Caucasus - archeology at the crossroads of cultures 2800-DWKAU
The main issues of the archaeology of the Caucasus from the first human beings (Dmanisi) and earliest settlements to the Iron Age will be discussed during the lecture. Students have an opportunity to survey the diversity of the Caucasian cultures as well as their main features.
They will be introduced both to the Transcaucasia (modern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) as well as the Northern Caucasus (Maikop culture, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan). Trialeti culture with its monumental kurgans equipped with rich grave goods and other kurgan cultures (Maikopi, Badeni) will be discussed. Early Transcaucasian culture which spread from the Transcaucasia to Syro-Palestine and Iran is another subject. “Domestication” of metals and the role of the Caucasus as one of the oldest metallurgical centre will be another subject discussed during the lecture. Settlement pattern, architecture, pottery traditions, ancient beliefs, metallurgy or mortuary practices will be analyzed. The role of the Caucasus as cultural bridge and its interaction with neighboring cultures will be presented during the lecture.
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Systematic and extended knowledge concerning the main subjects of the ancient Caucasus concerning such aspects as architectural and ceramics traditions, settlement patterns or funeral customs. The ability of making comparisons and synthesis on the basis of various archaeological evidence. The understanding of interaction, influences and borrowings in the Caucasus, as an example. The skill of identifying and defining the characteristic features of Caucasian cultures.
Assessment criteria
Examination
Bibliography
Edens, Ch., Transcaucasia at the End of the Early Bronze Age, BASOR 299/300,1995, 53-64
Gogadze, E.M., Periodizacija i genezis kurgannoj kultury Trialeti, Tbilisi 1972
Kohl P.L., The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia, Cambridge 2007
Lordkipanidze, O., Nasliedne drevnej Gruzii, Tbilisi 1989
Kushnareva K.Kh., The Southern Caucasus in Prehistory, Philadelphia 1997
Munchaev R.M., Kavkaz na zare bronzovogo veka, Moskwa 1975
Sagona A., The Caucasian Region in the Early Bronze Age, Oxford 1984
Smith A.T., Rubinson K.S., Archaeology in the Borderlands. Investigations in Caucasia and Beyond, Los Angeles 2003
Additional information
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