POPULATION HISTORY OF THE CAUCASUS DURING THE NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF PALEOGENETICS
Aim. The purpose of this work is to determine the role of the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the population history of the Caucasus between the Paleolithic and Modernity. Methodology. Comparison of published data from literature sources obtained by different bioinformatics methods is the main approach. Results. The period during the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age was the second period of population rearrangements after the Late Paleolithic in the mountainous zone of the Caucasus. A model of the populations’ genesis in different areas and the connections with other regions has been created. Research implications. The ideas about genetic continuity in the Caucasus population history, their population homogeneity in the Bronze Age, and one-sided conduction from south to north are disputed by the author. The research postulates that real population heterogeneity and its connections with Upper Mesopotamia must be further studied. The arguments for existence of separate Kuban-Tersk culture and possibility of highlanders impact on the Lola culture population are presented.