Georgia is composed of a mosaic of ethnic groups in pursuit of independence.

Yet the twists and turns of the game between rival superpowers and geopolitical considerations have given the Georgian nation a singular and turbulent history.

From prehistory through antiquity, it was a multitude of cultures that shared this part of the Caucasus. Discover some fragments of this country's history before your visit.

Georgia in Prehistory

Georgia is situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, in the Caucasus.

Its long history spans thousands of years. The origins of human settlement on present-day Georgian territory can be traced back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. Several sites from this era have been uncovered in the Khrami Valley in central Georgia, on the lowlands of Colchis, as well as in South Ossetia.

These historical sites were inhabited by sedentary tribes, who were livestock herders with solid knowledge of agriculture, particularly in cultivating cereals.

Indeed, the knowledge and mastery of cereal cultivation during the Neolithic is confirmed by the discovery of flint sickles, saddle querns, and stone hoes used for tilling the soil.

During the Quaternary period, Georgia remained a privileged geographic intersection. The country was an important site of cultural contact and convergence in the Caucasus.

Artifacts left by Paleolithic humans toward the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene attest to this.

Furthermore, during paleontological excavations from 1999 to 2001, conducted at the Dmanissi site in southern Georgia, remains of hominids belonging to the species Homo georgicus were discovered.

Thanks to the ash surrounding the fossil, these hominid remains can be dated to approximately 1.8 million years ago.

Dmanissi thus presents the oldest evidence of prehistoric human presence outside Africa.

These archaeological discoveries allow us to affirm that the first European is Georgian, and also advance the colonization of the European continent to 800,000 years ago.

This ancestor also left several traces of his passage, namely stone tools.

As for his physical description, Homo georgicus stood 1.5 meters tall and had a forward-projecting face. His head was flat and elongated.

Based on this description, it is possible to attest that Homo georgicus is the ancestor of Asian Homo erectus.

Georgia During Antiquity

Occupied by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period, Georgia was during Antiquity a site of mixing of diverse ethnic groups, as well as a passage for peoples.

A natural frontier of Europe, the country is crossed by the great trade route connecting India to the Black Sea, as well as linking East and West.

In Antiquity, the Caucasus was considered the original center of metalworking.

In Georgia, the Bronze Age began in the 2nd millennium B.C. According to objects discovered at Trialeti by B.A. Kuftin, central Georgia during the 2nd millennium was occupied by tribes governed by powerful and wealthy chiefs.

Indeed, their mound-shaped tombs attest to this opulence. Finely crafted gold and silver vessels and several pieces engraved with ritual scenes were also discovered.

During Antiquity as well, Georgia found itself at the heart of numerous civilizations that successively exercised control over the country. Thus, Georgian territory, like the entire Caucasus, found itself in a position of intersection between the surrounding powers.

In the 3rd century B.C, the territory of present-day Georgia was divided between Colchis to the west (under Greek domination) and Iberia to the east (independent).

Colchis fell under the domination of the ancient Kingdom of Pontus, then the Roman Empire.

As for the Kingdom of Iberia, it remained independent and fought Armenia for control of the Caucasus.

In the second half of the 4th century B.C, it was the turn of the Greeks, via Alexander the Great the conqueror, to occupy present-day Georgia. This occupation by the Greeks was a major step toward a unified Georgia, though this would not occur for centuries to come.

The Scythians invaded Georgia in the 6th century B.C. This occupation was followed by annexation by the Achaemenid dynasty, which was the first Persian empire.

The Roman Republic dominated Iberia until the invasion of the Arsacids in the 2nd century. From then on, Iberia became a source of conflict between the Iranian Empire (the Parthians) and the Roman Empire, much like Armenia. These two empires invaded this part of Georgia successively.

It was in the middle of the 4th century that Christianity began to develop in Iberia.