Trialeti culture

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A bejeweled gold cup from Trialeti. National Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi. Gold goblet cropped.jpg
A bejeweled gold cup from Trialeti. National Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi.

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, also known simply as the Trialeti culture and previously referred to as the Trialeti-Kirovakan culture, is named after the Trialeti region in present-day Georgia and the city of Vanadzor in Armenia. This Bronze Age culture flourished between the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BCE, marking a significant phase of sociocultural and technological development in the South Caucasus. [1] It arose in the territories previously inhabited by the Kura–Araxes culture, representing a notable cultural and material transition that includes advancements in metallurgy, burial practices, and social stratification. [2]

Contents

Several researchers hypothesized on the Indo-European affiliations of the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, [3] [4] [5] with some proposing it may represent an early Proto-Armenian cultural horizon. [6] This hypothesis aligns with broader theories linking the culture to Indo-European migrations and the gradual emergence of Armenian ethnicity and language.

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture eventually evolved into the Lchashen–Metsamor culture, [7] marking a continued trajectory of development in the Armenian Highlands. It has also been suggested as a cultural precursor to the Hayasa-Azzi confederation mentioned in Hittite records, [8] [9] and has been linked to the Mushki—a people referenced in Assyrian sources. [10]

Background

Shulaveri–Shomu culture existed in the area from 6000 to 4000 BCE. [11] Kura–Araxes culture followed after.

The flourishing stage of Trialeti-Vanadzor began near the end of the third millennium BCE. [12]

During the final phase of the Middle Bronze Age (c.1700–1500 BCE), in addition to Trialeti-Vanadzor, three other geographically overlapping material culture horizons predominate in the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) and eastern Anatolia: Karmir Berd (a.k.a. Tazakend), Karmir Vank (a.k.a. Kizil Vank, Van-Urmia), and Sevan-Uzerlik (a.k.a. Sevan-Artsakh). [13]

Black-burnished and monochrome painted wares vessels from the cemeteries of Ani and Parget Nerkin (Armenian: Պարգետ Ներքին), both in the Kars Province of Turkey, and tr:Sos Höyük IV in Erzurum Province resemble those of Trialeti. [14] Sos Höyük IV may have been associated with Hayasa-Azzi. [9]

Kurgans

At that time, there was already strong social differentiation indicated by rich mound burials. There are parallels to the Early Kurgan culture. Cremation was practised. Painted pottery was introduced. Tin-based bronze became predominant. Geographical interconnectedness and links with other areas of the Near East are seen in many aspects of the culture. For example, a cauldron found in Trialeti is nearly identical to the one from Shaft Grave 4 of Mycenae in Greece. [12]

Trialeti-Vanadzor shows ties with the highly developed cultures of the ancient world, particularly with the Aegean, [15] but also with cultures to the south and east. [16]

Trialeti-Vanadzor painted monochrome and polychrome pottery is very similar to that in the other areas of the Near East. In particular, similar ceramics are known as Urmia ware (named after Lake Urmia in Iran). Also, similar pottery was produced by the Sevan-Uzerlik culture, and the Karmir Berd-Sevan culture.

The site at Trialeti was originally excavated in 1936–1940 in advance of a hydroelectric scheme, when forty-six barrows were uncovered. A further six barrows were uncovered in 1959–1962. [17]

Martqopi kurgans are somewhat similar, and are contemporary to the earliest among the Trialeti kurgans. Together, they represent the early stage of the Early Kurgan culture of Central Transcaucasia.

This Early Kurgan period, known as Martkopi-Bedeni, has been interpreted as a transitional phase and the first stage of the Middle Bronze Age. [18]

Burial practices

Trialeti-Vanadzor was known for its particular form of burial. The elite were interred in large, very rich burials under earth and stone mounds, which sometimes contained four-wheeled carts. Also there were many gold objects found in the graves. [15] These gold objects were similar to those found in Iran and Iraq. [11] They also worked tin and arsenic. [19] This form of burial in a tumulus or "kurgan", along with wheeled vehicles, is the same as that of the Kurgan culture which has been associated with the speakers of Proto-Indo-European. In fact, the black burnished pottery of (especially early) Trialeti-Vanadzor kurgans is similar to Kura-Araxes pottery. [20] In a historical context, their impressive accumulation of wealth in burial kurgans, like that of other associated and nearby cultures with similar burial practices, is particularly noteworthy. [21] This practice was probably a result of influence from the older civilizations to the south in the Fertile Crescent. [22]

The Trialeti-Vanadzor pottery style is believed to have developed into the Late Bronze Age Transcaucasian ceramic ware found throughout much of what is now eastern Turkey. This pottery has been connected to the expansion of the Mushki. [10]

Possible Proto-Armenian Connections

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture is frequently considered a strong candidate for the Proto-Armenian cultural horizon, with multiple academic perspectives supporting this hypothesis. Flourishing in the South Caucasus during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2400–1500 BCE), this culture exhibits substantial linguistic, genetic, and material continuities with later Armenian archaeological traditions. Scholars such as Sandra Scham (2025) propose that the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, emerging in the Armenian Highlands and eastern Anatolia, may reflect one of the earliest Indo-European cultural formations in the region, potentially linked to the nascent stages of Armenian ethnogenesis. [23] This view aligns with earlier propositions by Gamkrelidze and Ivanov (1995), who identified parallels between Indo-European burial customs and the kurgan tombs characteristic of Trialeti-Vanadzor sites. [24]

Genetic studies have added compelling evidence for continuity in the Armenian Highlands. Research by Iosif Lazaridis et al. (2022) confirmed that modern Armenians show strong genetic ties to ancient South Caucasus populations, with notable Bronze Age components linked to steppe ancestry (e.g., R1b-Z2103), suggesting a deep-rooted presence in the region since at least the Trialeti-Vanadzor period. [25] This supports prior findings by Haber et al. (2015), indicating that the Bronze Age admixture in the region shaped the modern Armenian gene pool. [26]

Archaeologically, the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture’s elaborate burial practices—such as the use of four-wheeled carts, gold ornaments, and ritual animal sacrifices—mirror Indo-European traditions and find echoes in later Armenian sites like Metsamor and Lchashen. [27] Kossian (1997) further highlights ceramic and metallurgical continuities that suggest a direct cultural lineage from Trialeti-Vanadzor through the Lchashen-Metsamor horizon. [28] Joan Aruz (2008) emphasizes that these material and symbolic continuities place Armenian ethnogenesis within a broader network of Bronze Age Indo-European cultures stretching across Anatolia and the Aegean, as evidenced by shared artifact types such as cauldrons and chariots. [29]

Linguistic studies reinforce these connections: the Armenian language, while a unique branch of the Indo-European family, shares phonological and lexical similarities with Greek and Phrygian, hinting at a South Caucasian or eastern Anatolian contact zone in the Bronze Age. [30] These overlapping lines of evidence have led many scholars to posit the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture as a crucial stage in the long trajectory of Armenian ethnogenesis, although debates continue regarding the precise origins and development of the Proto-Armenians. [31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Munchaev 1994, p. 16; cf., Kushnareva and Chubinishvili 1963, pp. 16 ff.
  2. ↑ The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia - Page 266 by Philip L. Kohl
  3. ↑ John A. C. Greppin and I. M. Diakonoff, "Some Effects of the Hurro-Urartian People and Their Languages upon the Earliest Armenians" Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 111, No. 4 (Oct.–Dec. 1991), p. 721
  4. ↑ Joan Aruz, Kim Benzel, Jean M. Evans, Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (2008) p. 92
  5. ↑ Kossian, Aram V. (1997), The Mushki Problem Reconsidered pp. 254
  6. ↑ Sandra Scham. An Archaeology of Persecuted Peoples: Religion and Hate in the Mountains of Asia. Routledge. 2025. "Later in the Bronze Age (2200–1600 BCE), the Trialeti culture arose in Armenia. This may have been the first Indo-European culture and possibly the origin of what would become Armenian culture."
  7. ↑ Robert Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. University of Chicago Press. 2001. p. 22.
  8. ↑ Kosyan, Aram (2014). "To the East of Hatti". In Özfırat, Aynur (ed.). Essays in Honour of Veli Sevin. Yayinlari. p. 279.
  9. 1 2 Serkan Demirel, "A Contribution to Localization of Azzi-Hayaša Mentioned in Hittite Cuneiform Texts." Archivum Anatolicum-Anadolu Arşivleri (ArAn) 2017. pp. 97–110. https://www.academia.edu/38267672
  10. 1 2 Kossian, Aram V. (1997), The Mushki Problem Reconsidered pp. 260–261
  11. 1 2 Geraldine Reinhardt, Bronze Age in Eurasia Lecture Delivered 29 July 1991; Archived 21 JUL 2015
  12. 1 2 Joan Aruz, Sarah B. Graff, Yelena Rakic, Cultures in Contact: From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. The Metropolitan Museum of art symposia. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013 ISBN   1588394751 p12
  13. ↑ Daniel T. Potts A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Volume 94 of Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. John Wiley & Sons, 2012 ISBN   1405189886 p.681
  14. ↑ Aynur ÖZFIRAT (2008), THE HIGHLAND PLATEAU OF EASTERN ANATOLİA IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM BCE: MIDDLE/LATE BRONZE AGES
  15. 1 2 "Trialeti culture". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  16. ↑ Edens, Christoper (Aug–Nov 1995). "Transcaucasia at the End of the Early Bronze Age". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 299/300 (The Archaeology of Empire in Ancient Anatolia). The American Schools of Oriental Research: 60, 53–64. doi:10.2307/1357345. JSTOR   1357345. S2CID   163585471.
  17. ↑ The Peoples of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus. Charles Burney and David Marshall Lang p 90- 96.
  18. ↑ "The Beginnings of Metallurgy". www.geocities.ws.
  19. ↑ Edens, page 56
  20. ↑ Edens page 58
  21. ↑ Edens page 59
  22. ↑ Edens, see generally
  23. ↑ Scham, Sandra. An Archaeology of Persecuted Peoples: Religion and Hate in the Mountains of Asia. Routledge, 2025.
  24. ↑ Gamkrelidze, T.V. & Ivanov, V.V. Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans. Mouton de Gruyter, 1995.
  25. ↑ Lazaridis, I. et al. "The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe." Science, Vol. 377, Issue 6609, 2022.
  26. ↑ Haber, M. et al. "Genetic evidence for an origin of the Armenians from Bronze Age mixing of multiple populations." Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 24, 2015.
  27. ↑ Greppin, J.A.C. & Diakonoff, I.M. "Some Effects of the Hurro-Urartian People and Their Languages upon the Earliest Armenians." JAOS, Vol. 111, No. 4, 1991, p. 721.
  28. ↑ Kossian, A.V. "The Mushki Problem Reconsidered." SMEA, 39(2), 1997.
  29. ↑ Aruz, Joan. Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
  30. ↑ Greppin, J.A.C. & Diakonoff, I.M. 1991.
  31. ↑ Anthony, David W. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language. Princeton University Press, 2007.
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