2.6 million years before present (hereinafter-Myr) the Hominids called Homo habilis living in East Africa, made ancient stone tools called choppers by chipping the edges of river stones. From that moment the Lower Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) culture began.
Paleolithic Armenia The diverse landscape of the Armenian Highland was exceptionally favorable for the habitation of hominids of the Paleolithic Homo species. Here the necessary raw materials for the creation of stone tools were available: andesite, dacite, obsidian, as well as a rich variety of hunting animals and vegetable food, including wide variety of poaceae family plants, countless fresh springs, rivers and creeks, which fulfilled the demand for drinking water anywhere in the Highland.
In the last decades, several dozen sites of the Early Old Stone Age (Black Cross, Kurtan, etc.), and ancient assemblages of stone tools (Oldowan and Acheulian type of choppers, sharp edges tools, massive hand cutters with bilateral finishing) have been discovered in the north of Armenia. The results of uranium-lead isotope decomposition indicate, that the absolute age of the early Acheulian cultural layers is 1,85-1,77 Myr. These are the oldest evidences of the existence of Homo erectus in the Eurasian vast region. In the late Acheulian (500-300 thousand years before present, hereinafter - Thyr) Armenia, tools (bifaces), hand axes, were found, made of double-sided pieces of obsidian and dacite, leaf-shaped, with sharp, symmetrical edges, the thick part of the base of the tools adapted to the human palm. To the North of Armenia, in the foothills of the volcanic Javahk mountain range, around 30 ancient sites of the Old Stone Age were discovered: Blagodarnoe, Noramut, etc., in one of which a cultural layer was uncovered, which contained not only bifaces, but also the entire collection of their preparatory materials: cores, flakes, blades and other small items, that testify the complete cycle of tool making at the site. The regular shapes, fine transverse section and careful finishing of the cutting edges of the Acheulian hand-axes made of dacite, indicate, that their main group dates back to the Late Acheulian epoch (500-250 Thyr).
Late Acheulian finds were also discovered in the Hrazdan river valley (Arzni, Nurnus, Satani Dar, Erkar Blur, Gutanasar, Jraber, Hatis, etc.), on the southwestern slopes of Artin Mountain and the Aragats massif (Satani Dar, Dashtadem). The number of tools made by the Neanderthals, the most advanced of the hominids found in the Late Acheulian and Middle Paleolithic (250-40 Thyr) Armenia, reaches to thousands. In the middle phase of the Lower Paleolithic period, the Neanderthals lived in caves near rivers (Yerevan 1, Lusakert 1–2, Arzni, Hovk, Kalavan, Aghitu, etc.) and in high plateaus (southern slopes of Aragats: Dashtadem, Arteni, Syunik –at the foot of Amulsar and elsewhere). The Expedition of the Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage discovered late Acheulian bifaces in 2012–2021, in the south of the Republic of Armenia, in Syunik region, at the headwaters of Vorotan, on a plateau 2200–2300 m above the sea level. Throughout the whole 5 km long and 2–3 km wide upland area there are tens of thousands of obsidian cores, tools, rubble and fragments typical of the Late Acheulian, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic era.
Armenia is one of those places where in 120- 100 Thyr inhabitation processes took place (Nor Geghi 1, Aghavnatun, Bagratashen). In the Late Stone Age, 60-40 Thyr a number of caves were inhabited (Yerevan 1, Lusakert, Barozh). During the last (Vyrumyan) glacial period, there were harsh climatic conditions in the Armenian Highland, as a result of which the traces of human-Homo Sapiens activities are small in number (Aghitu - 35-24 Thyr and Kalavan 1 - 18-16 Thyr).
Neolithic and Chalcolithic (Aeneolitic) Periods in Armenia In 12 thousand years before present, after the end of the (Vyurmyan) Ice Age and the melting of the glaciers along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean - in the Levant, on the slopes of the Eastern Taurus Mountains and in the northern Mesopotamia, which were rich in hunting animals and poaceae family plants, the hunter-gatherer groups began to cultivate these plants and tame animals. The territory stretching from Eastern Taurus up to the Greater Caucasus Range, which separates the Middle East from the Eurasian Steppe, is an environment of sharp relief variations, cut by high mountain ranges. At its center the Armenian Highland is located, the favorable climatic conditions of which enabled the local inhabitants to continue their hunting and gathering lifestyle, at the same time being engaged in animal husbandry and food cultivation.
The presence of exceptionally rich resources of obsidian in the Highland predetermined the culture of Armenia in the Neolithic period (New Stone Age). The obsidian in Arteni, Hatis and Nemrut mountains, in the Vorotan river basin, Kotayk plateau and in other mines was not only processed in the local area, but was also exported in large quantities to neighboring regions, particularly to south-west Asia. A huge number of artifacts were made from obsidian: agricultural and production tools, ritual objects, weapons and jewelry. In Mesopotamia and in other valley regions, the bartering of highly demanded obsidian and primitive trade facilitated the accumulation of wealth and economic stratification among communities and later among larger social units. One of the important routes was the movement of the Syunik obsidian from the ancient site of Godedzor to the basin of Lake Urmia and to other valley regions of the Ubaid culture.
About 7000 years BC a groups of settlements were formed in the Ararat valley, near the left-bank tributaries of the Araks River. Among them are the monuments Aratashen, Masis Blur (hill) and Aknashen, which were investigated within the framework of international archeological programs. These sites, especially Aknashen, are connected with the Shulaveri–Shomu culture that flourished in South Caucasus from about 6000 BC onward.
These late Neolithic villages consisted of densely built clusters of houses and of other structures. The majority of buildings built of clay and mud (unfired) bricks had a round or oval floorplan. The inhabitants cultivated several types of wheat, barley and lentils, raised sheep, goats and cattle, were engaged in hunting and fishing. The excavations resulted in the discovery of a large number of artefacts skillfully made from obsidian, river stone, bone, antler and shell, which were used for processing wood and fur and sewing clothes from wool and leather. Two important productions were introduced into Armenia's late Neolithic economy: pottery and copper mining. The latter was one of the first steps of mankind in metal processing. In the 6th millennium BC collections, the local rough products dominated.
High-quality, colorful vessels were also found, belonging to the Halaf style and were probably imported from Northern Mesopotamia. The jewelries, mainly beads, were also made of copper and became the first metal artefacts known to us (Choyunyu tepesi). Copper jewelries and artistic pottery led to the development of a new type of long-distance trade. Specialized craft centers now became important raw material supplying regions.
The Chalcolithic (also Eneolithic) period The Chalcolithic (or Eneolithic) period in South-West Asia began in 5500-5200 BC and lasted for about two millennia until 3500 BC. It is characterized by the development of coppersmithing, although stone tools were still dominant in the economy.
In the last four decades, many Chalcolithic settlements were discovered throughout the territory of modern Armenia. Four of which- Adablur and Teghut in the Ararat Valley, Areni-1 in Vayots Dzor, Godedzor in Syunik, have been partially excavated. All of them date back to 4500-3400 BC. Teghut was a small herders’ village involved in animal husbandry, consisting of semi-earthen, round floorplan huts. High quality pottery, as well as copper tools imported from other places, were found here. Adablur was obviously bigger. This settlement consisted of large, multi-room complexes that stretched along the streets. Remains of workshops and clay sculptures were found here.
The dry environment and stable temperature of the Areni- 1 cave in the Arpa river gorge created excellent conditions for the preservation of organic materials. Grain, fruit, cloth, leather and even grass, that were usually not preserved elsewhere, led us into an unknown world of artifacts, created during the Chalcolithic period. Unique is the oldest known winepress in the world, dating back to 4000 BC and the ancient leather shoe dating back to 3600 BC, found in the depth of the Areni cave.Areshian Gregory E., Gasparyan Boris, Avetisyan Pavel S., Pinhasi Ron, Wilkinson Keith, Smith Alexia, Hovsepyan Roman, Zardaryan Diana. The chalcolithic of the Near East and south-eastern Europe: discoveries and new perspectives from the cave complex Areni-1, Armenia // Antiquity 86, 2012, pp. 115–130. Godedzor is located in an area of high mountain, alpine pastures. It was an important checkpoint and exchange center for mobile herdsman. Here, was accumulated the obsidian, brought from the mines located on the distance of two or three days’ walk, and was then exported. The signs on the seals that were put on clay, testify the existence of private, most likely family property marking tradition.
Armenia in the Early Bronze Age (3500-2400 BC)
In the middle of the IV millennium BC, a unique culture was formed in Armenia, as well as some adjacent areas, which became known in archaeology as the Kura–Araxes culture. The earliest evidence for this culture is found on the Ararat plain. It survived for more than a millennium and, developing, covered a vast territory extending from the North Caucasus (Chechnya) to Israel (Dead Sea), from Eastern Asia Minor (Amid) to Central Iran (Godin Tepe) having the Armenian Highland at its core -particularly the Ararat valley and the foothills near it.
The Armenian civilization, attested in the territories of 12 modern states, is known to the scientific world under various names. Among which, the most widespread are the denominations Kur-Araks (Kura–Araxes) and Shengavit. This civilization is characterized by an agricultural sedentary economy, with more than a thousand settlements densely covering the fertile riverside valleys, high plateaus and high mountain zones of the Armenian Highland and neighbouring regions.
The Early Bronze Age artificial hill-settlements were characterized by multiple cultural layers, which in some places spread to tens of meters (Mokhrablur of Nakhijevan, Norsun-Tepe). The economy was based on irrigated agriculture and cattle raising. Probably, it was at this period, that the huge irrigation systems built on the slopes of Aragats and Geghama mountains were formed and at the sources of canals, artificial water pools and springs, huge dragon stones (vishapakar) made from onepiece basalt, typical of Armenian culture, were erected. Extremely plentiful were the flint inserts for sickles, work tools made of bone, obsidian and river stones.
Another prerequisite for unprecedented economic development was copper production. A large number of weapon and tools made of arsenical bronze are attested by both the finds treasures near Yerevan and the stone and clay molds found in various ancient sites of Shengavit civilization (Shengavit, Margahovit, etc.). In the Shengavit ancient site, weight standards, similar to those used in the Levant, were found, which testify the Armenia's involvement in the newly formed international trade relations in the Early Bronze Age. Diverse types of weapons are found: arrows, daggers, battle axes, spears and other weapons made of obsidian, flint, bone and bronze.
Mudbrick architecture was characteristic of this culture. The