ABSTRACT
This is the last major transition of traditional ecological knowledge in Georgia. By ca. 3,500 BP, the climate in Georgia had become cooler and drier. These changes disfavoured the primitive agriculture of the Bronze Age, and the reduced harvests apparently prompted most of the population to start moving in search of new lands with better conditions for agriculture. At the same time, the domestic horse was introduced to Georgia from the Ancient Near East, which facilitated migration and the adoption of new styles of herding. As a result, some migrants colonised Georgia’s highlands, while others established themselves in lowlands near rivers that were easy to use for artificial irrigation. The development of irrigation helped a full-scale viticulture spread over all irrigable lowlands of Georgia and guaranteed good harvests of cereals (mostly wheat). Meanwhile, highlanders developed a seasonal transhumance, using alpine meadows as summer pastures and river valleys as winter stations. In western Georgia, the climate change did not trigger migration, but the Proto-Colchian traditions gradually transformed into a Colchian society distinguished by advanced metalworking technologies. These communities used ditches and canals for draining excessive water. The gains in ecological knowledge (associated with the horse, irrigation/drainage systems, viticulture, transhumance) certainly caused changes in cultural traditions; namely, the tree of life, symbolised by vineyards and wine cellars, became widespread in lowlands as a deity of fertility. In the highlands where viticulture was not possible, transhumance traditions became associated with warrior-horseman deities, which, however, retained fertility functions. These traditions have been conserved in Georgia until the present day.
