Tbilisi, Georgia

After breakfast, we traveled by bus for 2 hours to the Hamlet of Dmanisi (near the border of Armenia) to join Dr. David Lordkipanideze on an excursion to the archaeological site where he led the discovery of the earliest-known hominid remains outside of Africa. Our drive takes us along the Caucasus mountain range. And as we drive away from the city, the landscape becomes markedly more lush–lovely green hillsides and rich, dark soil abound. We see several Soviet era buildings dotting the landscape. Georgia labored under Soviet control for many years until the collapse of the Soviet Union and many of their influences continue to be visible to this day. There is vegetation and livestock, large flocks of sheep, goat and cattle, along the route. There has been seismic activity in Georgia about every 10-15 years due to the tectonic plates that lie beneath the area. The last large earthquake was in 1989 just North of the city. There are many dormant volcanoes in Georgia, We can see the large Georgia pipeline running across the land and gas lines are run above ground as a safety precaution during earthquakes. As we are driving, the landscape becomes even more lush and green and there are farmers with vegetable stands set up along the roadside. The fields are filled with farmers harvesting their crops. There are beautiful red poppy fields along the way and dotting the roadside. Our drive also took us through some of the gold mining regions in Georgia. Gold continues to be a prosperous industry. We are thrilled that David is riding in our minibus and chatting with us on our way to the site. It was quite remarkable to walk about the archaeological site and realize we are walking in an area where man tread over 1.75 million years ago and in a site that is still being actively excavated. Thus far, they have excavated 4 skulls, 16 teeth, 24 post-cranial elements and remains of fossil animals and stone artifacts. This is the richest and most complete collection outside of Africa. After the site tour, a local Georgian woman prepared and served a lovely picnic featuring local Georgian fare at the base of the dig site before we embarked on the 2 hour drive back to Tbilisi. This evening we walked next door to the Rustaveli Theatre for a cocktail hour and a Georgian Folk Performance. The theatre was founded in 1887 and is the largest theatre in Georgia. It is a beautiful building with ornate Rococo-style edifice. National dances were performed by the Birtvisi Children’s Ensemble. The dancers ranged in age from 8 to 16. The dances are very lively, almost frenetic in nature. This is our last evening to enjoy the local Georgia wines. We have sampled many during our few days here. Sadly, none of these wines will make their way to the US. Most are imported to Russia and other neighboring countries. The Georgia food feasts are massive so we decided to stay at the hotel this evening and grabbed a burger and steak. Our stomachs needed a break from the never ending courses of a traditional Georgian meal. We sat in a lovely inner courtyard and dined alone. It was quite nice to take a break from all the group entertainment and conversation. DMANISI Dmanisi is a townlet and archaeological site in the region of Georgia approximately 93 km southwest of the nation’s capital Tbilisi in the river valley of Mashavera.   Archaeological Site-Extensive archaeological studies began in the area in 1936 and continued in the 1960s. Beyond a rich collection of ancient and medieval artifacts and the ruins of various buildings and structures, unique remains of prehistoric animals and humans have been unearthed. Some of the animal bones were identified by the Georgian paleontologist A. Vekua with the teeth of the extinct rhino in 1983. The discovery of primitive stone tools in 1984 led to increasing interest to the archaeological site. In 1991, a team of Georgian scholars was joined by the German archaeologists and later the US, French and Spanish researchers.    Recent excavations of Dmanisi have revealed an extraordinary record of the earliest hominid dispersal beyond Africa (1,75 million years ago). Several hominid individuals along with abundant well-preserved remains of fossil animals and stone artefacts have been found. The Dmanisi specimens are the most primitive and small-brained humans found outside of Africa. Dmanisi is buried below the ruins of the medieval town of Dmanisi, in the Mashavera River Valley, which drains the Javakheti volcanic chain to the west of the site. Dmanisi archaeological material is well dated by science-based methods to about 1.75 million years ago. The Lower Palaeolithic site has the fascinating and unusual context of being located underneath the medieval ruins of an ancient town and fortress frequently visited by tourists. In fact, the Palaeolithic excavations have all been conducted from within the walls of ancient structures. From point of view of the early palaeontology, the site has been known since 1983 when fossilized bones of extinct animals were found by medieval archaeologists in the walls of household pits of the Dmanisi medieval town. Immediately, it was clear that we were dealing with late-middle Villafranchian fauna, of approximately 1.8-1.7 million years in age. Then in 1984, with the discovery of primitive stone tools, a new page started not only in the history of the site excavations, but of one of the major events in human evolution: the peopling of the northern latitudes and eventually the entire globe. Dmanisi is the key to deciphering origins and for tracing the earliest Pleistocene hominid migrations. Dmanisi have an iconic position in the discovery and demonstration of human evolution. Recent excavations of Dmanisi have revealed an extraordinary record of the earliest hominid dispersal beyond Africa. Several hominid individuals (4 skulls, 3 of them with maxillas, 4 mandibles, 16 isolated teeth and 24 post-cranial elements), along with abundant well-preserved remains of fossil animals and stone artefacts have been found. In 2003-04 field season another new hominid mandible, with fascinating pathologies having implications for the evolution of human disease and also social behaviour has been discovered. It was also found a new tibia and talus (ankle) bone, which will allow accurate estimations of body size, body proportions and locomotory behaviour. This is the richest and most complete collection of indisputable early Homo remains outside of Africa with good stratigraphic context, now well dated to about 1.75 million years ago. At Dmanisi, there is also clear potential to define and compare records of serial occupations in single locality.Dmanisi discoveries are most ancient in whole Eurasia and are dated to 1.75 million years ago. There is the great potential for further finds as well.