ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the major transition in the history of traditional ecological knowledge related to the advent of agriculture in Georgia (the Neolithic XE "Neolithic" and Chalcolithic Ages). Agriculture brought about novel technologies of a sedentary lifestyle, domestication of plants and animals, farming and herding. The transition began in eastern Georgia ca. 9,000 BP when the first agrarians from the Near East brought with them a full complement of domesticated plants and animals: most notably, wheat, barley and other cereals, and pulses, sheep, cows, goats, and pigs. The Neolithic and Chalcolithic Ages in Georgia continued until ca. 6,500 BP, when traditional ecological knowledge increased considerably in sophistication. The most notable achievements were the breeding of naked hexaploid wheat and the beginnings of winemaking. Ideas of fertility took hold in that communities worshipped child-bearing women and left behind figurines of mother goddesses.
Agricultural revolution reached western Georgia as well. However, the pace of development here was much slower, owing to the very warm and humid climate. Stone Age agrarians of western Georgia did not leave behind any trace of herding, but only a limited farming of plants adapted to local conditions: rye, millet, and flax. Hunted game continued to be the main source of protein.
The Agrarian Stone Age ended with a demographic crisis, the causes of which are unclear. Tribes abandoned their settlements, and the human population of eastern Georgia declined. Later, new Bronze Age settlements started to emerge, which is the theme of the next chapter.
