Areni-1 cave

The cave complex Areni-1, also known as the Birds’ cave, is situated east from the village of Areni and located in the limestone formations of the left bank of the Arpa River (tributary of the Araxes River). The archaeological investigations here have been carried out since 2007 by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA (the director of the expedition is Boris Gasparyan), and Cork University, Ireland (co-director is Ron Pinhasi). The two exploratory trenches, placed in the first gallery of the cave (first trench was located in the very end of the first gallery, at the background and the second one – directly near the entrance of the cave, under the roofing start), opened here no less than 5-6 living horizons of the Chalcolithic period with total power of cultural layers more then 4 meters. Excavations in 2007 uncovered 3 pot burials in the rear chamber of the cave. Each pot contained a Copper Age human skull with no associated grave goods. All skulls belong to sub-adults of 9–16 years of age. These are currently being analyzed by the team's biological anthropologist. Remarkably, one skull contained a piece of a well-preserved brain tissue. This is the oldest known human brain from the Old World. A 5,500-year-old leather shoe was found in excellent condition in 2008 from the trench at the entrance to the first gallery of the cave. It is a one-piece leather-hide shoe that has been dated as a few hundred years older than the one found on Ötzi the Iceman, making it the oldest piece of leather footwear in the world known to contemporary researchers. The shoe was found upside down at the base of a shallow, rounded, and plastered pit that was 45 cm (18 in) deep and 44–48 cm (17–19 in) wide, beneath an overturned broken Chalcolithic ceramic bowl.

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