and increased commerce among the tribes. In western Georgia, a unique culture known as Colchian developed between 1800 and 700 BC, and in eastern Georgia the kurgan (tumulus) culture of Trialeti reached its zenith around 1500 BC. By the last centuries of the second millennium BC, ironworking had made its appearance in the South Caucasus, and the true Iron Age began with the introduction of tools and weapons on a large scale and of superior quality to those hitherto made of copper and bronze, a change which in most of the Near East may not have come before the tenth or ninth centuries BC.^[4] (4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – other millennia) Events Foundation of the city of Mari (Syria) (29th century BC ) Creation of the Kingdom of Elam (Iraq) Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah about 2700 BC, the oldest tree still living now Dynasty of... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Colchian culture (circa 1200 to 600 BC) is a late Bronze Age and Iron Age culture of the western Caucasus, mostly in western Georgia. ... Sarmatian Kurgan 4th c. ... Trialeti is a mountainous area in central Georgia. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) Events Second dynasty of Babylon First Bantu migrations from west Africa The Cushites drive the original inhabitants from Ethiopia, and establish trade relations with Egypt. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

During this period, as linguists have demonstrated, the ethnic and linguistic unity of proto-Georgians finally broke up into several branches that now form the South Caucasian or Kartvelian family. The first to break away was the Svan language in northwest Georgia, in about the 19th century BC, and by the 8th century BC, Zan, the basis of Mingrelian and Laz, had become a distinct language. On the basis of language it has been established that the earliest Georgian/Kartvelian ethnos were made up of three principal, related tribes – the Georgians proper ("Karts"), the Zans (Megrelo-Laz, Colchians), and the Svans – which would eventually form the basis of the modern Georgian nation.^[4] It has been suggested that Kartvel be merged into this article or section. ... The Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ, lushnu nin in Svan; სვანური ენა, svanuri ena in Georgian) is a language spoken in Northwest Georgia. ... The Megrelian language (Megruli ena in Georgian, Margaluri nina in Megrelian), sometimes called Mingrelian, is a language spoken in northwest Georgia. ... The Laz language (lazuri, ლაზური or lazuri nena, ლაზური ნენა in Laz; ლაზური, lazuri, or ჭანური, chanuri, in Georgian) is spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. ... Samegrelo (Mingrelia) is a historic province in the western part of the republic of Georgia, formerly also known as Odishi. ... The Laz (Lazi (ლაზი) or Lazepe (ლაზეფე) in Laz, Lazlar in Turkish, Lazi (ლაზი) or Chani (ჭანი) in Georgian) are an ethnic group who live primarily on the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia. ... In ancient geography, Colchis (sometimes spelled also as Kolchis) (Greek: Κολχίς, kŏl´kĬs; Georgian: კოლხეთი, Kolkheti) was a nearly triangular district in Caucasus. ... Svans The Svans are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Svaneti region of Georgia. ...

References