ABKHAZIA AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE BRONZE-EARLY IRON AGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CULTURES OF COLCHIS
Keywords:
Abkhazia, Colchis, Bronze–Early Iron Age, Proto-Colchian culture, Ochamchire culture, bronze metallurgyAbstract
The article examines Bronze and Early Iron Age archaeological sites discovered in the terri
tory of present-day Abkhazia (north-western Colchis) in relation to the Colchian cultural sphere.
The aim of the study was to systematize the archaeological data, on the basis of an analysis
of the published materials and of their distribution area, and to critically reassess the existing
concepts concerning the cultural and ethnic affiliation of these sites