Scholars from Britain, US, Denmark and
Armenia led by Professor Levon Yepiskoposyan have been examining
prehistoric caves near the village of Azokh in Artsakh (Mountainous
Karabagh) and found unique artifacts from different periods, among them a
tooth from a human who lived 7000 years ago. Due to the cave’s climate,
DNA was preserved inside the tooth and was send to Copenhagen
University’s (Denmark) genetics department for examination. The
results of this inquiry have revealed that the genetic makeup of the
tooth belonging to an individual 7000 years ago perfectly matches with
the genetic makeup of modern Armenians.
The caves near the village of Azokh are unique sites that have
preserved organic traces from various periods of our history. Since the
excavations at Azokh started in 2002, the team led by Dr. Tania King
(Blanford Museum, UK) has uncovered hundreds, if not thousands, of bones
of the giant and now extinct cave bear (Ursus speleaus). In addition to
countless remains of mammals archaeologists have now found evidence for
three different species of hominid – Homo heidelbergensis, Homo
neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens. The fossil records are exceptionally
rich and demonstrate that paleonthological data alone from Alexan Uze
cave could define the cave as a regionally important scientific
discovery. The book Azokh Cave and the Transcaucasian Corridor (2016) provides more information about the cave.
The human tooth was discovered in the Alexan Uzes, cave which
preserved human DNA. Referring to this cave, Yepiskoposyan added: “Here we found a tooth of a human who lived on the territory of
Karabakh, about seven thousand years ago. DNA can be preserved in teeth
for very long periods of time, as we know.”
“As a result, it was found that the genes of our distant ancestors correspond with those of modern Armenians,” he continued.
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