Archaeological site of Dmanisi

Dmanisi is a city and archaeological site located in the Mashavera River Valley, in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia, about 93 km southwest of the capital, Tbilisi. The city of Dmanisi was first mentioned in the 9th century, although the region was inhabited from the beginning of the Bronze Age. There, in the VI century, an Orthodox Christian cathedral was built - "Dmanisis Sioni". Located at the confluence of trade routes and cultural influences, Dmanisi was of particular importance, turning into a large trading center of medieval Georgia. Extensive archaeological research began in the area in 1936. In addition to a rich collection of ancient and medieval artifacts and ruins of various buildings and structures, unique remains of prehistoric animals and people have been discovered. Some animal bones were identified with the teeth of the extinct rhinoceros Dicerorhinus etruscus etruscus in 1983. This species dates back, presumably, to the early Pleistocene era. Using paleoproteomics methods, it was possible to establish that a rhinoceros from Dmanisi 1.77 million years old belongs to an earlier line with respect to related woolly rhinos (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and Merck rhinos (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis). On the territory of Dmanisi, during the period of the Upper and Lower Pliocene, the extinct ostrich species - Struthio dmanisensis - was inhabited.
The human home in the Caucasus dates back to ancient times. The earliest human (or hominin) fossils, originally named Homo georgicus and now considered Homo erectus georgicus, were discovered in Dmanisi from 1991 to 2005 and are the oldest found outside of Africa. They are now believed to be 1.8 million years old, a subspecies of Homo erectus, and not a separate species of homo. These fossils represent the earliest known human presence in the Caucasus. They are believed to represent the stage shortly after the transition from Australopithecus to Homo erectus.