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Ancient History

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The Geography of Georgia

Abstract

Georgia is an ancient country with a rich cultural heritage rooted in the peculiarities of the natural environment of the Caucasus, epitomized by the colorful mosaic of landscapes, diversity of climatic conditions, and provision of food, water and mineral resources. These encouraged the formation of multiple habitable places for ancient man who migrated from East Africa as far back as the end of the Pliocene Era. Through tens of centuries, Georgia has witnessed close interaction between man and nature, culminating in rich culture and conflict. Before man inhabited the natural landscape, vegetation and beasts were regulated by natural processes, but human habitation changed all that and started to significantly impact the natural balance of the ecosystem. The interaction was evolutionary, depending on human exploitation. For example, when man became busy in husbandry, he fundamentally began changing the natural landscape. This chapter provides a glimpse of Georgia’s ancient history and its evolution.

Everywhere, where nature forced people to do a step onward to survive, sooner or later they did it, but where the need did not arise, people went on living the way they did getting the good things of life.A. Anuchin

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Correspondence to Igor V. Bondyrev .

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Bondyrev, I., Davitashvili, Z., Singh, V. (2015). Ancient History. In: The Geography of Georgia. World Regional Geography Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05413-1_2

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