Trialeti Culture

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, also known simply as the Trialeti culture and previously referred to as the Trialeti-Kirovakan culture, is named after the Trialeti region in present-day Georgia and the city of Vanadzor in Armenia. This Bronze Age culture flourished between the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BCE, marking a significant phase of sociocultural and technological development in the South Caucasus. It arose in the territories previously inhabited by the Kura–Araxes culture, representing a notable cultural and material transition that includes advancements in metallurgy, burial practices, and social stratification.

Several researchers hypothesized on the Indo-European affiliations of the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, with some proposing it may represent an early Proto-Armenian cultural horizon. This hypothesis aligns with broader theories linking the culture to Indo-European migrations and the gradual emergence of Armenian ethnicity and language.

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture eventually evolved into the Lchashen–Metsamor culture, marking a continued trajectory of development in the Armenian Highlands. It has also been suggested as a cultural precursor to the Hayasa-Azzi confederation mentioned in Hittite records,Serkan Demirel, "A Contribution to Localization of Azzi-Hayaša Mentioned in Hittite Cuneiform Texts." ''Archivum Anatolicum-Anadolu Arşivleri (ArAn)'' 2017. pp. 97–110. https://www.academia.edu/38267672 and has been linked to the Mushki—a people referenced in Assyrian sources. pp. 260–261

Background

Shulaveri–Shomu culture existed in the area from 6000 to 4000 BCE.Geraldine Reinhardt
Bronze Age in Eurasia
Lecture Delivered 29 July 1991

/ref> Kura–Araxes culture followed after.

The flourishing stage of Trialeti-Vanadzor began near the end of the third millennium BCE.Joan Aruz, Sarah B. Graff, Yelena Rakic
''Cultures in Contact: From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C.''
The Metropolitan Museum of art symposia. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013 p12

During the final phase of the Middle Bronze Age (c.1700–1500 BCE), in addition to Trialeti-Vanadzor, three other geographically overlapping material culture horizons predominate in the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) and eastern Anatolia: Karmir Berd (a.k.a. Tazakend), Karmir Vank (a.k.a. Kizil Vank, Van-Urmia), and Sevan-Uzerlik (a.k.a. Sevan-Artsakh).

Black-burnished and monochrome painted wares vessels from the cemeteries of Ani and Parget Nerkin (Armenian: Պարգետ Ներքին), both in the Kars Province of Turkey, and :tr:Sos Höyük IV in Erzurum Province resemble those of Trialeti. Sos Höyük IV may have been associated with Hayasa-Azzi.

Kurgans

At that time, there was already strong social differentiation indicated by rich mound burials. There are parallels to the Early Kurgan culture. Cremation was practised. Painted pottery was introduced. Tin-based bronze became predominant. Geographical interconnectedness and links with other areas of the Near East are seen in many aspects of the culture. For example, a cauldron found in Trialeti is nearly identical to the one from Shaft Grave 4 of Mycenae in Greece.

Trialeti-Vanadzor shows ties with the highly developed cultures of the ancient world, particularly with the Aegean, but also with cultures to the south and east.

Trialeti-Vanadzor painted monochrome and polychrome pottery is very similar to that in the other areas of the Near East. In particular, similar ceramics are known as ''Urmia ware'' (named after Lake Urmia in Iran). Also, similar pottery was produced by the Sevan-Uzerlik culture, and the Karmir Berd-Sevan culture.

The site at Trialeti was originally excavated in 1936–1940 in advance of a hydroelectric scheme, when forty-six barrows were uncovered. A further six barrows were uncovered in 1959–1962.

Related kurgans

Martqopi kurgans are somewhat similar, and are contemporary to the earliest among the Trialeti kurgans. Together, they represent the early stage of the Early Kurgan culture of Central Transcaucasia.

This Early Kurgan period, known as Martkopi-Bedeni, has been interpreted as a transitional phase and the first stage of the Middle Bronze Age.

Burial practices

Trialeti-Vanadzor was known for its particular form of burial. The elite were interred in large, very rich burials under earth and stone mounds, which sometimes contained four-wheeled carts. Also there were many gold objects found in the graves. These gold objects were similar to those found in Iran and Iraq. They also worked tin and arsenic. This form of burial in a tumulus or "kurgan", along with wheeled vehicles, is the same as that of the Kurgan culture which has been associated with the speakers of Proto-Indo-European. In fact, the black burnished pottery of (especially early) Trialeti-Vanadzor kurgans is similar to Kura-Araxes pottery. In a historical context, their impressive accumulation of wealth in burial kurgans, like that of other associated and nearby cultures with similar burial practices, is particularly noteworthy. This practice was probably a result of influence from the older civilizations to the south in the Fertile Crescent.

The Trialeti-Vanadzor pottery style is believed to have developed into the Late Bronze Age Transcaucasian ceramic ware found throughout much of what is now eastern Turkey. This pottery has been connected to the expansion of the Mushki.

Possible Proto-Armenian Connections

The Trialeti-Vanadzor culture is frequently considered a strong candidate for the Proto-Armenian cultural horizon, with multiple academic perspectives supporting this hypothesis. Flourishing in the South Caucasus during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2400–1500 BCE), this culture exhibits substantial linguistic, genetic, and material continuities with later Armenian archaeological traditions. Scholars such as Sandra Scham (2025) propose that the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture, emerging in the Armenian Highlands and eastern Anatolia, may reflect one of the earliest Indo-European cultural formations in the region, potentially linked to the nascent stages of Armenian ethnogenesis. This view aligns with earlier propositions by Gamkrelidze and Ivanov (1995), who identified parallels between Indo-European burial customs and the kurgan tombs characteristic of Trialeti-Vanadzor sites.

Genetic studies have added compelling evidence for continuity in the Armenian Highlands. Research by Iosif Lazaridis et al. (2022) confirmed that modern Armenians show strong genetic ties to ancient South Caucasus populations, with notable Bronze Age components linked to steppe ancestry (e.g., R1b-Z2103), suggesting a deep-rooted presence in the region since at least the Trialeti-Vanadzor period. This supports prior findings by Haber et al. (2015), indicating that the Bronze Age admixture in the region shaped the modern Armenian gene pool.

Archaeologically, the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture’s elaborate burial practices—such as the use of four-wheeled carts, gold ornaments, and ritual animal sacrifices—mirror Indo-European traditions and find echoes in later Armenian sites like Metsamor and Lchashen. Kossian (1997) further highlights ceramic and metallurgical continuities that suggest a direct cultural lineage from Trialeti-Vanadzor through the Lchashen-Metsamor horizon. Joan Aruz (2008) emphasizes that these material and symbolic continuities place Armenian ethnogenesis within a broader network of Bronze Age Indo-European cultures stretching across Anatolia and the Aegean, as evidenced by shared artifact types such as cauldrons and chariots.

Linguistic studies reinforce these connections: the Armenian language, while a unique branch of the Indo-European family, shares phonological and lexical similarities with Greek, hinting at a South Caucasian or eastern Anatolian contact zone in the Bronze Age. Using a mathematical analysis borrowed from evolutionary biology, Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow propose an evolutionary tree in which Pre-Armenian and Pre-Greek formed a closely related subgroup after 2500 BC. Similarly, David W. Anthony suggests that Pre-Armenian had already begun to separate as early as 2800 BC. These overlapping lines of evidence have led many scholars to posit the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture as a crucial stage in the long trajectory of Armenian ethnogenesis, although debates continue regarding the precise origins and development of the Proto-Armenians.Anthony, David W. ''The Horse, the Wheel, and Language''. Princeton University Press, 2007.

See also

* Kura–Araxes culture
* Lchashen–Metsamor culture
* Shulaveri–Shomu culture
* Prehistoric Georgia
* Prehistoric Armenia
* Hayasa-Azzi

References

External links

Middle Bronze Age, Trialeti-Vanadzor, South Caucasus
- collection of articles at academia.edu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trialeti Culture

Archaeological cultures of West Asia
Bronze Age cultures of Asia
Archaeological cultures in Armenia
Archaeological cultures in Georgia (country)
Prehistoric sites in Georgia (country)
Prehistoric Georgia (country)