BRONZE STATUETTES OF BEARS COMING FROM THE COLCHIS HIGHLANDS

Abstract

The creation of bear figurines within the cultures of Colchis during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages remains undocumented. Similarly, the artistic artifacts from the Late Bronze Age of Colchis include engraved representations of various
animals, with bears being noticeably absent. However, a noteworthy exception is the bronze statuettes found in the mountains of Colchis, unearthed through archaeological digs and by chance, which could contribute to the conversation surrounding
this topic.
Turning to later periods, bear figurines from the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age (Brili burial, Abari, Ghari, Azanta) may relate to an unexplored local religious practice. To explore this, we should review Georgian ethnographic traditions, myths, and folklore. In the Caucasus, the brown bear inhabits dense forests with ample plant resources. This may explain why a cult honoring the animal existed in the region.
Comparable small bronze sculptural artefacts are not found elsewhere in Colchis. Per the Kosnierska collection, such artefacts are typical of Digoria’s Late Bronze Age culture (mountainous North Ossetia). Specially arranged cave bear skulls in Tetra and Upper Tsutskhvati Caves, dating to the Mousterian period, may indicate a bear cult in the area.
Placing the local evidence in a broader context, the bear cult was found worldwide, including Scandinavia, the Koli Peninsula, northeastern Europe, the Siberian taiga, the Amur region, Switzerland, and the taiga of North America. It was especially popular in Eastern Europe during the Scythian period. Furthermore, it existed among the North Caucasian peoples (Ossetians, Circassians, Chechens, Ingush) since ancient times. The bear cult also appears in Armenia from the Early Iron Age and Classical Age.
Based on the available data, we must assume that the bear cult in the mountains of Colchis arose in the Stone Age, well before the bronze statuettes found in the mountainous Racha. For this, there were favorable natural conditions, such as dense forests and abundant plant food. The same can be said of the miniature statue of a bear found on the Azanta Plain. Unfortunately, we do not have more precise data based on archaeological materials at this stage.