Archaeological data indicates that the Areni‑1 cave complex and its environs were occupied during the later Chalcolithic, with human activity spanning the mid‑5th to mid‑4th millennia BCE. The genetic assemblage labeled Armenia_C (4350–3500 BCE) derives from five individuals recovered at Areni‑1. Limited evidence suggests these people formed small, connected household groups making use of cave spaces for storage, ritual, and burial. The material record at Areni includes finely made pottery, textile impressions, and organic artefacts that speak to a landscape of pastoralism, horticulture, and craft specialization.
Genetically, the group shows a compact but varied profile: paternal lineages are dominated by haplogroup L, including L1a in one individual, while maternal lineages include H, K, and U4a. The presence of L — a lineage today more frequent further south — raises the possibility of southward or corridor connections across the Armenian highlands during the Chalcolithic, but with only five genomes the pattern must be regarded as tentative. Archaeological context supports sustained local traditions mixed with intermittent external influences; the DNA hints at a living population poised between indigenous Caucasian continuity and wider exchange networks across the Near East and Eurasian periphery.
