Armenian Highlands: the birth place of civilization

[Armenian]

Ararat, the Cradle of Civilization?

The Sumerians, an ancient peoples and one of the first civilizations in the world called Ararat, Arrata. In their great epic poems of Gilgamesh and Arrata, they tell of the land of their ancestors, the Arratans in the Highlands of Armenia. The Sumerians also in the epic poems describe the Great Flood and the rebirth of life after the terrible deluge that fell from the Highlands of Armenia unto the lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent. The Sumerians had a very close connection with the ancestral Land of Ararat and considered it as their ancestral homeland (many historians and archaeologists are convinced that the Sumerians initially lived in Northern Mesopotamia and Armenian Highland).The Greeks believed that the people who first worked with bronze and iron came from the same area, they called them Khaldi.

"The great majority of the cultivated plants of the world trace their origin to Asia. Out of 640 important cultivated plants, about 500 originated in Southern Asia. In Asia alone we have established five of the principle regions of cultivated plants.... The fifth region of origin in Asia is the Southwestern Asiatic centre and includes Asia Minor, Trans-Caucasia, Iran and Western Turkmenistan. This region is remarkable, first of all, for its richness in numbers of species of wheat resistant to different diseases...There is no doubt that Armenia is the chief home of cultivated wheat. Asia Minor and Trans-Caucasia gave origin to rye which is represented here by a great number of varieties and species....

Our studies show definitely that Asia is not only the home of the majority of modern cultivated plants, but also of our chief domesticated animals such as the cow, the yak, the buffalo, sheep, goat, horse, and pig...The chief home of the cow and other cattle, the Oriental type of horse, the goat and the sheep is specifically Iran....

As the result of a brilliant work of Dr. Sinskaya, the discovery was recently made that the home of alfalfa, the world's most important forage crop, is located in Trans-Caucasia and Iran....

From all these definitely established facts the importance of Asia as the primary home of the greatest majority of cultivated plants and domesticated animals is quite clear."

The above quotes from the book by Vavilov, N. , "Asia: Source of Species" in Asia, February 1937, p. 113, indicate a long held belief by many that cradle of civilization was in the hills of Armenia. Also the location of the Garden of Eden and the location of the flood and the landing place of the Ark of Noah!

More recent studies conducted by Melinda A Zeder and Brian Hesse (Science 287 (2000) 2254-57) place the initial domestication of goats to the Zargos Mountains at about 10,000 years ago. And Manfred Heun's (Science 278 (1997) 1312-14) studies indicate that large scale wheat cultivation began from 8,000 to 9,000 years ago near the Karacadag Mountains. Both areas are very near where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers come close together.

"The cradle of agriculture generally has been placed in the Jordan Valley of the southern Levant (today's Israel and Jordan). But work by Simcha Lev-Yadun of Israel's Agricultural Research Organization and colleagues suggest the first farms may have been farther north, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is today northeastern Turkey and northern Syria.
Wild progenitors of the main Neolithic founder crops (einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, barley, lentil, pea, chickpea, bitter vetch, and flax) are found together only in this small core area of the Fertile Crescent.

Lev-Yadun reports that wild chickpea especially is extremely rare, yet it was a staple crop of Neolithic life 10,000 years ago. Agriculture, therefore, probably began in an area where chickpea is native. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest known farming settlements of the Fertile Crescent were in this core area. Also, the limited genetic variability of these crops implies that they were domesticated only once — rather than by several different cultures at roughly the same time. Evidence of domesticated crops in the core area dates to about 10,000 years ago, while the earliest signs of farming elsewhere are about 9,300 years ago.

Neolithic sites discovered in the core area indicate that a society with plenty of food thrived there. In sites such as Cayonu, Novali Cori, and Gobekli Tepe, impressive architecture, images, and artifacts have been found. Settlement sites are also larger in this area than many others of the same time in other parts of the Fertile Crescent. .." (From "The Cradle of Agriculture? New Evidence Moves the World's First Farmers into Turkey" by Reagan Duplisea, http://www.discoveringarchaeology.com/ articles/ 060100-turkeyfarm.shtml)

The emphasized areas of the above quote are indicators that this part of the Fertile Crescent was settled and developed first, consistent with the Genesis record.

[...]

Source: http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/ararat.html

[Armenian]

ARMENIAN FOLK LORE - HAIK NAHAPET

According to the chronicles, Haik was the grandson of Japheth, himself grandson of Noah. "After the Flood, Noah's sons Japheth, Shem and Ham settled in the Ararat region and increased there. Then Shem took his sons and went northwest in search of a new place of settlement. Coming to a plain in the high mountains, he stopped by a river and named the mountain Sim after his own name. He gave this region to his youngest son Tarpan (note similarity to the Armenian word "Tapan", meaning 'ark'). He continued his march in the southeastern direction and gave the regions there to his other children. Tarpan remained with his sons and daughters in the region given to him by his father and called it Taron and later Taruperan after his own name. His children settled in this area and Ham's and Japheth's sons spread out to the various regions of the Armenian Plateau. They spoke the same dialect of the same language. From Japheth sprang Gomer and from Gomer sprang from Torgom, and from Askenaz and Torgom Haik was born.

At the age of 130, Haik went to Sendjar, and worked on the building of the Tower of Babel. After the Tower of Babel collapsed, Haik, famous for his handsome appearance, curly hair, ken sight, mighty arms and skill in archery, dominated both the giants and the heroes, and subdued those who defied him. In the chaos that reigned, men threatened men, ready to plunge their swords into the bosoms of their own friends, all each tried to conquer the rest. After the dispersion of the human race over the face of the world, the mighty Haik, famed for his courage and audacity, defied Bel and his tyranny. Fate was on Bel's side though, he conquered the world. He subdued the mighty and proclaimed himself a god, ordering all to worship him.

Bel was the ruler of the realm, but Haik refused to submit to him. In this realm his sons Armenak, Manavaz, Hor and others were born, and his family grew larger and larger. Since he did not accept Bel's sovereignty, he left for Ararat in the North with his three hundred sons, grandsons and a retinue of his ablest men. There he found people of his nation, who, being the victims of God's wrath at Babel, had migrated and spoke the language of Noah.

Haik lived in the lands he took and gave them to Armenak's son Kadmos and went to the northwest with his retinue. In a high, mountainous region which he named "Haik", he had a city built called Haikashen, or the city built by Haik.

Bel, being displeased by Haik's migration, sent one of his sons in the company of most trustworthy men to order him to come back, saying, "You have settled in icy lands. Temper the harshness of your proud nature, submit to me and live comfortably in the place of your desire." But Haik, belittling the messengers, sent them back to Babylon. Upon this, collecting his forces, Bel marched northwards and reached the land of Ararat not far from where Kadmos dwelt. Kadmos fled, sending a message to Haik:
"Oh the greatest of heroes! Bel and his immortal warriors, heroes and giants are coming upon you like a torrent. I fled when I heard that they had entered my realm. With speed I am coming to you. Decide what is to be done."

Bel and his army of mighty soldiers, like a torrent tearing down a mountain stream entered Haik's domain. Bel had faith in the courage of his soldiers. Haik, this curly-haired, keen-sighted, cautious and calm mighty man, collected his sons, grandsons and most able men, skilled archers, warlike and valiant, but few in number. He came to the shores of a lake, whose salty water fed its fish. He lined them up and said "We must be fast and reach the land surrounded by Bel's heroes and strike them there. If we die, all that we have will be theirs, but if we defeat them by the strength of our own arms, then the victory will be ours.

Haik's words spurred on his men, and going forth with great speed they covered great distances. They came to a plain situated between very great mountains and climbed a hill to the right of the river. Both armies were at the mountains flanking the valley. From there they saw Bel's army attacking with terrible violence. Bel, at ease and sure of himself amongst his men, stood on a high spot as if on a lookout on the left side of the river. Bel was wearing an iron helmet the plumes of which blew in the wind and iron armor protecting his chest and back, and covering his hips and arms. On his left a sharp sword hung from his belt, and he carried a fine lance in his right hand and a shield in his left. On his side chosen soldiers stood.

When Haik saw Bel thus equipped and surrounded by his soldiers, he put his son Armenak with his two brothers on his right, and Kadmos with two of his sons on his left, all of them famed archers and swordsmen. He himself took position in the front, and the soldiers who followed took a triangular formation.

The battle began. The collision of the mighty, their terrifying roar, the brutality and violence of the attacks, spread horror all around. On both sides the mighty fell. But it was too early to know the outcome of the battle.

When Bel saw this sudden and dangerous resistance, he climbed back on the hill from which he had stood and waited for his forces to gather and attack again from all sides. Haik saw that this was so, and he, the mighty and skilled archer that he was, stood opposite Bel, he stretched his bow and shot a three feathered arrow at his heart. The arrow pierced the iron and passed through Bel's chest, and thus the vain Bel was felled and gave his last breath.

When Bel's army saw this frightful sight, it retreated without looking back. Haik named this battlefield Haiyotsdzor (the valley of Hai), and the spot where Bel fell Gerezman (the Grave). The battle had taken place on the banks of Lake Van. Haik had Bel's body dyed with many colors, and hung from a high place so his wives and children could see it.

Haik returned to his native land. He bestowed the spoils on Kadmos and the bravest of his followers. Haik remained in his land, and lived many years and died at the age of 400, leaving the rule of the country and his nation to Armenak.

Historically Bel was the Babylonian King Nemruth. Discovery of boundary stones and Babylonian writings during the time of Nemruth’s reign confirm the battle and Nemruth’s death as described in the legend. The main style Armenian calendar (old Armenian calendar) begins with the year that the battle took place. The use of Bel in the myth is for a reason: Bel was the Babylonian equivalent to Khronos in Greek, and Saturn in Roman Deities. His death is a symbolic representation of the end of the old rule, and beginning of a new pantheon of rulers. This may be why Haik is considered a god in some versions of the story. Just as Khronos was deposed by Zeus, Haik (curiously the favorite of Bel, who promises him the entire world if he will only submit), overthrows the last vestige of the world before the Babel.

Other legends of Haik are considered forerunners to Greek tales about Hercules

Source: http://www.tacentral.com/mythology.asp?story_no=6

Additional information about Haik:

http://www.armenianhighland.com/kings/chronicle570.html

http://www.armenianhistory.info/origins.htm

[Armenian]

A link between Urartu and Bolivia?

A suspected link exists between Ur as in the Uru people (which means People of the Dawn) of the Bolivian Altiplano and Lake Uru Uru; and Ur as in the city of that name and early peoples of the Near East Mesopotamian region, presently Iraq.

Heyerdahl quotes the early Sumerians coming from Dilmun which he identifies with the island of Bahrein. Another Dilmun exists near Mt Ararat and Lake Van on the shores of Lake Urumia in present day Iran near the border with Turkey. It was near here that the fossilised remains of a possible giant reed ship 500 ft in length were found, suggesting that this was indeed Noah’s Ark. Since this region is several thousand feet above sea-level, an alternative to the flood theory might be that the reed ships were built locally and used on either Lake Van or Lake Urumia.

There are many similarities between the people and region of Urartu (Armenia) and the people and region of the Altiplano. An extract is given below of details of the Urartu region and these similarities will be familiar to those who know the Uru and Chipaya regions of the Altiplano.

From The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilisations, Urartu and Armenia


"Urartu is the Assyrian name for the Armenian province and lofty mountain which we call Ararat"……… "there existed a flourishing Bronze Age civilisation on the territory of present –day Armenia from about 3,000BC onwards – long before the Urartians or the Armenians appeared in history…….

The core of both Urartu and ancient Armenia takes in the Lake Van area, the middle Araxes valley, and also the mighty double peak of Mount Ararat and the upper reaches of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates…. Most of the area is high plateau or table land, cut up by enormous mountains, many being extinct volcanoes more than 10,000 ft high……Parts of Armenia, notably the Araxes valley and the Van region, are incredibly beautiful and fertile. This gives some encouragement to the view that Armenia was the site of the biblical Garden of Eden. Certainly it can be said that the story of Noah’s ark landing on Mount Ararat has some historical justification of a symbolic kind, since a number of animals, birds, and useful plants, including the vine, developed from species still extant in Armenia and the Caucasus……..Much of the highland zone of Armenia is virtually uninhabitable, except by nomad shepherds seeking summer pasture for their flocks and herds. This windswept region, mostly over 5,000ft above sea level, has a harsh climate, and snow lies there for seven or eight months of the year. The findings of archaeology indicate that the climate was milder and moister in ancient times. …….The country is often shaken by destructive earthquakes. The subsoil is rich in metals and minerals, including gold, silver, copper and iron, and there are important salt mines. There are large supplies of a hard volcanic rock called obsidian, formed from dark vitreous lava, and much used by Stone Age man for making implements.

A notable geographic feature in northeastern Armenia is the enormous alpine Lake Sevan (Lake Van) surrounded by a ring of mountains and lying some 6,000ft above sea level. ……Colossal irrigation works and fortifications bear witness to the power and resources of the Urartian rulers, who assumed the title ‘king of kings’…….The local inhabitants dwelt in beehive-shaped houses and sometimes the dwellings were rectangular in ground plan……the local people benefited from extensive public works (particularly irrigation)….the Urartians were small in stature…..besides gold and silver, Urartu possessed rich deposits of iron, copper and tin…..around 400 BC they lived in partly subterranean houses cleverly designed to exclude the winter frost and snow………From the early Bronze Age onwards, the inhabitants of the Armenian lands placed themselves at the forefront of ancient technological development, notably in the fields of ceramics and metallurgy….The burnished pottery is decorated with imaginative motifs in the form of spirals and other geometric designs…The Urartians were expert at carving large blocks of stone which could be fitted neatly together, even without the use of mortar."…………………..

Source: http://www.geocities.com/myessays/UrartuLakeVan.htm

[Armenian]

ARMENIA'S GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO BYZANTIUM

There were 20 Byzantine Emperors of Armenian origin:

1. Morick Oshakanatsi (Mavrikiy) 582-602.
2. Vardan Pikick 711-713.
3. Artavazd - 742-743.
4. Levon (Lion the V) Artsruni - 813-830.
5. Barseg Arsha - kuni (Vasil the I - the founder of armenian Makedonian dinasty) - 867-886.
6. Levon Arshakuni (Lion the VI, philosopher) 886-912.
7. Alexander 912-913.
8. Kons tandin the VII Bagrianorodny 913-959.
9. Romanos Vashtakian (Roman the I) 919-949. Ruled with Konstandin the VII Bagrianororodny).
10. Romanos the II - 959-963.
11. Nikiphor the II Phoka (the Great) - 963-969.
12. Hovanes Chimishk (Ioan Tsimiskhy) 969-976.
13. Vasily the II Bulgaroboyts 976-1025.
14. Konstandin the VIII - 1025-1028.
15. Roman the III 1028-1034.
16. Mikhael Paflagon (Mikhael the IV) - 1034 1041.
17. Mikhael Kalapat (Mikhael the V) - 1041-1042.
18. Konstandin the IX Monomakh - 1042-1054.
19. Teodora the II (Phedora the II) empress - 1054-1056.
20. Mikhael Stratiotik (Mikhael the II) - 1056-1057.

...that among Byzantian military leaders more than eighty were armenians and among them: Sittas (528), Buz (538), Balisarios (545), Nerses (555) Vardan Mamikonian (571), Smbat Bagratouny (582), Atat Khorkhrouny (601), Vardan Pilick (711), Vasack Patrik (741), Musheg Alex (792), Arshavir Patrik (807., Manuel Mamikonian ("Byzantian Ahiless" 830.), Hobgan Kurkuas (941., conquered 1000 cities and was called "the Greatest"), Mlag (Melios), the "Great" (went down in byzantian epos "Diogonis - Akritas" (934), Vard Skleros (976), Vard Pokas (987), Magistros Bagratouny (990), Grigor Taronatsy (996), Nikapor Tsrviz (1022), Levon - Tornick Bagratouny (1047), and others.

...that from 837 till 843 the patriarck of Konstantinopulus was the famous armenian scientist Hoivanes Karahan (loan Grammatick).

...that the founder of an ancientslatinopolsky university of Magnavr was Levon, the great mathematician and astronomer of the IV century, Hovanes Karahan`s niece.

...that the creators of the ancientslavonic alphabet Kirill ( Konstandin ) and Mephody were the sons of Levon and the pupils of Hovanes Karahan in the University of Magnavr. They created the alphabet which consisted of 36 letters, as in armenian one, by Mesrob Mashtots, but not of 24 letters as in Greek one.

... that the sister of Vasily the II Bulgaroboyts Anna, in 988, married Kiev prince Vladimir Sviatoslav, on condition that he and the whole Kiev Russia adopts christianity. Russia was baptized by Armenian priests.

...that the patriarchs of Byzantine church, in different years, were armenian churchmen: Melitos (360), Apgtikos (406-427), Isaak (625-643), Hovanes Karahan (837-843), Stepanos (888), Teopilintos (931-1057), Bagrat (Pankratios) (9th c.).

... that Kiev was founded by the armenian prince Smbat Bagratouny in 585, and was named originally - Smbatos.

...that the mother of Vladimir Monomakh (1053-1125) Mariam (Maria) was the daughter of the emperor of armenian origin Konstandin the IX Monomakh (1042- 1054). From him Vladimir inherited the nickname "Monomakh". Mariam was married with Vsevolod, the son of Yaroslav Mudry (the Wise) - the Great prince of Kiev Russia - the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the Great prince Yuri Dolgorouky (1096- 1157) the founder of Moscow (1147) - is mentioned in the russian chronicles as "Grugy" or "Kriuk", that is to say George. The church of George was built in Vladimir, in his honour (1158-1164). The grandchild of Yury Dolgorouky and the husband of the queen of Georgia Tamar - was named George.

... the lion was represented on the emblem of armenian prince family of Dolgorouky - Argutinsky, as on the emblem of Bagratouny dynasty in Armenia, which was in family ties with it. This lion was represented also on the emblem of Yury Dolgoruky.
- the icon St. George in Moscow (12)- the patron of Yury Dolgoruky - represents the Great prince itself.
- the armenian historian Zenon Glack (5-6 cc, by Marr, 7-8) in "The history of Taron", writes about Kuar (Kie), Sheke (Meltey) and Chorean : "Kuar built the city of Kuar and it was named Kuar after him. And Meltey built its city on that field and named it Meltey (Shekovitsa). And Chorean built its own city in the district of Paluni and named it Khorean (Korevan).

Smbatas was founded on the mountain of Zamk (Kiselevka), soon near it "gradok Kiev" appeared on the mountain of Andreev, which was founded by Kie (on the place of Kiev historical Museum). Thus near Smbatas city situated on the Zamk mountain appeared three cities - Kiev, Shekovitsa and Korevitsa. According to Byzantine emperor of armenian origin, Konstandin Bagrianorodny (948) "Russ are going downstream the Dnepr and are gathering in the Kiev fortress, called Smbatas".

There were cities with armenian names: Armen (Romen), Artan, Artavet. They surrounded Kiev. In the arabian source of the 9-11 cc. "Huddud- al - aalem", is said that precious bladed for swords and swords, which can be bended, were produced in the city of Artavet. Artavet specialists so firmly kept the secrets of producing their weapon, that killed all foreighners,when they reached the city (Roden on the Dnepr).

Yury Dolgorouky, for the first time, gave the name of Moscow in March, 1142. "Come to my place, in Moscow, my brother", this armenian pronounciation (transcription) of Moscow reached to ourdays. The russian chronicler informes: "arrange the dinner party by Giurgy's will...". "Giurgy" - "Kiurk" - this is the form of name "Yury Dolgorouky" in the russian chronicles.

V.N. Tatishev describes Yury Dolgorouky, according to kiev sources, in this way: "This great prince was tall and stout with white face and small eyes, with long and curve nose, with short beard. He was the great lover of women, sweets and drinks. In a word, the powerfull founder and ruler of Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslav, Rostov - Dmitrov and the other cities, wasn't deprived of courage".

In the capital Vladimir, the city of Yury Dolgorouky, after his death in 1157, the church of George was built in his honour in 1158 - 1164. And the famous "Golden gates" of Vladimir led to it.

Source: http://www.arminco.com/hayknet/cult-e.htm

[Armenian]

Armenian Influences upon Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097–1192

Osprey Publishing - military history books

An extract from ‘Design and Development’

In the 19th and early-20th centuries, historians of the Crusades believed that Crusader military architecture was most strongly influenced by that of the Byzantine Empire. Shortly before World War I, a student from Oxford University conducted field research in the Asiatic provinces of the Ottoman Empire: he then returned to write a thesis in which he argued that the designers of Crusader castles largely based their ideas upon what was currently being built in Western Europe. This student’s name was T.E. Lawrence, soon to be better known as Lawrence of Arabia. His thesis eventually influenced the next generation of historians of Crusader architecture, but neither they nor Lawrence seriously considered the influence of Islamic traditions of fortification. This idea developed more recently and today it is widely accepted that the military architecture of the Crusader States reflected a broad array of influences, in addition to the inventiveness of those who actually designed it.

The late Nikita Elisséeff, who worked for much of his life in Damascus, maintained that Byzantine forms of military architecture in northern Syria were soon added to the Western European design concepts of the early Crusaders. Within a few decades these newcomers were also learning from their Muslim neighbours, especially in making greater use of topographical features to strengthen a fortified site. More recently the Israeli scholar Ronnie Ellenblum highlighted the fact that Crusader castles were built to deal with specific military situations or threats, and that their designers drew upon what seemed most suitable in the circumstances.

In the early-12th century, each of the newly established Crusader states found itself in a different situation. The Principality of Antioch, for example, was adjacent to the Armenian states of Cilicia, which evolved into the Kingdom of Cilician or Lesser Armenia. Here fortifications ranged from tiny hilltop outposts to major garrison fortresses, while Armenian architects favoured half-round towers that protruded from a curtain-wall far enough to permit archers to enfilade the enemy. Such design ideas influenced castle building in the Principality of Antioch. Furthermore Antioch attracted few Western European settlers and hence relied to a greater extent on military elites of Armenian, Greek and Syrian origin who may also have influenced the design of local fortifications. The mountainous character of the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli clearly encouraged experimental and daring design ideas, though the castles themselves ranged from very simple, almost rustic structures to huge hilltop fortresses. Meanwhile building techniques ranged from a typically Byzantine use of small masonry an bricks within one structure, to mixtures of Byzantine, Armenian, Western European and soon also Syrian-Islamic methods of both cutting and shaping stones – each of which had their own distinctive. Sometimes variations in ways of mixing cement and mortar also reflected different cultural influences.

Crusader castle building quickly grew more sophisticated. For example the building of concentric castles first took place in the late-1160s, and although the idea had been around for some time, concentric castles certainly appeared in the Crusader States before they did in Western Europe. On the other hand, most early structures remained relatively small while the vast sums of money and effort expended on larger and more elaborate fortifications were characteristic of the 13th rather than the 12th century.

One ‘supposed’ characteristic of Crusader castles was a lack of timber in their construction, with this being attributed to a lack of suitable timber in the areas where they were built. However, abundant excellent timber was available in neighbouring Cilician Armenia. Although the deforestation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem may have been well advanced by the time of the Crusades, suitable large baulks of timber were available in the mountains of Lebanon and on Mount Carmel. The situation was better in the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch and the northern regions of the County of Edessa. Furthermore Western Europeans probably enjoyed a technological advantage over their Middle Eastern foes, not only in their tradition of timber architecture but in their logistical ability to transport large timbers over long distances...

Source: http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...d&view=extract

[sleuth]

you can keep pounding your jimmi hendrix deism.

His soul music makes your ears bleed,doesn't it?

PS: It's JIMI and he has nothing to do with Pythagoras

[Armenian]

BIBLICAL RESEARCH BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

"The great majority of the cultivated plants of the world trace their origin to Asia. Out of 640 important cultivated plants, about 500 originated in Southern Asia. In Asia alone we have established five of the principle regions of cultivated plants.... The fifth region of origin in Asia is the Southwestern Asiatic centre and includes Asia Minor, Trans-Caucasia, Iran and Western Turkmenistan. This region is remarkable, first of all, for its richness in numbers of species of wheat resistant to different diseases...There is no doubt that Armenia is the chief home of cultivated wheat. Asia Minor and Trans-Caucasia gave origin to rye which is represented here by a great number of varieties and species....

Source: http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/biblicalresearch.html


Wheat Domestication and Evolution:

I have been focusing on studies of origin and evolution of Triticum species. In collaboration with Dr. J. Dvorak and other colleagues, RFLPs, SSRs and DNA sequencing have been employed in studies of domestication of emmer and evolution of almost of all the wheat species, including some special forms of cultivated species. Our results showed that T. aestivum originated in Transcaucasia, most likely in Armenia from hybridization between a tetraploid wheat and Ae. tauschii. It is generally believed that the tetraploid parent was cultivated emmer (T. turgidum ssp. dicoccum). Our results suggest a provocative possibility that the A and B genome genepool of T. aestivum was modified by hybridization of T. aestivum with wild emmer. The geographic distribution of the diagnostic alleles in the T. aestivum genepool suggests that this hybridization occurred in Turkey.

Source: http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu/mcluo/interest.htm

Evolution of Cultivated Wheat and Barley in Armenia According to the Archaeological Material

P.A. Gandilyan

Department of Biology, Armenian Agricultural Academy. 74 Terian Street, Yerevan, Armenia

Geographically, the territory of the Republic of Armenia is a part of a spacious region, conventionally called the Armenian Upland. Armenia was the place of origin of the ancient Armenian nation that encompassed the whole upland. The Armenian Upland is an integral part of the Western Asiatic region which is widely known as one of the primary foci of civilized culture. It is known that primitive communities were established predominantly in areas rich in biodiversity of vegetation including a wide range of edible plants. There is strong evidence to suggest that wheat (Triticum L.) and barley (Hordeum L.) have been cultivated in Armenia since ancient times. Many scientists assume that the place of wild plant domestication and the conversion to cultivated forms must lie within the area of the plant's natural habitat.

Wheat/barley crop mixtures were grown in Armenia, though the relatively "pure" plantings of wheat and barley were found only during a certain period of history. Both wheat and barley forms with small and round grains prevailed in more ancient samples. Later, the oblong forms appeared and very gradually began to dominate over other forms. This process was connected with the change to a drier climate and genetic changes. Bakhteyev named the "bottle-shaped" barley in Armenia Hordeum lagunculiformae. Tumanyan had also found such forms in archeobotanical material and named the round-grained forms as H. antiquorum sphaerococcum and forms with oblongBelliptical kernels as H. urartu. These forms have not been cultivated for a long time, but they can still be found under wild conditions.

The possible origins of "speltoid" tetraploid wheats in the wild and their domestication is assumed as follows: AA DD = AD, followed by increase of the chromosome number = AADD. They disappeared in the wild because of shattering of the spikes which prevented self-fertilization. The theory that barley of the Bronze Age was awnless is argued. Ears with well-developed awns have also been found. It is necessary to investigate thoroughly and to conserve the Armenian archaeobotanical material in genebanks for study and more precise taxonomic identification.

Source: http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu/symposium/ABSBOOK.htm

[garegin]

you can keep pounding your jimmi hendrix deism.

[sleuth]

Moreover, get this through your thick head - Christianity is, in essence, a non-Hebraic "pagan" faith system - theologically, philosophically and ethically. When I meet little children like you I always tell them to learn about Pythagoras, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism and Buddha in order to better understand Christianity and better appreciate Christ.

*The whole conception of an eternal world, revealed to the intellect but not to the sense* (Pythagoras)

And PLATO'S theory of creation:

*Good God who created an eternal world by turning disorder into order. God put intelligence into the soul, and the soul into man. However, real knowledge could not be gained through the senses* based on Pythagorean belifes.

Armenian you are very well informed

Great contribution.Thank you

[garegin]

my keyboard empoys an intel procesor that was made during the manhatten project.