Maykop
Most important culture linking Vinca, Varna, Uruk, Susa and even the Oxus civilization.
In between the caucasian hunter gatherers CHG - EHG cline and the CHG - AF (Anatolian farmer) cline. Much mixing after 6500 BC early Volga ceramic (northern EHG beyond the steppe/forest border stay pure).
CHG or rather Iranian Farmers and Breeders crossed the Caucasus around 6000 BC, forming the Shulaveri-Shomu_culture
Radical cultural wave Volga 4850 BC (Samara II) - 4500 BC adopting copper from Sredni Stog / Balkans:
Khvalynsk biggest grave of the millennium, most copper, cattle sheep goats horses. very similar genetically (Q1a2 R1a1 R1b1a2 richest family, 77% male centered solidarity) to previous and later Yamnaya (however not identical; exact origin not yet found: probably around sea of Azov)
While iranian and caucasian copper kings where closely related, the yamnaya where a notably different people, but culturally strongly influenced by varna/maykop elites:
Extremely expansionist: four female(!?) related individuals 4000 km apart (Afanasievo) ! (5 generations)
On the other hand individuals in nearby kurgans were not closely related.
Yamnaya surprisingly homogeneous compared to previous genetically wide Volga cline
See main article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maykop_culture
According to genetic studies on ancient DNA published in 2018, the Maikop population came from the south, probably from western Georgia and Abkhazia, and was descended from the Eneolithic farmers who first colonized the north side of the Caucasus. Maykop is therefore the "ideal archaeological candidate for the founders of the Northwest Caucasian language family".
However it seems to be genetically not very PIE?
Majkop verfรผgen sowohl รผber eine ยซpalรคolithischeยป Haplogruppe (U8) als auch รผber ยซneolithischeยป Haplogruppen: V (ะะตะดะพะปัะถะบะพ u. a. 2014), T2, N1. Bei einem Objekt aus einem Grab bei der Staniza Novosvobodnaja fanden wir auch die Haplogruppe ะ52. Die gewonnenen Daten sprechen fรผr eine (auf dem Niveau der mitochondrialen DNA) mรถgliche genetische Gemeinschaft der archรคologischen Kulturen von Majkop und Novosvobodnaja.
As you can see these folks have ONLY 2.5% of R1b and up to 75.5% of G & J!
The presence of Indian-specific mtDNA haplogroup M52 is surprising.
https://eurogenes.blogspot.com/2018/11/big-deal-of-2018-yamnaya-not-related-to.html
ON the other hand:
https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_R1b_Y-DNA.shtml
the Caucasus was a hotspot for G2,J2,T1 and R1
The Steppe Maykop are one remarkable example of "two people one system": They were genetically closer to horse eating Botai (also breeders?) and Yamnaya, but most distinct from their cultural neighbors in the Caucasus Maykop, except for some admixture outliers (elite? strategic marriages? theft of women? ...)
One can postulate that Botai were close to proto turk/mongolian languages and the PIE branches received complex consonant clusters from Kartvelian languages.
Todo: analyze Svobodnoe Stedni-Stog contact zone
What did the Maykop poses that the (Eridu)Sumerians wanted so badly? Metals (copper, silver, gold, lead, arsenic bronzes) and precious stones, the caucasus mountains were rich in both. Finished products were imported back. We need to look at the corresponding professions: Explorers, miners, supervisor and above all smiths who were buried with their equipment and had a special role (todo: spiritual why?). The exchange with Mesopotamian traders occurred on the shores of the black sea, archeology suggests. The Zagros black sea route seams secondary, but there was a rare tin mine around Ray (Tehran). The northern tradition of hill graves quickly swell to enormous sizes given the vast buildup of riches and power.
Tin bronzes where first exploited in the taurus mountains though, making Syria and Turkey a constant hotspot throughout history. The Kura-Araxas cultures come back into lime light. They attacked northern euphrates cities around 3100BC leading to the collapse of the late Uruk trade network and the demise of Maykop.
10m high, 100m diameter kurgans
Head oriented towards south west: the rising sun
Burial chamber divided in 3 quarters: two northern chambers for women, one southern chamber for the king (inverted T shape, see cosmos model of the world). All deeply stained with red ocre, king with hollow silver tubes 1m long (staffs/poles), axes, adzes, many pots and two chisels. Golden and silver bulls attached to poles. 86 golden lions 19 golden bulls on tunic, Mesopotamian symbols of power. 60 breads of turquoise 1272 beads of carnelian 122 golden beads. Diadem of 5 rosettes with 5 petals each. Turquoise from Kurasan near Afghanistan, Lapis from close to the Indus valley! Back 4000 BC! Late Maykop contains much bronzer and oldest sword, cast axes of all kinds. One human molar sheathed in gold.