What is "trialetian"

Trialetian is the name for an Upper Paleolithic- Epipaleolithic stone tool industry from the area south of the Caucasus Mountains and to the northern Zagros Mountains . It is tentatively dated to the period between 14,000 / 11,000 BCE and 6,000 BCE. The name of the archaeological culture derives from sites in the district of Trialeti in south Georgian Khrami river basin. These sites include Barmaksyzkaya and Edzani-Zurtaketi,. In Edzani, an Upper Paleolithic site, a significant percentage of the artifacts are made of obsidian.

The Caucasian- Anatolian area of Trialetian culture was adjacent to the Iraqi- Iranian Zarzian culture to the east and south as well as the Levantine Natufian to the southwest. Alan H. Simmons describes the culture as "very poorly documented". In contrast, recent excavations in the Valley of Qvirila river, to the north of the Trialetian region, display a Mesolithic culture. The subsistence of these groups were based on hunting Capra caucasica, wild boar and brown bear.