Ira Schwartz on “The Gadachrili Gora Regional Archaeological Survey (GGRAS)”

The Gadachrili Gora Regional Archaeological Survey (GGRAS): Predictive Modelling and Survey of Neolithic and

Chalcolithic sites in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia

By Ira Schwartz, University of Toronto

September 28, 2022 at 5:00-6:15 PM Tbilisi Time (9:00 AM EDT) 

GGRAS is a collaborative project between the University of Toronto and the Georgian National Museum that seeks to explore changing settlement patterns across the prehistoric landscape of the Marneuli and Gardabani plains in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia using a mix of remote sensing and pedestrian survey. The project is also currently developing a predictive model that integrates topographical, geological, hydrological, and pedological data with known site locations to help identify new Neolithic and Chalcolithic site locations in the region. This talk will discuss the methods employed by GGRAS over the past two seasons, present some of the interesting finds from these surveys, and discuss our hopes and plans for future seasons.

Ira Schwartz, recipient of the ARISC Graduate Fellowship, is a PhD candidate in the Anthropology Department at the University of Toronto. His research interests center on pottery making communities of practice in the past and how these can be informative of social boundaries and identity formation. He is particularly interested in the Chalcolithic periods of the South Caucasus, the Southern Levant, and Mesopotamia.

This talk is organized as a part of ARISC Online Event Series that showcase the work of ARISC fellows. ARISC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran.