The Early Bronze age cultural sequence: New investigations in Adigeni Municipality (Samtskhe Region, South-west Georgia)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55804/TSU-ti-1/ChilingarashviliKeywords:
Early Bronze age, cultural sequence, Adigeni MunicipalityAbstract
Archaeological excavations in the Samtskhe region in recent years have revealed many important discoveries, which in turn, significantly increased our knowledge of the prehistory of the Caucasus region in general. However, the results rose new questions related to various issues, mainly concerning the sequence of cultures and their relationship.In 2020, Archaeological excavations at the Irmis Rka settlement have revealed the layers of Kura-Araxes and Bedeni cultures and demonstrated a clear stratigraphic picture of how the Kura-Araxes deposit is covered by the layer of following Bedeni culture. Such continuity at one site is quite rare for Georgian archaeology – similar evidence has been confirmed at the few sites, but for the first time in southwest Georgia. This data provides an opportunity to investigate socio-cultural changes in the region during the 3rd millennium BC.Even though there is a chronological gap between Kura-Araxes and Bedeni cultures according to radiocarbon dates, archaeological data, such as architecture and artifacts highlight some connections between these cultures, which should be a reflection of the continuation of traditions.
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