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This chapter reviews anthropological genetic inquiries into the population dynamics in the Caucasus. Genetic and genomic methods are introduced along with the problems of identifying specific regions of origins for genetic populations. Also discussed are the general genetic characteristics of the Caucasus and neigboring areas of the Near East and steppe; gene-language-geography studies; genetic affinities between Maikop kurgan burials and contemporary South Caucasus peoples; the phylogeography of maternal and paternal lineages in the Caucasus and western Asia; revelations about Caucasus prehistory derived from ancient genomics; the putative connection between the spread of farming, Indo-European languages, and Y-chromosome lineages; the timing of the split between Caucasus and European hunter-gatherer groups; and questions as to the role of Caucasus hunter-gatherers in the peopling of continental Europe.
Located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the Caucasus region has played a critical role in the dissemination of languages, ideas, and cultures since prehistoric times. In this study, Aram Yardumian and Theodore Schurr explore the dispersal of human groups in the Caucasus beginning in the Palaeolithic period. Using evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and anthropological genetics, they trace changes in settlement patterns, cultural practices, and genetic variation. Highlighting the region's ecological diversity, natural resources, and agricultural productivity, Yardumian and Schurr reconstruct the timings and likely migration routes for human settlement following the Last Glacial Maximum, as well as the possible connections to regional economies for these expansions. Based on analysis of archaeological site reports, linguistic relationships, and genetic data previously published separately and in different languages, their synthesis of the most up to date evidence opens new vistas into the chronology and human dynamics of the Caucasus' prehistory.
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