Art or Utility? Exploring the Mystery of the Mghvimevi Petroglyphs

The Mghvimevi engravings, located in Georgia, are the most ancient rock art discovered in the South Caucasus, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. They were first discovered by archaeologist S. Zamyatnyn in 1934. However, misinterpretations in the scientific literature later led to the petroglyphs being considered lost or destroyed. In 2022, they were rediscovered by the authors of this blog.

Fieldwork campaigns were conducted at Mghvimevi in 2022 and 2023 to document the engravings and study them scientifically. In total, we have identified approximately 30 incisions, consisting of parallel and intersecting linear marks. The nature of these engravings has left us questioning whether they are deliberately produced art or are simply traces of ancient daily activities. Our experiment, funded by EXARC, aims to uncover the answer. 

In our experiment, several activities were carried out, including flintknapping, scraping, using rock fragments as cutting boards to process both soft and hard materials, and making deliberate incisions. The raw material (flint) was sourced from the nearby location in the Chiatura municipality and was knapped to produce various types of flakes for subsequent scraping and cutting activities.

In the initial stages, scraping experiments were conducted. Several rock fragments were collected from the Mghvimevi site, two of which were scraped using unidirectional and bidirectional movements of flint flakes. This process resulted in the formation of parallel and intersecting striations, as well as smooth surfaces on the rocks, making them suitable for use as cutting boards.

Deeper and more organized striations were produced during the cutting operations. In total, five experiments involved cutting meat and skin. Since meat is a softer material, the resulting traces were faint, whereas cutting skin produced clear and strong striations, which were easily visible to the naked eye.

For the deliberate incisions, various tools were used to determine which type of tool creates specific petroglyphs on the rock surface. We primarily used the sharp and blunt pointed ends of flakes, as well as the sharp non-retouched and retouched edges, applying both single and multiple strokes. In all the experimental petroglyphs, micro striations were detected along the edges of the grooves.

In conclusion, our experiment offers valuable insights into the nature and potential origins of the Mghvimevi petroglyphs. By comparing experimental utilitarian and non-utilitarian grooves with the original engravings, we identified many similarities. The research is ongoing, and the final results will be published in the EXARC Journal. We invite you to follow our progress and share your thoughts on the Mghvimevi petroglyphs as we continue to explore their fascinating history and significance.

Participants of the Experiment: Aleko Zavradashvili; Levan Losaberidze; Mariam Kokhreidze; Tatia Mamalashvili; Vladimer Kenkadze.