From the rim of the Armenian Plateau, communities of the Late Bronze Age into the Early Iron Age (c. 1500 BCE–330 CE) emerge in a landscape of terraced hills and storm-swept basalt fortresses. Archaeological contexts sampled here include Bardzryal Archaeological Complex, Bagheri Tchala, Nerkin Getashen, Lori Berd Cemetery, the Black Fortress, Lchashen cemetery, Noratus, Bover Cemetery and Sarukhan. Material culture—metalwork, fortified hilltops, and burial rites—shows local continuity layered with external influences.
Archaeological data indicates sustained settlement and cemetery use across centuries; continuity in ceramic forms and mortuary patterns suggests enduring regional traditions even as exchange networks widened. Limited evidence suggests episodes of migration and cultural contact: imported goods, new burial customs, and shifts in settlement hierarchy appear episodically.
Genetically, the sampled individuals (n=54) provide a window onto these processes. While not every site is evenly represented, the dataset is large enough to detect broad patterns of maternal lineage diversity and to hint at admixture between long-established Caucasus groups and incoming elements associated with Bronze Age mobility. However, precise demographic mechanisms—slow diffusion, elite migration, or episodic influx—remain open questions pending denser sampling and high-resolution chronological anchors.
