arshba.ru

The Neolithic (from Greek neos – new and lithos – stone). Macroliths (from Greek makros – large, lithos – stone) became widespread. Fundamental changes occurred in the life of primitive society: in contrast to the appropriating forms of economy – gathering and hunting, producing forms of economy emerged – agriculture, cattle breeding, pottery production and others. The first plants cultivated by humans were wheat, barley, lentils, peas, rye. The transition to a new form of production was called the "Neolithic Revolution." This is the period of flourishing of the clan matriarchal system. On the territory of Abkhazia, more than 20 Neolithic sites are known. Among them, the settlement of Kistrik stands out, west of Gudauta, near the seashore. The settlement area occupied about 4 hectares. During the Neolithic period, the economic division of clan communities began: in the coastal zone, they were mainly engaged in agriculture and fishing, while in the mountain zone – in cattle breeding and hunting.


Materials:

"History of Abkhazia in Dates." T.A. Achugba 2011

Sesklo is one of the earliest known Neolithic settlements in Europe, dating to the 7th–6th millennium BC. Named after the now-existing Aromanian settlement in Thessaly, Greece, where excavations were first conducted in the 19th century.

The earliest finds date to about 6850 BC with an error margin of up to 660 years. They belong to two different cultures, Proto-Sesklo and Pre-Sesklo. The latter is represented by secondary settlements adjacent to the main Proto-Sesklo village and belongs to the invaders of the Starčevo–Kőrös culture, geographically distributed north of Thessaly on the banks of the Danube. The Pre-Sesklo culture was characterized by stamped pottery, which, however, disappeared rather quickly. Both cultures were agricultural. The houses were initially small, with one or two rooms, made of wood or mudbrick on stone foundations, built on hillsides adjacent to fertile valleys where wheat and barley were grown. In addition, they raised goats, sheep, cattle and dogs. In the 6th millennium BC, two-story houses and megarons (buildings with columns) appeared. The settlement of Sesklo had about 3,000 inhabitants, which allows it to be compared with the Neolithic cities of the Middle East (Çatalhöyük) and considered the first known city in Europe. More ancient Neolithic cultures of Greece at this time still lived in caves (Franchthi).

In general, the Proto-Sesklo Neolithic complex corresponds to the contemporary Middle Eastern one, but cattle were apparently domesticated in Thessaly, where they appeared several centuries earlier than at Çatalhöyük. The first inhabitants of Proto-Sesklo were not familiar with pottery, which also brings them closer to the bearers of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures of the Middle East. Later, elegant glazed cups and bowls decorated with geometric patterns in red and brown appeared. In the latest period, the ornament evolved to motifs resembling flames. Similar pottery is also known in western Macedonia, but differs from the Anatolian one.

In addition to pottery, figurines of women, often pregnant, were found, considered a sign of the cult of the Mother Goddess, which, however, is characteristic not only of the Sesklo cultures but of the entire Balkan Peninsula and the Danube region.

The Sesklo cultures are considered ancestral to other Balkan Neolithic cultures that emerged later, in particular the Starčevo–Kőrös culture. The Cardial Ware culture also developed under their influence. In the 5th millennium BC, the Sesklo settlement was conquered by the neighboring Dimini culture.

A Neolithic archaeological culture that existed in the territory of prehistoric Levant. It was the first of the cultures of the territory of Canaan to produce pottery (see Pre-Pottery Neolithic), and one of the first pottery cultures in the Levant as a whole. It replaced the Tahunian culture and was replaced by the Ghassulian culture. Some researchers compare this culture with the Japhetic area and indicate kinship with the ancient Caucasian Kura–Araxes culture.

The name comes from the Yarmuk River, which flows near the type site of Sha'ar HaGolan, a kibbutz at the foot of the Golan Heights.

The first Yarmukian settlement was excavated at Megiddo in the 1930s, but at that time researchers did not realize that it was a previously unknown Neolithic culture. In 1949, at Sha'ar HaGolan, Professor Moshe Stekelis first identified the Yarmukian culture of the Pottery Neolithic period, occupying parts of Israel and Jordan. The site, dated to about 6400–6000 BC according to calibrated chronology, was located in the central Jordan Valley, on the northern bank of the Yarmuk River. Its size was about 20 hectares, making it one of the largest settlements in the world at that time. Although other Yarmukian sites were later discovered, Sha'ar HaGolan was the largest among them and was probably the center of this culture.

The site was excavated by two teams of archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: one led by Moshe Stekelis (1949–1952), and the second led by Yosef Garfinkel (1989–1990, 1996–2004). Although no architectural features were found during the early excavations, the second excavation revealed a large courtyard house with an area of approximately 250–700 m² (depending on the area assessment criteria). The architectural concept of the "courtyard house" is still used in traditional Mediterranean cultures. Monumental structures of this scale are unknown elsewhere in that era. The houses consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by several small rooms. Streets ran between the houses, indicating developed community planning. During the excavations, a central street about 3 meters wide, paved with pebbles set in clay, and a narrow winding alley 1 meter wide were discovered. These are the earliest streets discovered in Israel and among the earliest man-made streets. A well 4.15 meters deep, dug to the local groundwater, indicates knowledge of basic hydraulics.

Among the exotic objects found during the excavations are marine shells from the Mediterranean Sea, polished stone vessels (alabaster or marble) and blades made of Anatolian obsidian (imported from lands located over 700 km away). The main technological innovation of the Neolithic at Sha'ar HaGolan was pottery production. Here it appears for the first time in the history of Israel and marks the beginning of the Pottery Neolithic era. The ceramic vessels have a variety of shapes and sizes and were used for various purposes in the household.

About 300 art objects were found at Sha'ar HaGolan. In one house, about 70 figurines were found, mostly anthropomorphic, made of stone (pebbles) or fired clay — no other Neolithic house has yielded so many prehistoric figurines. The vast majority of the figurines depict women (in Gimbutas's concept — the "Great Goddess" or "Mother Goddess"). The ceramic figurines have hypertrophied details and an overall extravagant appearance, while the pebble figurines are more or less abstract and minimalist.

In addition to Sha'ar HaGolan, Yarmukian-type artifacts have been found at 20 other sites in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. Among them: Tell Megiddo (Israel), Ein Ghazal (Jordan), Munhata (Israel), Tell Kishion (Israel), Hamadiya (Israel), Ain Rahub (Jordan), Abu Thawwab (Jordan), Fayum culture.

Although the Yarmukian culture occupied only small areas in northern Israel and northern Jordan, Yarmukian pottery has been found elsewhere in the region, including excavations on Habashan Street in Tel Aviv and further north in Byblos.

Materials:

Sources in the "Library" section
FTDNA Caucasian Project
FTDNA Adygian Project
FTDNA Georgian Project
FTDNA Ossetian Project
Gene pools of Abkhaz-Adyghe peoples, Georgians and Armenians. Teuchezh 2013
What DNA genealogy says about Caucasians. Klyosov 2013
Genetic diversity of the Caucasus population. Dibirova 2007
Origin of haplogroup G2a1a among Ossetians. Sabitov 2011
Litvinov 2010. Study of the genetic structure of the Western Caucasus
Balanovsky 2012. Variability of the gene pool in space and time
Balanovsky 2011. Evolution of Genes and Languages in the Caucasus
Data on Y-DNA haplogroups of the Western Caucasus. Litvinov 2007
Data on Y-DNA haplogroups of the Western Caucasus. Balanovsky 2012
Balanovsky 2011. Evolution of North Caucasus Languages
Balanovsky 2011. Genetic reconstruction of the evolution of North Caucasus
Balanovsky 2011. Supplementary Data
Balanovsky 2011. Supplementary Table
Genetics of Abkhazians and the Western Caucasus

› North Caucasian-Basque
› 7000 BC. Basque language (an isolated language on the Iberian Peninsula)
› 7000 BC. North Caucasian

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› Yeniseian-Burushaski-Hattian
› 7000 BC. Yeniseian languages (a small language family in Siberia)
› 7000 BC. Burushaski (an isolated language in Pakistan)
› 7000 BC. Hattian language

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Presumed place of origin: Eastern Anatolia

Among Abkhazians, it constitutes 1.2%.

More about haplogroup J-P58

Presumably, Mount Vesuvius appeared 25,000 years ago as a result of the collision of two tectonic plates. The first eruption occurred in 6940 ± 100 BC.


Materials:

Global Volcanism Program

Presumed place of origin: Anatolia

Among Abkhazians, it constitutes 5.5%.

More about haplogroup J-M92

Presumed place of origin: Indian subcontinent

The age of the haplogroup at 8,300 years is calculated based on the base haplotypes of 4 sub-branches presented in the L-M317 haplogroup project. This is an international branch with a zero mutation at DYS425 (2600±480 years, without distant Lebanese), the Rhine-Danube cluster (2650±410 years) and a rather loose branch consisting mainly of Italians (4100±590 years). The last 2 branches are located somewhat closer to each other — their common ancestor dates to about 6,300 years ago. The "Italian" branch also has a daughter Ashkenazi cluster (1375±300 years).

Overall, the dating, geography and structure of the L1b subclade largely repeat the characteristic features of the much more populous G2a subclade. Possibly, representatives of this genealogical line belonged to the same ethnic groups as representatives of G2a, and together with them explored Europe in the Neolithic era. Whether they were fewer than G2a from the very beginning, or whether they were less fortunate in the era of demographic catastrophe in Europe, today we see only isolated traces of this ancient lineage.

Among Abkhazians, it constitutes 3%.

More about haplogroup L-M317

Presumed place of origin: Middle East

Among Abkhazians, it constitutes 3.7%.

More about haplogroup R-M269

G2a arrive in Greece from the Levant and Anatolia.


Sources:

Y-DNA haplogroups of ancient civilizations. Maciamo Hay 2008