Introduction

Abstract

Archeological research in Cis- and Transcaucasia extends back into the nineteenth century when German, French, and Russian archeologists/collectors, such as W. Belck, J. de Morgan, and N. I. Veselovskii excavated raised burial mounds (kurgans) and first brought to light the rich metal weapons and ornaments characteristic of late Caucasian prehistory. Archeology in the Soviet period was sponsored by the relevant institutes of the Academy of Sciences within republics or autonomous republics/regions of the Caucasus, and, at least in Transcaucasia, this support meant that work was carried out increasingly by local scholars who published their studies as frequently in their own languages (Georgian, Armenian, Azeri) as in Russian. A consequence of this, of course, was to divide understandings and interpretations of the prehistoric record along political/ethnic lines. The articles on Transcaucasian archeology collected here were all first published in Russian and largely predate the ethnic conflicts which today rage throughout the region.