ARMENIAN CAVE YIELDS ANCIENT HUMAN BRAIN
Excavations have produced roughly 6,000-year-old relics of a poorly
known culture existing near the dawn of civilization
By Bruce Bower
ScienceNews.org
Web edition : 12:59 pm
PHILADELPHIA – In a cave overlooking southeastern Armenia’s Arpa River,
just across the border from Iran, scientists have uncovered what may
be the oldest preserved human brain from an ancient society. The cave
also offers surprising new insights into the origins of modern
civilizations, such as evidence of a winemaking enterprise and an
array of culturally diverse pottery.
Excavations in and just outside of Areni-1 cave during 2007 and 2008
yielded an extensive array of Copper Age artifacts dating to between
6,200 and 5,900 years ago, reported Gregory Areshian of the University
of California, LosAngeles, January 11 at the annual meeting of the
Archaeological Institute of America. In eastern Europe and the Near
East, an area that encompasses much of southwest Asia, the Copper Age
ran from approximately 6,500 to 5,500 years ago.
The finds show that major cultural developments occurred during the
Copper Age in areas outside southern Iraq, which is traditionally
regarded as the cradle of civilization, Areshian noted. The new cave
discoveries move cultural activity in what’s now Armenia back by about
800 years.
`This is exciting work,’ comments Rana Ã-zbal of Bogazici University
in Istanbul, Turkey.
A basin two meters long installed inside the Armenian cave and
surrounded by large jars and20the scattered remains of grape husks and
seeds apparently belonged to a large-scale winemaking operation.
Researchers also found a trio of Copper Age human skulls, each buried
in a separate niche inside the three-chambered, 600-square-meter
cave. The skulls belonged to 12- to 14-year-old girls, according to
anatomical analyses conducted independently by three biological
anthropologists. Fractures identified on two skulls indicate that the
girls were killed by blows from a club of some sort, probably in a
ritual ceremony, Areshian suggested.
Remarkably, one skull contained a shriveled but well-preserved
brain. `This is the oldest known human brain from the Old World,’
Areshian said. The Old World comprises Europe, Asia, Africa and
surrounding islands.
Scientists now studying the brain have noted preserved blood vessels
on itssurface. Surviving red blood cells have been extracted from
those hardy vessels for analysis.
It’s unclear who frequented Areshi-1, where these people lived or how
big their settlements were. No trace of household activities has been
found in or outside the cave.
Whoever they were, these people participated in trade networks that
ran throughout the Near East, Areshian proposes. Copper Age pottery at
the site falls into four groups, only one of which represents a local
product. A group of painted ceramic items came from west-central
Iran. Some pots display a style typical of the Maikop culture from
southern Russia and southeastern Europe. Still other pieces were
characteristic of the Kura-Arax cult
ure that flourished just west of Maikop territory in Russia.
Radiocarbon dating of pottery and other Copper Age finds pushes back
the origins of the Maikop and Kura-Arax cultures by nearly 1,000
years, Areshian says.
Additional discoveries at Areni-1 include metal knives, seeds from
more than 30 types of fruit, remains of dozens of cereal species,
rope, cloth, straw, grass, reeds and dried grapes and prunes.
A hard, carbonate crust covering the Copper Age soil layers, along
with extreme dryness and stable temperatures inside the cave,
contributed to preservation of artifacts and, in particular, the young
girl’s brain.
Medieval ovens from the 12th to 14th centuries have also been
excavated at the cave’s entrance, underneath a rock shelter.
Areshian expects much more material to emerge from further excavations
at Areni-1 and from explorations of the many other caves bordering the
Arpa River. `One of these caves is much larger than Areni-1, covering
about an acre inside,’ he said.