Eurasian Studies

Balkans, Anatolia, Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia Studies Notebooks

Ossidiana e selce nel Caucaso Meridionale

Il caso di Aradetis Orgora

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Abstract

Lithic production in the Southern Caucasus continues to flourish even after the diffusion of metals in the 4th-3rd millennia BC. Flint elements and especially those in obsidian, were in fact of considerable importance in the life of metal age communities and are well attested both in living and in funerary contexts. Considered by some scholars as an attribute of celestial deities, obsidian is present in numerous deposits between the Lesser and the Greater Caucasus, from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. It was widely exploited for its naturally sharp edges and ease of processing. Flint, of local origin, is used to made agricultural tools, generally found in the inhabited areas, and arrowheads and spearheads, most commonly preserved in funerary contexts. The present article analyses the main features of the lithic assemblage from Aradetis Orgora, the most important site in the Shida Kartli region of Georgia, and from its Kura-Araxes cemetery.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: April 12, 2019 | Accepted: May 15, 2019 | Published Oct. 17, 2019 | Language: it

Keywords Kura-Araxes • Shida Kartli • Aradetis Orgora • Bronze Age • Georgia • Obsidian • Southern Caucasus • Flint • Sickle blades • Projectile points • Doghlauri • Ad hoc tools • Iron Age

Copyright © 2019 Flavia Amato. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-340-3/004


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