Armenian Highlands: the birth place of civilization

[Armenian]

I hope the following information will interest you.

Based on my exposure to European and Near-Eastern research regarding genetics, archeology, mythology and linguistics, I have come to the conclusion that the aboriginal homeland of Armenians and all proto-Indo European and Aryan tribes were somewhere within the vicinity of the Armenian Highlands (eastern Anatolia, northern Mesopotamia, north eastern Iran and the southern Caucasus), more specifically, within the triangle formed by the Caspian sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Putting aside wishful thinking and fairytales propagated by self-serving "Euro-centric" White Supremists on the one hand and equally unreliable Zionist saturated academia within America and England on the other hand, there is a large body of evidence that mainstream western academia has not been exposed to yet that clearly points to the Armenian Highlands as the primordial location where civilized man as represented by Indo-European and Mesopotamian tribes first entered the pages of history.

According to Armenian and some European scholars and scientists, the following statements are either accepted as corroborated facts yet to be disproved by other discoveries elsewhere, or very likely speculation and/or theories that yet need to be corroborated through additional research. Thus, based on the evaluation of various scholarly and scientific disciplines, the Armenian Highlands are said to be:

The earliest location where metal smelting is said to have taken place.

The earliest location where agriculture is said to have been developed.

The earliest location where animal husbandry is said to have been developed.

The earliest location where wheeled transportation is said to have been implimented.

The earliest location where petroglyphs of wheels, ox carts and swastikas are depicted.

The earliest location where mankind is said to have developed a keen understanding of movements of the stars and the planets.

The earliest location where cyclopic walls and round dwelling have been unearthed.

The earliest location where some of the Babylonian, Sumerian, Iranian, Celtic, Slavic, Germanic and Greco-Roman gods and goddesses have their primordial predecessors.

The location where Babylonian/Sumerian and Hebrew sacred texts indicate the civilization/mankind was first "created."

The location where Babylonian/Sumerian and Hebrew sacred texts indicate the world was repopulated after the Great Flood.

The location where, according to Hebrew sacred scripture, God is said to have changed the languages of mankind, thus, scattering them to the far corners of the world. (in my opinion, most probably a metaphor describing the Indo-European language diffusion)

The following web-sites are related to the aforementioned statements:

Indo-European homeland, Armenian prehistoric artifacts:

http://www.armenianhighland.com/homeland/chronicle120.html

Karahunge: Armenia's "stonehenge" advent of astronomy:

http://www.tacentral.com/karahundj/karahundj1.asp

Shengavit: a seven thousand year old dwelling:

http://www.armenianow.com/2003/nove...atures/history/

Metsamor: Pre-ancient dwelling a center for metallurgy and astronomy:
http://www.tacentral.com/history/metsamor.asp / http://www.tacentral.com/astronomy.asp?story_no=3

Petroglyphs: Neolithic depictions of celestial bodies, swastikas, wheeled transportation, etc:
http://www.arminco.com/hayknet/naskal.htm / http://www.iatp.am/ara/map/index.html

Pre-historic religions within the Armenian Highlands, Armenian national gods and goddesses:
http://www.ercole.net/hayaser/religion.asp / http://www.angelfire.com/hi/Azgaser/AR.html

[Virgil]

Armenian thats a interesting read, good stuff.

[Armenian]

Olive tree was brought into Palestine from Armenia 4000 BC

Zaitounah Museum new addition to Tunisian heritage

By Naceur M'tir

SOUSSE, Tunisia, July 12 (KUNA) -- The Zaitounah (olive) Museum which was
opened recently in the eastern city of Sousse is considered a new addition
to the Tunisian cultural heritage due to the pivotal role the olive tree
plays in the lives of Tunisians and the population of the Medieterranean
region.

[...]

Gadira said that it also aims at preserving the heritage of this "blessed"
tree for future generations, noting that this tree remained steadfast before
the various civilizations which ruled Tunisia over some 3000 years like the
Berbers, Phoenicians, Byzantines, Arabs, Spaniards and Turks.

He said that the most ancient documented sources available report that the olive tree was brought into Palestine from Armenia 4000 BC and then taken by the Phoenicians to Greece and later to North Africa, particularly Tunisia.

Since the ancient times, olive oil was the choice of the elite and notables
in Tunisia and other countries of the region. It was used in religious
rituals, as a massage oil, producing perfumes and for other medical
purposes. According to the latest figures, there are an estimated 55 million olive trees stretching from the country's north to south and covering an area of nearly 1.6 million hectares or 30 percent of Tunisia's farmlands.

Tunisia is the world's second largest producer and exporter of olive oil
after EU states, mainly Italy and Spain. Article originally published by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) 12-Jul-04

Source: http://www.kuna.net.kw/English/Story.asp?DSNO=648372

[Armenian]

Archeologists find evidence of settlement seven thousand years old.

Excavations in the Yerevan district of Shengavit over the past two years have uncovered a city which local and some foreign archeologists believe to have been settled five thousand years before the birth of Christ. Scientists say the site has yielded some of the archeologically-richest finds in all the Caucasus, and if the dating proves accurate, it would mean that the area was settled nearly 4,000 years before the Urartus founded Yerevan. Among the unearthed remains are jewelry, female idols, baked-clay statues, a furnace for making flint forging instruments, suggesting a developed settlement. More than 50 horse bones have been found, evidence of developed horse-breeding - a find that archeologists say is the first of its kind in the Caucasus. Shengavit is not a new site of interests for archeologists. The shapeless hill some 30 meters above the Yerevan Lake has been the focus of scientific study since 1936, when archeologist Yevgeni Bayburdyan started a two-year study there.

In 1958, excavations were renewed by a group of archeologists under the leadership of Sandro Sardaryan. After 1985, however, the area was turned into a training ground for archeological practice. It remained an archeological laboratory until last year and over the years the site itself suffered damage as a result. Research restarted in 2000, but was sporadic. But new funding from the British Embassy (about $4,000) helped the research continue since September. It is being carried out by the Armenian Center of Cultural-Historical Heritage. Two main areas have been the focus of excavation. In one, an area of about 250 square meters, evidence of brick and river-stone walls was found. In the second area, on the hill's northern side researchers found a wall surrounding the city. "The low level dwellings discovered as a result of the excavations were two-to-three meters below the ground level," says director of the Center, historian Hakob Simonyan. According to Simonyan the dwellings were built in a hurry, using available materials, not paying attention to the aesthetic side and also ignoring seismic stability.

Unlike its common first-level houses, two meters below the ground level are dwellings made of stone blocks and basalt, mortared with clay, and are of rectangular, polygonal and round shapes. "The variety of construction materials indicates that the society was divided into different social and economic groups," Simonyan says. Onyx, marble and granite staffs were found among structures that surprised scientists by their sense of aesthetics and attention to seismic stability. "A very interesting method of building the lodgings was used to resist earthquakes," Simonyan says. "Stones were attached to each other with weeds dipped into liquid clay. This made the walls more flexible and protected from the quakes."

Sanctuaries, decorated by ornamentation depicting rams, stone instruments and clay plates made with great professionalism were also found here. Obsidian stones were used for the sheep eyes, which according to ancient belief, was a symbol of protection. "This is the first case in Armenia when eyes of an animal are decorated by stones," Simonyan says. Pear-shaped barns for storing grain, with round entrances were also found. The huge, four-meter deep storages could have held four tons of wheat. A large quantity of sickles, axes, and tools for wheat milling were found in the barn areas. The principles of town-planning and house construction suggest that Shengavit was once a city. Further, remnants of a forge with nine smelts indicate an industrial settlement producing copper. Some of the artifacts have been sent to Germany, where archeologists there confirm local scientists' belief that the finding - from the bronze age - shows Yerevan to have been built not only on the basis of the ancient city of Erebuni, but also on the basis of this earlier founded habitat.

Source: http://www.armenianow.com/2003/nove...atures/history/

[Armenian]

ONE OF MOST ANCIENT GRAINS FOUND IN SOUTH CAUCASUS AND MIDDLE ASIA FOUND IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, JULY 27. ARMINFO. While exploring the rocks in the canyon of the river Kasakh a group of Armenian and French archaeologists has found a monument of mesolite (epipaleolite) quite unique for the South Caucasus and Middle East region, says Boris Gasparyan, the head of the group, the employee of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.

Found in the Kmlo caves near the village of Apna, Aragatson region, were not only fragments of obsidian tools but also a wild wheat grain dating back from a period 10,000-8,000 years ago. If the experts confirm the age of the grain it will become one of the oldest grains ever found in the region's mesolite monuments (11,000-10,000 years ago). The discovered cultural layers are well preserved which is a good opportunity to collect enough scientific materials about the period. Despite threat of caving-in the archaeologists are going to continue the excavations. The group consists of three research teams. Besides the Kmlo caves they are exploring the traces of the man living in the areas of so called paleo lakes (middle paleolite). There they have found sites of primitive men who are assumed to do hunting, fishing and collecting.

Another group is examining the rock paintings found in the cave Gegamavan I, 1 km of the Kmlo caves. The unique paintings are in ochre - a substance said to be used only in late eneolite and early bronze (IV-III). Meanwhile the Gegamavan I paintings date back from neolite. The neolite man proves to already master the linear drawing technique. The paintings depict animals mostly deer. So the findings have shown that the rock painting traditions widely presented in the mountains of Gegama, Sunik and Aragats are older than they were thought to be. The objective of the expedition is to study the ancient history of the use of obsidian as a tool of the primitive man. Obsidian tools are widely spread over the territory of historical Armenia and perfectly characterize social-economic relations of the Stone Age. The expedition is financed by Gfoeller Foundation (US).

Source: web-link: http://www.arminfo.am/

[Armenian]

Some fascinating analysis of pre-historic mythology and archeological remains of the proto-Armenian peoples. Within the text regarding the linguistics study you will find a brief mention of a long held theory by Armenians that claims the Angels (as in the Anglo/English) had their aboriginal homeland within the southern Caucasus prior to migrating into Europe. I admit the theory is based on a subjective linguistics premise, however, it nevertheless is very interesting. At the bottom of this post I have added a web-site regarding what Armenians call "karahunj" which is said to be an astrological observatory that resembles the one found within Stonehenge England, yet predates it by many centuries. Maybe the two prehistoric sites are connected? Maybe the theory put forth by Armenian linguists regarding the 'Anglos' are more substantial than it seems at first glance?

HAYK -- THE NATIONAL GOD OF ARMENIANS

The god Hyek (Hayk), the mighty archer, has been closely interwoven with the life of the Armenian people since times immemorial, as ancient perhaps as the hunting stage of the primeval communal society. He was the principal indigenous deity of the most prominent (central)group of the Nairian tribes that have formed the Armenian people. We know that Hyek (Hayk) is none other than Haldi and that Hyek-Haldi was a deity of fire who had taken origin from the volcanic nature of the Armenian Highland.

As mentioned earlier, Movses Khorenantsi, drawing his information from Mar Aba's book, uses a distinctive expression for Hyek:"the Yapetostean Hayk",i.e. having the nature of Yapetos-Hephaestus. Remembering that Hephaestus was a god of fire, such a characterization of Hyek appears to have taken place during the Hellenistic (Artashessian) period of Armenia when Hyek's fiery nature was still remembered. Personified as the eponymic ancestor of the Armenian people, Hyek is also described as having "very curly hair and sparkling eyes",a description that was inspired by his fiery nature and paralleled with that given to Vahagn who, too "had hair of fire...and his eyes were two suns."

In the old genealogical list preserved by Khorenatsi, Hyek is considered the son of Torgom. The origin of this name is linked with that of the city-land of Tarkuma/Tarhigama (some scholars locate this city in Hyeasa, but others who place it in the south-western regions of the Armenian Highland (see Tarkuma)), in Arme-Subaria, north of Syria (see Tarhigamani), seem to be more correct. In this connection, it might be right to point out the village of Derik, below Angel Tun-the birthplace of Angls or English, in the region of the sources of the Khabur, 40km west of Mardin.As we have seen before, Adad-Nirari-2 called this region Hark'((Harki)) which was in Armani as mentioned by Naram-Sin) mentioned in Hittite and Urartian inscriptions.

It must be recalled that Hyek is a deity, hence, he should have been considered the son of the god Tarku, the god Tork' of Armenians, whose name is radical component of the city name of Tarkuma/Tarhigama.Tork's main temple was in Aghtznik(Arme-Subaria), at the Armenian sacred city-fortress Angel-Tun(Ingalava?), now called Egil. Among Armenians Tork 'was also called Tork'Angel; Khorenatsi refers to him as Tork'of Angel, i.e.Tork' of Angelian descent.In the Old Armenian translation of the Bible, the god of the Underworld, Nergal of the Semitic text, is translated as Angel (who probably corresponds also to the Sumerian Engur, the god of the Abyss).

Thus, it becomes easier to understand why Hyek, the god of volcano (later attributed to Vahagn) is called "son of Torgom", i.e. the son of Angelian Tork,' the god of the Underworld, because both the volcano and the god of volcano originate from the underworld forces. The epic of Hyek's fight against Bel(babylonian god) provides a substantial proof that Hyek and his people were already in existence in the land called Hark', at the center of the Armenian-Nairian Highland, at the time when Bel was carrying out his raids, that is, when the mighty Assyro-Babylonian empire was seeking to expand; a proof which, unfortunately, has been overlooked by those who (wrongly) support the theory of migration of Armenian people from the Balkans...

Source:http://www.angelfire.com/hi/Azgaser/AR.html

ARMENIA'S STONEHENGE?

"These simple stones stretched out along the crest of a hill overlooking the Sissian River challenge the very dating of early astronomy and the answer to the question, "Who were the first astronomers?" If proven true, a current controversial dating of the stones at Karahundj predate England's Stonehenge, they predate the Babylonian's claim to being the first astronomers, and they confirm what some people already suspect: that Armenia is the birthplace of the zodiac, and perhaps the beginning of navigation and the concept of time..."

"It should be no surprise to anyone who knows something of Armenia's history that astronomy is such an important part of the national character. Sun symbols, signs of the zodiac, and ancient calendars predominated in the region while the rest of the world was just coming alive, culturally speaking. Egypt and China were still untamed wilderness areas when the first cosmic symbols began appearing on the side of the Geghama Mountain Range around 7000 BC..."

Source: http://www.tacentral.com/karahundj/karahundj1.asp

[Virgil]

Armenian, nice posts. We need to reform the Armenian legion.

[Armenian]

Pantheon of Armenian gods

The Armenian god or goddess is listed with the Greek equivalent deity in parenthesis.

The first god in Armenia was one of the language’s first sounds, ‘AR’, which means sun or light. As the source of life, the sun became equated with power and the supreme god. Ararat is mentioned as early as ca. 6000 BC in the Sumerian epoch poem Gilgamesh, as the land of the mountains where the gods live. The word Ararat can be divided into three words: AR-AR-AT. AR-AR being a plural form or all encompassing god; ‘AT’ being an archaic version of the Armenian word ‘hat’, which means ‘a piece of’. Thus Ararat meant ‘a piece of gods, or a piece of creation.


Early symbols for gods are closely connected with astral symbols. The first use of the sacred swastika and cross are found in ca. 20,000-15,000 BC inscriptions in the Geghama Mountain Range. Carvings dating back to ca. 8500 BCE show symbols associated with astronomy, giving them a god like prominence: the sun, moon, and constellations were thought to be deities in themselves, and astral occurrences such as an eclipse or a comet were considered communication from the gods. By the 5th millennium BC, Ancestral Armenians combined sun worship with sophisticated astronomy. They are now credited with assigning the constellations of the zodiac their design and names, and creating one of the first solar calendars based on 365 days in the year.

Also around the 5th millennium BC a series of Vishaps (Dragon Stones) began to be erected on mountainsides throughout Armenia, near water sources. At first resembling fish (dragons in Armenian were thought to be huge fishlike creatures, something like a cross between a whale and a gigantic squid), the monolithic stones were later carved with snakes, the heads of beasts, swastikas and crosses. Around 3000 BC, Ancestral Armenians had created a specific iconography and pantheon of the gods. The Armenian gods were still centered on the worship of the sun, but by the Urartian period, they resembled Mesopotamian and Egyptian deities based on animal-human combinations. Human deities emerged during the Armenian Hellenistic period. Though bearing remarkable likeness to Greek gods and goddesses, which first gave speculation as to their Greek origins, it is now thought that many of the Greek gods are actually inherited from Ancestral Armenian sources, with some coming from as far away as India. The heroic legends of Hercules, for example, were first attributed to the legend of the Armenian king-god Haik in the 3rd millennium BC.

Aramazd (Zeus) - The father of all gods and goddesses, the creator of heaven and earth. The first two letters in his name, "AR" is the Indo-European root for sun, light, and life. Aramazd was the source of earth’s fertility, making it fruitful and bountiful. The celebration in his honor was called Am'nor, or New Year, which was celebrated on March 21 in the old Armenian calendar (also the Spring equinox).


Anahit (Artemis) - The goddess of fertility and birth, in early period she was the goddess of war. By the 1st c. BCE she was the main deity in Armenia.


Nuneh (Athena) - The goddess of wisdom, common sense, motherhood and protector of the home, keeper of the family.


Vahagan (Hephaestus) - The god of thunder, clouds and fire. Comes from "Vah" -god, "Agne" - fire. Vahagan is the constellation Orion.


Astghik (Aphrodite) - The goddess of love and beauty, symbolized by skylight. She was the wife or lover of Vahagan, the god of fire and metal. She was also the goddess of water. The celebration in her honor occurred in mid June and was called Vardevar. It is still celebrated in Armenia by pouring water on unsuspecting passersby.


Ara Geghetsik - "Ara the Beautiful’- the god of spring, flora, agriculture, sowing and water. He is associated with Isis, Vishnu and Dionysus, as the symbol of new life.


Haik - a king, but in legend the father of Armenia. He slew the Babylonian god Bel, which in history was Nemruth, the Babylonian king described in the bible as attempting to build the tower of Babel. Haik’s armies invaded Babylon, and establish the kingdom from which Armenians claim their heritage. The legend of Haik is the forerunner of the legend of Hercules.


Tsovinar, Nar - The goddess of water, sea, rain. She was a fire creature, who forced the rain and hail to fall from the heavens with her fury.


Vanatur - the god of hospitality and bountiful hosts.


Tir (Apollo) - the god of literature, science and art, also an interpreter of dreams.


Tork Angegh (Aries) - the god of power, bravery, war, the military.


Aralez - One of the oldest gods in the Armenian pantheon, Aralez was a god in the form of a dog, whose powers included the ability to resurrect the dead by licking wounds clean.

Source: http://www.tacentral.com/mythology.asp?story_no=2

[angelik22]

omg i have been looking all over for this kind of stuff- thaaaank you!!!! that was amazing!

[angelik22]

ooooooo i remember vahagn- i used to know this whole poem about him- memorized- thanx to my teacher in 3rd grade- went something liek this-
yerknets yerkin yev yerkir
yerknets yev tsov tsiranee
yev yeghekneekee karmeer...
i forgot next line- but the rest is too long to write anyway--- i wish i could find it again!