This chapter briefly surveys the history of research into human settlement in the Caucasus region and outlines the book’s theses. In doing so, it acknowledges the long-standing interest in the unique languages and topography of the Caucasus region. It also surveys Caucasus research before and after the fall of the Soviet Union. It further charts the impact of anthropological genetics on our understanding of human evolutionary history; and introduces the unanswered questions about Caucasus population history.

This chapter summarizes the detals of the preceding eight chapters, emphasizing the key role of Caucasus in human (hominin) settlement of Western Eurasia and the connection of the Caucasus to (prehistoric) world events. It also offers some final thoughts about the nature of demographic transitions in prehistory.

This chapter reviews anthropological genetic inquiries into the population dynamics in the Caucasus. Genetic and genomic methods are introduced along with the problems of identifying specific regions of origins for genetic populations. Also discussed are the general genetic characteristics of the Caucasus and neigboring areas of the Near East and steppe; gene-language-geography studies; genetic affinities between Maikop kurgan burials and contemporary South Caucasus peoples; the phylogeography of maternal and paternal lineages in the Caucasus and western Asia; revelations about Caucasus prehistory derived from ancient genomics; the putative connection between the spread of farming, Indo-European languages, and Y-chromosome lineages; the timing of the split between Caucasus and European hunter-gatherer groups; and questions as to the role of Caucasus hunter-gatherers in the peopling of continental Europe.

This chapter discusses the Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition in the North Caucasus; charts the appearance of Neolithic sites and geographic-cultural divisions during the Middle Neolithic of the Caucasus; and evaluates the Shulaveri-Shomu Culture and Sioni Culture.

This chapter introduces the Caucasus as a geographic entity and its placement relative to the Greater and the Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges. It discusses the impact of the region’s terrain on human settlement and community isolation; the tectonic-geophysical formation of the Caucasus Mountains; the diverse physical environments of the Caucasus region; the region as a frontier zone and biogeographic barrier; early hominoid presence in the Caucasus; the history of glaciation and the possibility for population refugia throughout the Last Glacial Maximum, and the Manych-Kerch Spillway.

This chapter discusses the first anatomically modern humans in the Caucasus (~40,000 YBP); Early Upper Paleolithic sites; the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition; local Aurignacian industries; population dynamics during the Last Glacial Maximum; the Epipaleolithic of the Caucasus; early food production at Chokh; Upper Paleolithic to Neolithic cultural continuity; and the transition to food production.

This chapter outlines the geography and taxonomy of language use in the Caucasus region, highlighting notions such as the incompatibility of linguistic and genetic data. It discusses the regional specificity of Caucasus languages and the concept of Sprachbund, and the possibility of a source for Caucasian languages outside the region. It further examines putative connections between Kartvelian and Anatolia and Armenian with the steppe, and reviews the impact on Turkic- and Indo-European-speakers on populations of the Caucasus.

This chapter presents solicited feedback from established Caucasus scholars on their ideas for further research priorities.

This chapter covers the shift in metal procurement sites from the Carpatho-Balkans to the Caucasus during the Eneolithic of Europe, and the apparent demographic changes that resulted; the relationship to the Kura-Araxes phenomenon and the Khirbet-Kerak wares of Palestine; examines influences from the Near East and Anatolia on sites such as Leilatepe (Azerbaijan), Tekhuta (Armenia), Berikldeebi (Georgia), and Trialeti (Georgia); and describes the advent of steppe influences in the form of kurgan and wagon cultures.

This chapter reviews the faunal and paleobotanical characteristics of the Pleistocene Caucasus and their appeal to Miocene apes; the significance of H. erectus georgicus for models of hominin dispersal out of Africa; possible routes for hominin movements across the Caucasus mountains; the Lower Paleolithic sites of Kurtan and Nor Geghi I; Acheulean tool assemblages; geographic-cultural divisions during the Middle Paleolithic of the Caucasus; and local Mousterian industries.