Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 4, Europe

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

It is located on the north side of a marly hill that dominates the fertile valley of the river Mogoro.

Physical Features

Bingia eMonti is a funerary site that has a unique hypogean-megalithic structure. It is composed of a rectangular grave excavated on sedimentary rock in cross-direction and of an attached subquadrangularmegalithic structure made of four large basal stones that hold up four drywalls that end in a false dome roof. Nowadays, this structure, which is partially ruined, is 4 m long x 2 m wide x 2 m high. The human bones were placed in two levels, separated by a layer of calcareous blocks 0.40 m thick: The inferior level could be from the Bell Beaker period, and the superior level could be Bunnanaro. In the Bell Beaker level, which lies on the bottom of the grave, there were four little chests.

Bell Beaker 31

References

Atzeni, E. "La tomba ipogeico-megalitica di Bingia e Monti." In

Simbolo de enigma: In bicchiere campaniforme e rItallia nella preistoria europea del III millennio a. c., F. Nicolis and E. Mottes. Trento: 254-260.

Schafstadt

TIME PERIOD: 4350-3850 B.P.

LOCATION: Merseburg, SajoniaAnhalt (Germany).

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

Physical Features. Schafstadt is a typical necropolis of the Bell Beaker communities of central Europe. It is composed of 17 funerary structures, of which 9 are single earth graves, 3 are earth graves with a capstone, and 5 are single cists.

Cultural Aspects

This funerary structure is a clear example of multiple burial. Inside, there were the remains of at least 150 individuals. In the inferior level, inside the chests, there were some bones of different individuals; that is why we suggest that these chests would be used as reliquaries. And, between the human remains, there were remains of vessels, of lithic industry, and of bone industry, all related to the Bell Beaker culture. On top, there was an accumulation of bones and between them three entire human skeletons. In the same layer, there was a large quantity of grave goods, such as plain ceramics (polypods of the central European type; cups; ovoid jars); ceramics decorated following the Bell Beaker style, with comb-incised horizontal bands, with geometric motifs or motifs of "chevrons"; metallic objects (triangular daggers made of copper); lithic objects (tanged arrowheads made of obsidian; microliths made of obsidian); bone objects (V-perforated buttons); objects made of shells; and a gold object.

Cultural Aspects

In the burials of this necropolis, the bodies are crouched: men lying on their left side and women lying on their right side. Heads always face east. The grave goods are not very abundant, but there are some Bell Beakers. In the nine single earth graves, there were very late Bell Beakers, which could be related to Proto-Unetice.

References

Matthias, W. (1956). Jahresschrift fur mitteldeutsche Vorgeschichte Halle 40: 51-lOS.

Matthias, W. (1956). "Neue Graber des Glockenbecherfriedhofs von Schafstadt, Kr. Merseburg," Jahresschrift Halle 44: SI-107.

XAVIER CLOP GARCIA

Department Anthropologia Social i Prehistoria

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

Bellaterra

Spain

c. 5600-3000 B.P.

Follows the Caucasian Neolithic and Chalcolithic traditions, precedes the historic period in the region.

LOCATION: The area south (Transcaucasia) and north (Ciscaucasia) of the Great Caucasus range, which stretches for c. 1200 km northwest to southeast between the Black and Caspian seas. The southern border is politically defined by the course of the Araxes river but naturally merges with the Anatolian and Iranian plateaus to the southwest and southeast. The northern boundary is defined by the Kuban and Terek catchments that drain the northern slopes of the Great Caucasus; these areas merge to the north with the South Russian Eurasian steppes.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Handmade (Early

Bronze), then wheel-thrown, typically black-burnished ceramics decorated with incisions, relief ornamentation, and occasional paste inlays. Settlement sites in Transcaucasia are relatively small (c. 1-2 ha) to medium sized (c. 12 ha) until Late Bronze times (c. 3500-3000 B.P.) when they can be considerably larger; settlements in the northern Caucasus are less numerous and smaller. Both areas are characterized by rich raised burial mounds (kurgans) from late Early Bronze times on (c. 4300 B.P.). This tradition is one of the leading Old World metal-

lurgical centers from late Early Bronze times on-pro- ducing weapons, tools, and jewelry made first of arsenical, then of tin-bronzes, as well as rich silverand goldwork, inlaid with semiprecious stones, such as carnelian.

REGIONAL SUBTRADITIONS: Kura-Araxes, Maikop, Trialet-

i, Karmirberd, Sevano-Uzerlik, Kyzylvan, Dolmen,

North Caucasian, Colchidean/Koban.

IMPORTANT SITES: Kvatskhelebi, Shengavit, Kyul-tepe I

and II, Karnut, Bedeni, Uzerlik, Velikent, Maikop,

Meshoko, Lebedi I, Lchashen, Shilda, Artik, Metsamor,

Tli.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

Climate. The climate during the Caucasian Bronze Age was similar to that of today: basically continental with warm to hot summers and cold winters and varying with altitude, with pronounced diurnal variations particularly during summer months at the higher elevations. There is a general decrease in precipitation from west to east with the greatest rainfall in the subtropical Colchidean depression of western Georgia. Given shifts in settlement location and the abandonment of drier areas, such

as the Mil-Karabagh steppes, at the beginning of the Caucasian Bronze Age, some researchers have postulated increased aridization; similarly, others have postulated another such shift at the end of the Early Bronze Age as reflected in the abandonment of numerous KuraAraxes culture sites. Both theories need more primary empirical substantiation.

Topography. The most dominant natural features of the Caucasus are mountains, particularly the Great Caucasus range, several peaks of which exceed 5,000 m. The Lesser Caucasus in Transcaucasia consist of several distinct mountain ranges, some of which run perpendicular to one another (the Trialeti and Djavakheti ranges of southern Georgia). The Great Caucasus extend nearly to the Black sea in the west, but a littoral plain along the Caspian forms a natural corridor in the east linking the Eurasian steppes to the north with Transcaucasia and the ancient Near East to the south. Also noteworthy is the Ararat plain formed by the middle Araxes river in southern Armenia and Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan, the agricultural potential of which-particularly when aided by irrigation-is exceptionally rich.

Geology. The area is rich in flint and obsidian deposits, the latter being particularly abundant on the highland volcanic plateaus in southern Georgia and throughout Armenia. Hundreds of major deposits and ore bodies of copper, arsenic, antimony, gold, and other minerals (excepting tin) are known, and several of these deposits, particularly in Armenia and north-central Georgia, are known to have been exploited in Bronze Age times.

Biota. The area is rich in floral and faunal resources, which are found in different regions at different altitudes. These include nearly half of all the known wild forms of wheat and the ancestors of the most common domesticated animal species of western Eurasia, including wild horses. Terraced agriculture today is practiced at elevations exceeding 3,000 m, and there are several Early Bronze settlements located above 2,000 m. Open highland plateaus provide excellent summer pastures, whereas the lowest-lying and arid zones, such as the Mugan and Mil steppes of Azerbaijan, could have been permanently settled only with the development of irrigation agriculture. Wild game and fish abound in the forested slopes, steppes, rivers, and Black and Caspian seas.

Settlements

Settlement System. The greatest distinction in the location and size of settlements is between Transcauc-

Caucasian Bronze Age 33

aSia and the northern Caucasus. Hundreds of settlements of the Early Bronze Kura-Araxes culture in the Kura and Araxes basins of the southern Caucasus, as well as high in the upland areas of the Lesser and Great Caucasus mountains, have been documented. These settlements, which typically represent sedentary agricultural communities, may occasionally be fortified and reveal evidence for either terraces or some other form of relatively basic water management/irrigation agriculture; known Early Bronze settlements range in size from less than 1 ha to c. 12 ha. Late Bronze settlements in the agriculturally rich lowland plains may be considerably larger, approaching 100 ha in extent (at Metsamor on the Ararat plain of southern Armenia). Early Bronze settlements in the northern Caucasus are far less numerous and generally smaller with much thinner cultural deposits (rarely exceeding 2 m) throughout the Bronze Age, probably indicative of less reliance on agriculture and greater emphasis on stockbreeding.

Community Organization. Known Early Bronze settlements and burials in Transcaucasia do not show sharp distinctions in the accumulation of wealth and/or social standing in the society. Although this may be a product only of the type of settlement extensively investigated; the houses of excavated villages show some evidence of town planning but are essentially uniform in terms of layout and internal features. So-called royal raised earthen burials define the Early Bronze Maikop culture of the northern Caucasus, the richest of which contain numerous bronzes and silver and gold jewelry and vessels. This tradition of a few exceptionally rich burials continues throughout the entire area during the Late Early and Middle Bronze periods; some of these raised burial mounds are even more extensive than typical settlements of Early Bronze times, and accompanying burials in the largest of them may suggest human sacrifice. Late Bronze settlements reveal specialization in architecture and the differentiation of society into higher and lower strata. The increase in social complexity is particularly evident on the agriculturally more productive lowland plains of southern Transcaucasia, and there appears to a more uniform distribution of mortuary objects, including numerous metal ornaments, weapons, and tools, in highland areas.

Housing. Materials used for housing varied from region to region, depending largely on the availability of local building materials: mud-brick adobe houses were prevalent on the plains, while stone and stone and wooden constructions were dominant in the highlands. Along

34Caucasian Bronze Age

the Caspian plain, settlers took advantage of rich clay terraces left by earlier marine transgressions and dug deep pit houses, supported partially by boulders and wooden posts. Most houses contained a central and sometimes elaborately ornamented hearth and consisted of circular or later subrectangular single rooms, ranging in size from c. 30-100 sq m, possibly abutted by an annex. Deep bell-shaped pits used for storage and preservation of perishables were not uncommon, as were central open areas interpreted as enclosures for livestock. Occasional buildings, distinguished by size and/or internal features, suggest the localized practice of ritual or cult activities, but there is little evidence until possibly the Late Bronze Age for true public architecture suggestive of "great" palace or temple organizations. Despite the wealth of Caucasian metals, there is relatively little excavated evidence for local metalworking, except in the form of crucible fragments and ceramic and stone molds for casting objects; likewise, only a few potters' kilns have been excavated throughout the area.

Population, Health, and Disease. It is evident that there was a substantial population increase during Early Bronze times, particularly in Transcaucasia and the northeastern Caucasus. The number of sites increases dramatically, and essentially all altitudinal zones from coastal lowlands to highland plateaus and mountain valleys contain Early Bronze settlements. The great majority of these were abandoned during the subsequent Middle Bronze period, which is documented primarily through its funerary remains. Settlements reemerge on an even larger scale during the Late Bronze Age or beginning c. 3500 B.P. These shifts in settlement density, which presumably reflect shifts in population, are usually explained as the result of the first incursions of mounted pastoral nomads from the Eurasian steppes, although they also may be indicative of new subsistence practices related to stockbreeding and the annual long-distance movements of herds and/ or climatic changes. Most physical anthropological studies have focused on the determination of anthropological types and not on the demographic characteristics or morbidity and mortality profiles of the skeletal populations.

Economy

Subsistence. The Early Bronze settlements in Transcaucasia and the northeastern Caucasus practiced various forms of terraced, irrigation, or dry farming agriculture. Draft animals may have been used to

draw pnmlttve plows made of horn, and crops were harvested with wooden and bone sickles inset with obsidian microliths; metal sickles also have been recovered. Sheep and goats were the dominant domesticated animals, but cattle and horses also were kept. Agriculture, if even practiced, played a much less significant role in the Maikop culture settlements of the northern Caucasus; cattle and then pigs were the dominant species, while horses, sheep, and goats were less significant; distinctive cheekpieces suggest that horses may have been ridden in the northern Caucasus as early as the Early Bronze period, though the identification is uncertain.

Wild Foods. Various indigenous species, such as deer, roe deer, aurochs, boars, and wild mountain sheep and goat, were hunted with bows and arrows tipped with obsidian arrowheads; steppe animals, such as saiga antelope, were also hunted in the northeastern Caucasus. Riverine and marine resources were also exploited, including large fish, such as sturgeon, from the Caspian sea.

Domestic Foods. Carbonized remains of wheat, barley, millet, flax, and grapes and apricots have been recovered on settlements in Transcaucasia and the northeastern Caucasus. The major Eurasian domesticated animals-sheep, goat, cattle, pig, dog, and horse-also are documented.

Industrial Arts. The scale and quality of Caucasian metalwork makes it one of the premier metallurgical centers of the Old World, particularly during the late Early through Late Bronze periods (c. 4300-3000 B.P.). The sophistication of the bronze, silver, and gold objects is indicative of a high degree of craft specialization, although, with the exception of a few excavated metalworkers' burials (kurgan 3, burial 10, at Lebedi I in the Kuban region of the northern Caucasus), this specialization is not directly attested. The quality of wheelthrown and handmade ceramics also is quite high and indirectly suggests that potters too were full-time specialists. Fine chipped stone tools and weapons continued to be produced, including beautiful pressure-flaked obsidian arrowheads; hammerstones, maceheads, and shaft-hole stone axes, imitating metal forms, show a high degree of skill in the grinding and polishing of hard stones and minerals. Considerable woodworking skills are attested in the construction of wooden houses and platforms in western Georgia and in the woodenbeamed "houses for the dead" in the "royal" burial mounds of the late Early and Middle Bronze periods, as well as by the discoveries of woodworking tools, such as adzes, chisels, and awls. Weaving of woolen and linen textiles is only indirectly suggested through iconograph-

ic evidence or through the recovery of spinning implements, such as spindle whorls. Four-wheeled carts driven by oxen and later horse-drawn chariots have been found in raised burials, and clay and metal models of them have come from settlements and caches and hoards.

Utensils. Pottery was used for everyday utilitarian purposes, such as cooking and storage; it was also buried in tombs as mortuary gifts or containers for food to accompany the deceased to the afterlife. Decoration on the pottery includes polychrome painting, engraving, incising, stamping, inlaying geometric and natural designs, and raised relief ornamentation. Metal utensils include ladles and cooking pots; gold and silver goblets, buckets, cups, and chalices are sometimes decorated with raised (repousse) or incised geometric and naturalistic designs, some of which are incredibly elaborate. Filigree and granulation work are also attested.

Ornaments. Gold, silver, carnelian, paste, bronze, and even obsidian beads of various shapes and sizes, the smallest of which were probably sewn onto clothing, have been recovered. Metal ringlets worn in the hair, pendants, necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, and anklets suggest considerable bodily ornament. Elaborate bent, perforated, and T-shaped toggle pins were used to fasten together clothing. Metal horse trappings and figured objects attached to wheeled vehicles have been discovered in tombs that first appear at the end of the Early Bronze period.

Trade. Exact systems of exchange are unknown. In Transcaucasia, obsidian typically was obtained from the nearest available obsidian flow; various forms of locally available flints dominate the chipped stone industries in sites distant from obsidian sources, particularly in the northern Caucasus, although occasional finds of obsidian document some form of long-distance exchange. Numerous deposits of metal-bearing ores are found throughout the Caucasus complicating reconstructions of patterns of exchange. Transcaucasian metal sources may initially have been exploited and semiprocessed and processed metals may have been exchanged to the northern Caucasus and onto the steppes. Tin-bronzes first appear in the late Early Bronze period and become dominant by Late Bronze times. The scale of Late Bronze metal production is staggering, and sources of tin are unknown in the Caucasus. By c. 3800 B.P., tin must have been arriving through some systematic, highly organized form of long-distance trade, but it is unknown whether this system was part of or resembled

Caucasian Bronze Age 35

the historically documented Old Assyrian trade network to the south in Anatolia. Most sites in all periods appear to be relatively self-sufficient.

Division of Labor. Full-time craft specialization is indirectly but convincingly documented by the quality of the products, particularly bronzes and precious metal objects, such as found at Trialeti and in the Karashamb raised burial mound. Occasional burials of smiths also have been excavated. Besides metals, there may have been specialists in other crafts, such as ceramics, chipped and ground stone working, and woodworking.

Differential Access or Control of Resources. The considerable accumulation of wealth in some burial mounds unequivocally documents the presence of an elite ruling stratum in the society; the presence of such an element is also represented iconographically with offering scenes to what are most plausibly identified as rulers/deities. Many highland settlements, on the other hand, reveal a relatively uniform distribution of materials, including metal weapons, suggesting societies with little internal social ranking.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Marriage pattern practices for the Caucasian Bronze Age are unknown. Most Early Bronze settlements are small and relatively undifferentiated, possibly suggesting that related peoples lived together, occupying as nuclear families generally oneroomed circular and subrectangular houses with centrally placed, elaborately decorated hearths as their most defining features. Most tombs contain the remains of single individuals, although some settlements, such as at Velikent in Daghestan, are characterized by collective burials, which apparently were reused over considerable periods; it is thought, but as yet not demonstrated, that these latter contain the remains of related extended kin groupings. The most elaborate "royal" burial mounds occur in lowland plains (such as Bedeni and Tsnori) or in locations that could represent the winter pasture grounds for pastoral nomadic groups. These extensive, elaborately constructed interments required the mobilization of considerable social labor; they could have been built during consecutive winter occupations of these plains or through the pooling of labor drawn from tribal groups united under the deceased leader.

Political Organization. State-structured societies are not documented until possibly during the Late Bronze

36Caucasian Bronze Age

period and then only for southern Transcaucasia; highland villages are small and seemingly largely selfsufficient, although obviously sharing technologies and stylistic/cultural features. By Late Bronze times, the pervasive distribution of metal weapons throughout the highlands in burials and as hoards and in sanctuary sites suggests frequent conflicts among still relatively undifferentiated societies, perhaps now structured as "military democracies" united around leaders but assembling and reaching decisions collectively. The archaeological evidence and historical and ethnographic analogies also suggest the presence of mobile, tribally organized pastoral groups headed by leaders or chiefs who wielded considerable power and who were buried with considerable pomp and ceremony.

Conflict. Large walls, presumably for fortification, have been documented on a few Early Bronze settlements in both Transand Ciscaucasia. Later they become characteristic of most Middle Bronze (e.g., Uzerlik-tepe) and Late Bronze settlements. Countless sites with cyclopean stone fortification walls are found throughout the Caucasus, the earliest of which date to the Late Bronze period. Conflicts are also suggested by the ubiquity of shaft-hole and pole axes, spears and daggers, arrowheads, mace heads, and the like and are graphically represented on works of art such as on the Karashamb silver goblet. The frequency of armed confrontations seems to increase over time.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Native wild and domestic animals frequently are depicted in Caucasian Bronze Age art, suggesting their symbolic importance in the society. Anthropomorphic figurines, depicting both males and females, also occur but are less frequent. Central hearths are accorded a special significance and often decorated with animal (especially rams) and human representations. Special structures, interpreted as sanctuaries, some with raised and figured stone altars, have been excavated on several sites, and the "idols" or representational figures found in these structures are identified as deities, often associated with fertility. Entire sanctuary sites where ritual sacrifices took place have also been excavated, particularly in Georgia (Meli-gele I and II and Melaani).

Religious Practitioners. Little is known about who conducted the ritual ceremonies in this Bronze Age tradition. Certainly, some activities were practiced in the

households on a regular basis and presumably directed by the head of the extended or nuclear families. The existence of special structures devoted to cult practices and the elaborate sacrifices recorded at the sanctuary sites suggest a degree of religious specialization, but it is unknown whether religious and political leadership was distinct or united.

Ceremonies. Much attention was devoted to funeral ceremonies. Funerary meals, if not feasting, often took place at the time of interment. One complex at Metsamor in Southern Armenia has been interpreted as devoted to the observation of celestial phenomena, and the numerous real and model weapons found with male figures at the sanctuary site of Melaani in eastern Georgia have been interpreted as sacrifices or offerings to a god of war (a prototype for the later Urartian god Khaldi).

Arts. The arts are extremely well developed in this tradition, strongly suggesting an advanced level of craft specialization. The degree of artistic elaboration is particularly evident in the production of figured bronzes, such as the Koban/Colchidean axes, and precious gold and silver objects, including most spectacularly the silver goblet from the Karashamb kurgan with its raised figured representation of hunting, offering, and ritual slaying of prisoners of war.

Death and Afterlife. Offerings of food are frequently found in tombs, suggesting that the deceased was provided with a meal for nourishment in the afterlife. Funerary gifts include ceramic and metal vessels, jewelry, and ornaments attached to the body or to clothing, and, in some cases, the tools and products of one's specialized craft, suggesting that the afterlife resembled the lived life. The structures of the tombs also sometimes duplicate the houses in which people lived (e.g., the catacomb collective tombs and the circular pit houses at Velikent). The more elaborate burials also reflect the continuation of worldly activities after death. "Royal" raised burial mounds consist of wooden "houses" containing not only the body of the deceased individual but also an elaborately decorated wooden wheeled vehicle together with the oxen or horses that pulled it. Secondary burials may suggest in a few cases the practice of human sacrifice.

Suggested Readings

Chernykh, E. N. (1992). Ancient Metallurgy in the USSR. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Khachatrian, T. S. (1975). Drevnyaya Kuftura Shiraka IlI-I tys. do n.e.

Erevan: Erevan University Press.

Koridze, D. L. (1965). K istorii kolkhskoi kurtury. Tbilisi: Metsniereba. Krupnov, E. I. (1960). Drevnyaya Istoriya Sevnernogo Kavakaza.

Moscow: Academy of Sciences.

Kuftin, B. A. (1941). Arkheologicheskie raskopki v Trialeti. Tbilisi: Georgian Academy of Sciences.

Kushnareva, K. Kh. (1977). Drevneishie Pamyatniki Dvina. Erevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences.

Kushnareva, K. Kh. (1993). Yuznyi Kavkaz v. IX-II tys. do n.e. St. Petersburg: Russian Academy of Sciences. (Trans into English as

The Southern Caucasus in Prehistory: Stages of Cultural and Socioeconomic Development from the Eighth to the Second Millennium B.C., University of Pennsylvania Museum Publications, Philadelphia, 1997.)

Kushnareva, K. Kh., and V. I. Markovin (1994). Epokha Bronzy Kavkaza i Srednei Azii: Ranyaya i Srednyaya Bronza Kavkaza.

Moscow: Nauka.

Lordkipanidze, O. (1989). Nasledie Drevnei Gruzii. Tbilisi: Metsniereba. (Trans into German as Archiiologie in Georgien: Von der Altsteinzeit zum Mittelalter, VCR Acta Rumaniora, Weinheim, 1991.)

Markovin, V. I. (1978). Dormeny Zapadnogo Kavkaza. Moscow: Nauka.

Caucasian Bronze Age 37

Miron, A., and W. Orthmann (1995). Unterwegs zum Goldenen Vlies: Archiiologische Funde aus Georgien. Saarbriicken: Stiftung Saarlandischer Kulturbesitz.

Motzenbacker, I. (1996). Sammlung Kossnierska: Der Digorische Formenkreis der Kaukasischen Bronzezeit. Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin-Preul3ischer Kulturbesitz.

Munchaev, R. M. (1975). Kavkaz na zare bronzovogo veka. Moscow:

Nauka.

Pizchelauri, K. N. (1979). Vostochnaya gruziya v kontse bronzovogo veka. Tbilisi: Metsniereba. (Trans into German as Jungbronzeitliche bis iiltereisenzeitliche Heiligtiimer in Ost-Georgian, Verlag Beck, Munich, 1984.)

Santrot, J. (1966). Armenie: Tresors de r Armenie ancienne. Somogy: Paris: Editions d'Art.

PHILIP KOHL

Department of Anthropology

Wellesley College

Wellesley, Massachusetts

United States

Caucasian Copper Age

ABSOLUTE TIME PERIOD: c. 6500-5500 B.P.

RELATIVE TIME PERIOD: Follows the Caucasian Neolithic and precedes the Caucasian Bronze Age traditions.

LOCATION: The region surrounding the Caucasian mountains, generally between the Black and Caspian seas. This region encompasses the Kuban and Terek river basins to the north, and extends south to the Chorokh and Araxes rivers.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Jars with cylindrical or

flared necks, rims adorned with incised decoration. Copper items are first produced. Stone bracelets are found in the West Caucasus, and painted ceramics made on a slow wheel are found on some sites of the East Caucasus.

REGIONAL SUBTRADITIONS: Samele Klde, Sioni.

IMPORTANT SITES: Alikemek Tepesi, Berikldeeb, Ginchi, Leilatepe, Samele Klde, Sioni, Tekhut.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

The Caucasus region is dominated by the Caucasus mountains themselves. The Caucasian ridge is a main watershed, which divides the Caucasus into the two parts: northern and southern (or Transcaucasia). Owing to the natural conditions, the Caucasus is divided also into the West and East Caucasus. The former includes the Black sea and Azov sea basins, and the latter the Caspian sea basin. Altitude of the Caucasus varies between 28 m below sea level and 5,642 m above sea level. Over one half of this region is occupied by highlands and mountainous plateaus. The mountains are volcanic in origin and are rich in flint, ores (including copper and gold), and minerals. The South Caucasus is very rich in obsidian. Rivers, draining mountain runoff, create rich alluvial plains to the north and south of the main ranges.

The climate, over most of the territory, is continental, with hot summers, and varied winters--cold on the northern slopes of the Caucasus, less severe on the southeastern part, and on the southwestern fairly mild. The latter geographical region, which is known as West Transcaucasia or Kolkhida (Colchida), is characterized

by a humid subtropical climate and abundant precipitation. On the other hand, the East Transcaucasian plains are characterized by aridity. However, elevation (up to 5,000 m in the central range of the main Caucasus) creates difference in climate that can be significant, with higher elevations being generally cooler and with greater diurnal variation, and lower elevations being generally warmer and less dynamic.

The first and the last phases of the Atlantic period were characterized by significant increase of temperature and humidity, although the middle phase of the Atlantic period, which mainly coincides with the Chalcolithic period under study, saw a relative worsening of the climatic conditions. There was a decrease of the mean temperature and an increasing aridity in the region. At about the same period, c. 6500-5000 B.P., the Black sea reached the maximal level for late Pleistocene: +4.5- +5 m (Neo-Black sea Transgression). On the generally elevated background of the sea level, some smallamplitude regression phases did occur, which coincided with periods of climatic worsening.

Flora and fauna also vary by elevation. Forests cover most of the mountainous areas and most lowlands in the West Transcaucasus, with grass and bush plants at lower elevations. Game animals of various types, including deer (Cervus elaphus), wild goat (Capreolus capreolus), wild sheep and goat, wild boar, marten

(Martes sp.), badger (Meles meles), river beaver (Castor fiber), bear (Ursus arctos), buffalo (Bison bonasus) are found throughout the region, and fish are abundant in the rivers.

Settlements

The life in the Chalcolithic period still continued on the territories assimilated in the Neolithic, although the foothills and mountains were assimilated as well. The tell-type multilayer settlements, except in Southeast Transcaucasia, are either very rare or are not found at all. The villages are set 0.5-1.5 km from one another and represent compact groups. Most settlements cover on area of 0.5 ha, although in South Azerbaijan larger and smaller villages have been found as well: Polu-Tepe (Mugan plain) covered 4 ha, Khini-Tepe on the Karabakh depression, 5 ha. Continuation of the Shulaveri culture subtradition is found on Southeast Transcaucasian sites, where mud bricks served as the sole building material. On the other settlements of the East Caucasus (Sioni, Ginchi, etc.) a wide use of stone as building material was present. Stone walls laid on clay grout were found in the lower layers of Shentsviti (Ararat valley). Wattle-and-daub buildings were widely distributed as

Caucasian Chalcolithic 39

well. Pure circular architecture is no longer encountered, e.g., in Alikemek-Tepe, where only mud-brick buildings were found, usually rectangular; sometimes buildings of several rooms occur. On the same site, a semisubterrarian structure was excavated, the walls of which were clay covered, whitewashed, and then decorated with murals in geometrical patterns. At Ilanli-Tepe, only one semicircular building was found. The rest of the buildings were rectangular. Here also the remains of wall paintings were found. In Kechili settlement, situated at the middle Kura river, only square-shaped mudbrick buildings were excavated. Besides these, earth houses were found on some other sites, such as Tekhut (Ararat valley), where the subterranean house walls were finished with mud and then covered with clay.

In the West Caucasus, both north and south, remains of wattle-and-daub buildings were found; in the karst zone, caves and rock shelters were widely used as residences (Samele Klde, Dzudzuana, Okumi). Only occasionally were defensive walls found. A mud-brick fence was excavated at Berikldeebi (Shida Kartli, Georgia), where an additional sample of monumental architecture was found-a 14.5 x 7.5 m temple, which consisted of one large and two smaller compartments. At the Ginchi settlement (Northeast Caucasus), at a height of 1.15 m, a 2-m-wide defensive stone wall is apparent, and a total of 15 m of this wall have been excavated. At the Sioni settlement (central Transcaucasia) the basement of a circular building at least 12 min diameter was found, the stone walls of which were 1.5 m thick. At a number of the sites, there are no clear traces of buildings, and only household pits were found. This circumstance prompts the investigators to suggest existence of light wattle-and-daub construction. Dimensions of the buildings point to the presence of nuclear or/and extended families.

Population, Health, and Disease. At the majority of the central and West Transcaucasian settlements, dwellings housing some 100-200 inhabitants are suggested. However, smaller settlements, with 50-60 inhabitants, are common as well. Several thousand inhabitants could be suggested in the larger villages, some of which extend over several hectares, mostly in Southeast Transcauc-

aSia.

Economy

Subsistence. The subsistence strategy of the Chalcolithic Caucasian population was based on farming and stock raising. Assimilation of the wider geographical areas, as

40Caucasian Chalcolithic

compared with the Neolithic, may point to an increased role for stock raising. Besides mastering domesticated plants and animals, the peoples of the Caucasian Chalcolithic still engaged in hunting, fishing, and gathering wild herbs and cereals, which, as compared with farming and stock raising, played a secondary role.

Wild Foods. Game animals found are deer, wild goat, wild boar, buffalo, bear, raccoon, fox, and weasel. Several species of water and land birds are

found as well. Hunting still played an important role in West Caucasia, which is evidenced by a high percentage of game remains, although at a later period the ratio changes and bones of wild animals make up only 10 percent of assemblages. In East Caucasia, the percentage of game animals is even less. In Alikemek-Tepe a relatively high percentage-7.S percent-of osteological findings of horse should be mentioned. Because of this finding, investigators suggest the existence of domesticated horses at this site. Fruits and nuts were the primary wild foods collected.

Domestic foods. East Transcaucasian farming was based mostly on wheat and barley. Unlike the Neolithic, varieties of wheat were few-mostly three species were cultivated (Triticum aestivum, T. durum, and T. sphaerococcum). Of barley varieties, two species (H. distichum and H. pol/idum) were distributed, although occasionally so-called bottlelike barley (H. lagunculiforme Bacht.) was found as well. Both artificially irrigated and nonirrigated areas were farmed. In the West Caucasus, along with ordinary soft wheat, some endemic species were found, such as macha (T. macha Dec. et Men.) and paleocolchicum (T. paleocolchicum Men.). Barley, millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), and sorghum (Setaria italica ssp. mocharium) were cultivated as well. An absolute majority of the domestic animals in the East Caucasus were cattle and sheep! goat, and pig bones were relatively rare (5-6 percent), at

and pigs dominated, sometimes with the latter prevailing.

Industrial Arts. The technology used by the Caucasus Chalcolithic peoples did not differ significantly from their Neolithic ancestors-technologies were simple and accessible to almost everybody. However, the occasional presence of metal and unique stone jewelry suggests the existence of professional artisans or craftsmen.

Utensils. Primary utensils were (I) chipped-stone tools, which were made of local, easily accessible flints and

seldom of obsidian (although in the Southeast Caucasus obsidian served as a major material for tools production). At the early stages, blades were used widely, the share of which significantly decreased later and, by the end of Chalcolithic, disappear almost completely, while the share of flakes increased. The same is true concerning tools, the repertory and number of which, presumably along with metal implementation, decreased stepwise with time. At West Caucasian sites of this period, bifacial arrowheads and lance heads are found; at East Caucasian sites, these are practically nonexistent. (2) Polished stone axes and adzes were widely distributed. (3) Although less than in previous times, but at almost every site, bone and antler tools were still encountered. (4) Handmade ceramics with flat bottoms, globular in shape, and lacking handles. At the final stage of the Chalcolithic, especially in the West Caucasus, rounded-bottom pottery is found as well. Unlike the previous period (Neolithic), relief and incised decoration were rarely found. The pottery surface, as a rule, was simply smoothed or, occasionally, polished. Often mica inclusions were made on the pottery surface. Ceramics made of straw-tempered clay were characteristic of southeast Transcaucasian sites. At the later stage of the Chalcolithic, strawtempered and profiled-neck pottery, made on the slow wheel, spread over almost the whole of eastern Transcaucasia, which is likely due to influences from the Near East. Influence from Southwest Asia also explains the presence of painted ceramics at some of the East Caucasus sites, mostly sites of the Southeast Transcaucasus. (5) Small metal articles, which were made mostly of arsenic-containing copper, are found throughout the Caucasus. Interestingly, at the Delisi settlement, central Transcaucasus, in Tbilisi, two metal articles contained a fairly high percentage (3.2-3.8 percent) of tin. Metal was used in production of ornaments, tetrahedral awls, knifelike tools, and fishing hooks.

Ornaments. Bone, stone, and metal beads; bone and mother-of-pearl pendants; metal and stone bracelets are found. The latter are characteristic of West Caucasian sites.

Trade. The peoples of the Caucasian Chalcolithic had relations with regions to the south--eastern Anatolia, northern Mesopotamia, and northern Iran--evidenced by North Mesopotamian (so-called northern Ubaid) and North Iranian painted pottery and style of painting. At the last period of the Chalcolithic, straw-tempered pithoi, made on a slow wheel, were found all over the Caucasus, which again certify to southern influences, the result of trade and/or population migration. Possibly