Armenian archeologists: 5,900 year old skirt found - October, 2010

Armenian archeologists: 5,900 year old skirt found

An Armenian archaeologist says that scientists have discovered a skirt that could be 5,900 year old. Pavel Avetisian, the head of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography in Yerevan, said a fragment of skirt made of reed was found during recent digging in the Areni-1 cave in southeastern Armenia. Avetisian told Tuesday's news conference in the Armenian capital that the find could be one of the world's oldest piece of reed clothing. Earlier excavation in the same location has produced what researchers believe is a 5,500-year-old shoe, making it the oldest piece of leather footwear known to researchers. Boris Gasparian, an Armenian archaeologist who worked jointly with U.S. and Irish scientists at the site, said they also found a mummified goat that could be 5,900-year-old, or more than 1,000 years older than the mummified animals found in Egypt.

Source: http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201010275408/Armenian-archeologists-5900-year-old-skirt-found.html

Eneolithic people found in Armenia

Well preserved burial places of people of the eneolithic age have been found in the caves of Areni 1, Vaiots Dzor, Armenia. Excavations are conducted in cooperation with archeologists from the University of California (USA) and University College Cork (UCC) (Ireland), head of the Armenian team Boris Gasparyan said. He said that the specialists have found the bodies of adults and children in clay tombs. Children's bodies are intact, whereas the adults were dismembered. The find is a unique opportunity to find out the children's genetic code by means of DNA analyses. This, in turn, will supply scientists with valuable information on the humans' genetic evolution. However, deciphering the genetic code is a most expensive procedure, laboratory analyses cost ¬ 60,000, Gasparyan said. Since colors were not widely spread in the Armenian territory in the eneolithic age, the colorful vessels with the sun and animals painted on them are most interesting. The excavations are of paramount importance for putting together the picture of Armenia's ancient past and of the cultural and historical picture of Western Asia in the eneolithic age. This year the archeologists have found a drinking horn of the eneolithic age in Areni 1. The excavations started in 2007, and the most ancient leather shoe was found in a cave the next year. NEWS.am reminds readers that a 5,500-year-old shoe was found in September 2008. A number of research centers confirmed the age of the finding as a result of independent research. The 23.5-cm-long and 7.6- to 10-cm-wide moccasin-like shoe was well-preserved due to a layer of sheep droppings, which blocked the air.

Source: http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201010275409/Eneolithic-people-found-in-Armenia.html

Expedition discovers mummified goat in Areni cave

An expedition excavating Areni cave discovered a mummified goat head, part of body, perhaps, also brain, head of the Armenian party in the expedition, Boris Gasparyan told reporters. He supposes the mummified goat is 1000-1500 years older than Egyptian mummies. According to Pavel Avetisyan, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Egyptian mummifications are man-made while Areni cave mummifications are triggered by environment. The expert said the mummified goat gives a possibility to study the process of domestication of animals. If scientists prove that the goat dates from late 5th millennium or early 4th millennium BC, they will have a good basis to study wild goat species.

Source: http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201010265401/Expedition-discovers-mummified-goat-in-Areni-cave.html