Kura in Motion! Humans, plants and animals in the Middle Kura Valley, 6th to 3rd millennia BCE. – Kura in Motion!

In order to understand the differences between the three sites and the successive transformations through time, various methods were used. Geomorphological research together with numerous new dates has shown the evolution of the landscape. Analyses of satellite images have improved the performances of surveys in the finding of small and almost not visible sites. Isotopic analyses on the enamel of animal teeth have been launched to identify mobility or not of the flocks. Palaeo-botanical, palynological and anthracological studies have aimed at identifying the different wild, domesticated or used species and have linked them with the environment. Palaeo-zoological studies show the domesticated species and aim at identifying their origin through DNA analysis. Research on the origins of the minerals, obsidian and flint materials intend at the determination of the area of procurement for these ancient societies. Typo-technological and use-wear studies identify the production techniques and the use of the tools. Metallurgical analyses have shown the composition of the ores and the different steps of production. Finally, DNA analyses on human bones aim at the identification of the original population, of genetic relations from one period to the other, or of parental links within collective burials.

Within each of the three sites, we have greatly improved our knowledge on the societies brought to light, were able to better characterize them and, altogether, to bring a great deal of precision. Entire pages of the local history, totally unknown until now, have been discovered. This concerns especially the Chalcolithic period during the 5th millennium, but also the variations observed in the Neolithic in the three areas, or on the Early Bronze Age. Series of radiocarbon dates have greatly improved the position in absolute chronology of the different cultures.The importance of the fluctuations of the levels of the Caspian Sea on the landscape and on the visibility of the mounds has been highlighted. Preliminary results on isotopic analyses have shown movements of small cattle between the valley and the mountains, but we are still waiting for the final results to be more precise on which site and when was really involved into transhumance. Palaeobotanical studies have shown the importance of barley on the three sites and anthracological studies a deterioration of the environment during the 3rd mill. We are still waiting for detailed results from palaeozoological studies. Research on the provenance of minerals, obsidians and flints show totally different results between the three sites, with various sources for Mentesh and limited ones for Kamiltepe or Aruchlo. Metallurgical analyses prove a local production at least since the Chalcolithic period, but questions are still raised on its possible beginning during the Neolithic period. Finally, DNA analyses on most of the 80 human skeletons discovered at Mentesh are still going on but we already know that they were preserved well enough to give results.

We are gathering all the results, from excavations and joint analyses, in a single data base that will allow an easy consultation by all the different members of the project and help for the final publication. We are still waiting for some results. It is clear, however, that the wealth of analyses we were able to do thanks to the ANR grant will help to develop further research, particularly on the most innovating and less known aspects (plants, animals and human beings genetics; research on the mobility of animals), Other researches have joined ours, like that of the cultivation of millet, palynological studies aiming at searching for climatic changes, or ethnological investigations about transhumance.

Poulmarc’h M. with L. Pecqueur and B. Jalilov 2014 “An overview of Kura-Araxes funerary practices in the Southern Caucasus », Paléorient 40.2, 231-246.
Ollivier V., M. Fontugne, B. Lyonnet 2015 « Geomorphic response and 14C chronology of base-level changes induced by Late Quaternary Caspian Sea mobility (middle Kura Valley, Azerbaijan), Geomorphology, 230, 109-124.
Decaix A., Messager E., Tengberg M., Lyonnet B., Guliyev F. 2016 « Vegetation and plant exploitation at Mentesh Tepe (Azerbaijan), 6th-3rd mill. BC. First results of the archaeobotanical study”. Quaternary International, 395. 19-30.
Lyonnet B., F. Guliyev, L. Bouquet, G. Bruley-Chabot, A. Samzun, L. Pecqueur, E. Jovenet, E. Baudouin, M. Fontugne, P. Raymond, E. Degorre, L. Astruc, D. Guilbeau, G. Le Dosseur, N. Benecke, C. Hamon, M. Poulmarc’h and A. Courcier 2016 “Mentesh Tepe, an Early Settlement of the Shomu-Shulaveri Culture in Azerbaijan”, Quaternary International, 395, 170-183.
Ollivier V., M. Fontugne, B. Lyonnet, C. Chataigner 2016 “Base level changes, river avulsions and Holocene human settlement dynamics in the Caspian Sea area (middle Kura valley, South Caucasus)”, Quaternary International, 395, 79-94.
Lyonnet B. & F. Guliyev, L. Bouquet, L. Pecqueur, M. Poulmarc’h, P. Raymond and A. Samzun 2015 “Mentesh Tepe (Azerbaïdjan) during the Kura-Araxes Period”. In: M. Isikli and B. Can (eds), International Symposium on East Anatolia-South Caucasus Cultures, Proceedings I. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 189-200.

Une publication intermédiaire sur les travaux et résultats de l'ANR-DFG Kura in Motion! est actuellement sous presse (The Kura Projects. New Research on the Later Prehistory of the Southern Caucasus. Archäologie aus Iran und Turan, 16, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin.

Kura in Motion! aims at investigating patterns of prehistoric mobility among humans, landscape, animals and plants in the Southern Caucasus along the Middle Kura River. This area includes from east to west: the Mil Plain in South Azerbaijan, the Tovuz Region with Mentesh Tepe in West Azerbaijan, and the Bolnisi region in Eastern Georgia with Aruchlo. Chronologically, our attention will focus on the prehistoric periods, from the beginning of sedentism (6th mill. BCE) to the Early Bronze Age (3rd mill. BCE).

Kura in Motion! has grown out from a previous project (Ancient Kura) in the same region and with most of the same French and German actors working together, in which complementary studies helped us rebuild a reliable chronological and general environmental frame together with a better characterization of the early cultures of this area. Our results show parallel but individual strategies in the three regions in almost every aspect of lifestyle and especially in patterns of mobility. Movement characterizes (1) the evolution of landscape which is strongly related to changes in the level of the Caspian Sea; (2) shifts in settlement patterns with short-term occupations and/or light architecture since the Neolithic; (3) great variability in the original animal livestock and plant species and in the herding strategies; and (4) the accessibility of raw material resources.

Kura in Motion! is a new project which will focus on the understanding of the various aspects of movement in these four fields. (1, 2) The frequent shifts in settlement pattern together with the diverging strategies between the three areas shall be addressed through methods of landscape archaeology, geoarchaeology and detailed vegetation and climate studies. (3) The high variability in the animal and botanical species or “Caucasian pattern” seems related to a similar phenomenon in the Zagros which involves primary domestication. But the dynamics of neolithisation probably also involved the introduction of livestock and cereals which could explain that the earliest populations started with a full set of domesticated plants and animals. Some hints at an early mobile way of life surround this data. These questions will be addressed through systematic aDNA analyses on animal bones and isotope studies on animal teeth (4) The various materials at use also enter these movement strategies and include Caspian Sea shells, bitumen, carnelian and turquoise, metamorphic rocks, flint, obsidian and metal which were brought or exchanged over long distances, maybe partly through the mobile way of life. Some ceramics may also have been introduced from far away. To answer the questions on their provenance sources, chemical analyses as well as technological and functional studies will be done.
Altogether, this program of research promise new insights into the patterns of circulation of humans, plants, animals and materials in the Southern Caucasus.