Ruben Badalyan

National Academy of Sciences of Armenia | NAS RA · Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography

The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural phenomenon (dated to the Early Bronze Age, c. 3500/3350-2500 BCE) is primarily characterised by the emergence of a homogeneous pottery style and a uniform ‘material culture package’ in settlements across the South Caucasus, as well as territories extending to the Ancient Near East and the Levant. It has been argued tha...

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, peo...

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and...

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and...

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, peo...

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and...

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, peo...

During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies) expanded our long-term research on the origins and development of complex political systems in the South Caucasus with a comprehensive study of the upper Kasakh River valley in north-central Armenia. The Kasakh Valle...

Relationships between steppe vegetation, human practices and climate changes in the past are crucial to disentangle human development in Eurasia. In this frame, our study investigates (1) modern pollen-vegetation relationships and (2) changes in vegetation, human activity and climate in the Holocene record of Vanevan peat (south-eastern shore of La...

Food and its interactions with the environmental, economic, social, and cultural spheres play an essential role in communities’ cultural identity. This theory has been verified by an analysis of the Kura-Araxes (KA) culture, characterised by original cultural developments, which spread in the South Caucasus around the middle of the fourth millenniu...

The mountainous area of Armenia has been a steppe throughout the Holocene with a rich history of fire events throughout this period. Previous research has found that changes in fire are linked to shifts between Poaceae grasslands and semi-arid Chenopodiaceae steppes. However, the climate and human drivers of these fires has yet to be fully explored...

The year 2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the joint Armenian-American Project for the Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies, a collaboration more parsimoniously known as Project ArAGATS. The project was originally conceived as an effort to define long-term processes of social, economic, and political change in the South C...

The South Caucasus occupies the divide between ancient Mesopotamia and prehistoric Europe, and was thus crucial in the development of Old World societies. Chronologies for the region, however, have lacked the definition achieved in surrounding areas. Concentrating on the Tsaghkahovit Plain of north-western Armenia, Project ArAGATS's multi-site radi...

The South Caucasus, situated between the Black and Caspian Seas, geographically links Europe with the Near East and has served as a crossroad for human migrations for many millennia [1-7]. Despite a vast archaeological record showing distinct cultural turnovers, the demographic events that shaped the human populations of this region is not known [8...

This contribution presents a preliminary comparative analysis of the archaeozoological data from two Neolithic sites in the plain of Ararat in Armenia: Aratashen and Khatunarkh-Aknashen, occupied during the 6th millennium BC. The Neolithic period is poorly known in Armenia from the point of view of subsistence modes. Comparison of the results of th...

Excavations conducted at the site of Gegharot in north central Armenia, along the northeastern margin of the Tsaghkahovit Plain (Aragatsotn region) have produced a large quantity of well-preserved charcoals. With occupations dating to the Early and Late Bronze Age, the site has been excavated since 2000 under the supervision of R. Badalyan and A.T....

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

This report presents the results of the collaborative archaeological field investigations undertaken between 2008 and 2011 under the auspices of the joint Armenian-American Project for the Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies (Project ArAGATS). Here we focus our discussions on investigations into the Bronze Age communities...

This article discusses the following issues : The Kura-Araxes sequence was of discrete character ; its periodization can be dated in-between 3600/ 3500-2900 (KA I) and 2900-2600/ 2500 (KA II) BC. The discreteness of the Kura-Araxes phenomenon is refl ected in the largely single-layered character of both early (KA I) and late (KA II) settlements : a...

This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavations (2004-2009) of Aknashen-Khatunarkh, a Neolith­ic site in the plain of Ararat. More than 300 m 2 has been excavated of this tell, which is about 100 m in diam­eter and 3,5 m in height. The cultural layer, more than 4 m thick, was subdivided preliminarily into five hori­zons, the upper on...

For many millennia since Palaeolithic times, obsidian was an exceptionally important and valuable raw material in the Old World. The South Caucasus region is one of the key areas for obsidian provenance studies, as it contains many accessible sources of a high quality obsidian and abundant archaeological sites which provide evidences of intense use...

This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavations (2004-2009) of Aknashen-Khatunarkh, a Neolith­ic site in the plain of Ararat. More than 300 m2 has been excavated of this tel!, which is about 100 m in diam­eter and 3,5 min height. The cultural layer, more than 4 m thick, was subdivided preliminarily into five horizons, the upper one (...

Animal production and Neolithic subsistence economy in the plain of Ararat (Armenia) This contribution presents a preliminary comparative analysis of the archaeozoological data from two Neolithic sites in the plain of Ararat in Armenia : Aratashen and Khatunarkh-Aknashen, occupied during the 6th millennium B. C. The Neolithic period is poorly known...

This contribution presents a preliminary comparative analysis of the archaeozoological data from two Neolithic sites in the plain of Ararat in Armenia: Aratashen and Khatunarkh-Aknashen, occupied during the 6 th millennium B.C. The Neolithic period is poorly known in Armenia from the point of view of subsistence modes. The comparison of the results...

First results of the comparative technology of Kura-Araxes pottery and its derivatives are presented, including analyses of Khirbet Kerak Ware and local traditions from Tel Bet Yerah (Khirbet Kerak) and material from two sites in Armenia: the fourth millennium site of Aparan III and the third millennium site of Karnut I. Petrographic and chaîne opé...

This contribution presents a preliminary comparative analysis of the archaeozoological data from two Neolithic sites in the plain of Ararat in Armenia: Aratashen and Khatunarkh-Aknashen, occupied during the 6th millennium B.C. The Neolithic period is poorly known in Armenia from the point of view of subsistence modes. The comparison of the results...

Since 1998, Project ArAGA TS has conducted systematic investigations of the archaeological landscape of the Tsaghkahovit Plain in central Armenia. This contribution surveys the primary findings for three eras of extensive occupation of the region: the Early Bronze Age, the Late Bronze Age, and the Iron 3 (Achaemenid) period. Of particular importanc...

The construction of large stone fortresses across much of northern Armenia during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1150 BC) represented a shift away from centuries of nomadic pastoralism, and also marked a profound transformation in the constitution of political authority and how social orders were mediated through the built environment. To date, howe...

Between 2003 and 2006, the joint Armenian-American project for the Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies (Project ArAGATS) conducted three major field seasons (2003, 2005, 2006) of archaeological investigations on the Tsaghkahovit plain of central Armenia. The Tsaghkahovit plain is a high elevation intermontane plateau set b...

This paper presents the trace element compositions of some Neolithic and Early Bronze Age copper-based artefacts recently excavated in Armenia. Chemical compositions and lead isotopy of Armenian EBA copper based artefacts and local ores are compared to reveal their possible relationships. The analysed artefacts are associated with the Early Bronze...

The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500-1200 B.C.) in southern Caucasia marked the first appearance of a radically altered regional sociopolitical tradition founded upon newly empowered elites sequestered in fortified citadels. The archaeology of the era indicates a significant break from the preceding Middle Bronze Age, when large burial mounds and a dearth...

The main subject of this study is the geochemical and isotope characterization of Armenian Early Bronze Age copper-based artefacts and their possible relation to regional copper ores. This study represents new analyses (chemical and lead isotope composition) of Armenian Early Bronze Age metal artefacts (Kura-Araxes culture) and some typical samples...

Obsidian was widely used by our ancestors for tool making. In the Trans-Caucasian region, obsidian-bearing volcanic deposits are distributed over wide areas. Forty three obsidian occurrences were analysed using the fission-track (FT) dating method to better constrain the history of Plio-Pleistocene volcanism of this region. The determined formation...

In the Mediterranean and adjacent regions, the Caucasus is one of the less studied areas in relation to provenance studies of prehistoric obsidian artefacts. In the frame of an international INTAS research project, an extensive surveying and sampling campaign was carried out in the numerous obsidian bearing volcanic complexes of Armenia. 33 obsidia...