Early Holocene Occupation of the Kintrishi River Valley: Insights from Recent Archaeological Discoveries and Interdisciplinary Investigations

According to recent research, the settlement of the Black Sea coastal zone of Ajara began approximately 11,000 years ago, marked by the appearance of one of the earliest hunter-gatherer communities in the areas of modern-day Kobuleti and Khutsubani villages. With the onset of the Holocene, it appears that humans actively began to inhabit previously unoccupied territories, favoring locations near rivers. It is likely that the selection of these sites was influenced by strategic considerations. All types of settlements were located on natural elevations—hills rising 50–60 meters above the Kintrishi river level. Since 2019, the in-depth study of prehistoric archaeological sites in the region has involved the application of modern methodologies, primarily based on interdisciplinary collaboration with the natural and technical sciences. This integrated approach has enabled the reconstruction of the climatic environment, subsistence strategies, lithic technology, and long-distance connections—particularly with obsidian-rich regions—of the prehistoric communities of Kobuleti and Khutsubani. It has also helped determine the chronology of the settlement occupation and its functional dynamics. Thus, based on recent archaeological discoveries and interdisciplinary investigations, this study offers a comprehensive overview of the Kintrishi Valley during the Early Holocene (10th–7th millennia BCE).