The hidden side of ritual: New palynological data from Early Bronze Age Georgia, the Southern Caucasus

Kvavadze, Eliso; Sagona, Antonio; Martkoplishvili, Inga; Chichinadze, Maia; Jalabadze, Mindia; Koridze, Irakli

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.02.003

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Concurrently with North‐Caucasus Majkop culture (5,850–4,850 BP), recognized as the putative homeland of the Northwestern Caucasian language family (walnut proto‐term *ĺa , Wang et al., 2019), a wide variety of plant foods including, grape ( Vitis vinifera ), hazelnut ( Corylus ), common walnut, and sweet chestnut were stored in ceramic vessels as offerings for votive/ritual purpose in the geographically adjacent settlements of the Kura‐Araxes culture in the Southern Caucasus (Areni‐1 Cave, Armenia 6,230–5,790 BP, Wilkinson et al., 2012; Aradetis Orgora, Georgia, 4,950 BP, Kvavadze et al., 2019). While it is still matter of debate if Kartvelian was the idiom spoken by Kura‐Axes communities (Beridze, 2019, walnut proto‐term *ḳaḳ‐al‐, chestnut proto‐term *ć̣ab‐ ), the subsequent Indo‐European speakers of the Early Kurgan settlements in Georgia showed similar habits using animals, cereals, hazelnuts, figs ( Ficus carica L.), walnuts (Indo‐European proto‐form *kar and *a‐/an‐gōza ), and chestnuts (Indo‐European proto‐form *kastAno‐ and *blwt' ) as major components of funeral gifts (Bedeni Plateau, 4,450–4,150 BP, Kvavadze et al., 2015; Ananauri‐3‐kurgan site, 4,450 BP, Makharadze, 2015). All these studies suggested that common walnut and sweet chestnut cultivation, together with viticulture and pasturing, was fully incorporated in the Trans‐Caucasian agricultural landscape of EBA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocultural diversity of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) across Eurasia

Pollegioni

Lungo

Müller

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A biocultural diversity approach integrates plant biology and germplasm dispersal processes with human cultural diversity. An increasing number of studies have identified cultural factors and ethnolinguistic barriers as the main drivers of the genetic diversity in crop plants. Little is known about how anthropogenic processes have affected the evolution of tree crops over the entire time scale of their interaction with humans. In Asia and the Mediterranean, common walnut ( Juglans regia L.) and sweet chestnut ( Castanea sativa Mill.) have been economically and culturally important crops for millennia; there, in ancient times, they were invested with symbolic and religious significance. In this study, we detected a partial geographic congruence between the ethno‐linguistic repartition of human communities, the distribution of major cognitive sets of word‐related terms, and the inferred genetic clusters of common walnut and sweet chestnut populations across Eurasia. Our data indicated that isolation by distance processes, landscape heterogeneity and cultural boundaries might have promoted simultaneously human language diversification and walnut/chestnut differentiation across the same geographic macro‐regions. Hotspots of common walnut and sweet chestnut genetic diversity were associated with areas of linguistic enrichment in the Himalayas, Trans‐Caucasus, and Pyrenees Mountains, where common walnuts and sweet chestnuts had sustained ties to human culture since the Early Bronze Age. Our multidisciplinary approach supported the indirect and direct role of humans in shaping walnut and chestnut diversity across Eurasia from the EBA (e.g., Persian Empire and Greek–Roman colonization) until the first evidence of active selection and clonal propagation by grafting of both species. Our findings highlighted the benefit of an efficient integration of the relevant cultural factors in the classical genome (G) × environmental (E) model and the urgency of a systematic application of the biocultural diversity concept in the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of tree species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocultural diversity of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) across Eurasia

Pollegioni

Lungo

Müller

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several geoarchaeological projects have been carried out concerning the environs of archaeological sitese.g. the anthropologically famous Dmanisi (Messager et al, 2009;; Bronze age settlements on the Bedeni Plateau (Kvavadze et al, 2015) -as well as the analysis of fluvial archives (von Suchodoletz et al, 2015).…”

Section: Palaeoenvironmental Changes and Sea-level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid- to Late Holocene landscape changes in the Rioni delta area (Kolkheti lowlands, W Georgia)

Laermanns

Kelterbaum

May

et al. 2018

Quaternary International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Kolkheti lowlands (Colchis, Colchian plain) form the central part of the extensive coastal lowlands along the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Situated between the Greater and the Lesser Caucasus, favourable climatic conditions resulted in a constant human occupation of the region during the Holocene. However, due to continued deltaic sedimentation and alluviation of the river Rioni, the configuration and the environmental conditions of the coast and its hinterland have changed considerably; this was related to sea-level fluctuations of the Black Sea and variation of the sediment supply. This study presents new data on the Holocene coastal evolution of Western Georgia. Based on the geochemical and sedimentological analysis of sediment cores and trenches from the northern part of the Kolkheti lowlands, between the Black Sea and the rivers Rioni and Khobistsqali, and a robust chronology (14 C and IRSL dating), our goals are (i) to document the chronostratigraphy along two coring transects; (ii) to decipher geographical and environmental changes along Georgia's Black Sea coast; and (iii) to trace the sea-level evolution of the study area. Based on the succession of eight facies, representing different depositional environments, our results suggest that significant environmental changes took place throughout the last eight millennia. At least since 5000 cal BC, the sedimentary record indicates the widespread existence of shallow lagoons. Floodplain-related finegrained alluvium accumulated on top of the lagoonal stratum. The progradation of the delta plain between 3500 and 1500 cal BC was accompanied by the evolution of extensive swamps with peat formation. The data indicate a gradual and moderate sea-level rise since ~6000 BC. Ultimately, this and follow-up studies may provide a valuable background for the understanding of the palaeogeographical context of ancient settlements in the area.

show abstract

“…Among the microfossils, the identification of a branched bee hair appeared curious (Table 1, Fig. 3); it could be associated to consumption of honey or other beehive products [69]. Fragments of feather barbules were found in three individuals of the community (Table 1, Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifestyle of a Roman Imperial community: ethnobotanical evidence from dental calculus of the Ager Curensis inhabitants

D’Agostino

Gismondi

Marco

et al. 2019

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe analysis of ancient calcified dental plaque is a powerful archaeobotanical method to elucidate the key role of the plants in human history.MethodsIn this research, by applying both optic microscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry on this matrix, a detailed qualitative investigation for reconstructing the lifestyle of a Roman imperial community of the Ager Curensis (Sabina Tiberina, Central Italy) was performed.ResultsThe detection of animal micro-remains and molecules (e.g., hairs, feather barbules, markers of dairy products), starch granules of several cereals and legumes, pollen (e.g., Juglans regia L., Hedera sp. L.) and other plant micro-debris (e.g., trichome of Olea sp., hemp fibers), and phytochemicals (e.g., Brassicaceae, Lamiaceae herbs, Ferula sp., Trigonella foenum-graecum L., wine, and Humulus lupulus L.) in the dental calculus sample demonstrated that plant-derived foods were regularly consumed together with animal resources.ConclusionsThis nutritional plan, consistent with the information reported in ancient written texts, suggested that the studied population based its own subsistence on both agriculture and husbandry, probably also including beekeeping and hunting activities. All together, these results represent proofs for the comprehension of food habits, phytotherapeutic practices, and cultural traditions of one of the first Roman settlements in the Sabina Tiberina area.

show abstract

The hidden side of ritual: New palynological data from Early Bronze Age Georgia, the Southern Caucasus

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Biocultural diversity of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) across Eurasia

Biocultural diversity of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) across Eurasia

Mid- to Late Holocene landscape changes in the Rioni delta area (Kolkheti lowlands, W Georgia)

Lifestyle of a Roman Imperial community: ethnobotanical evidence from dental calculus of the Ager Curensis inhabitants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About