Why go
Satsurblia Cave is a karst cavity in the Tskhaltubo municipality that has yielded one of the most significant genetic discoveries in Caucasian archaeology. In 2014, researchers successfully sequenced the genome of a 13,000-year-old human male found here—the oldest human genome from the Caucasus region. This individual, who lived during the Late Upper Paleolithic, possessed ancestry linking him to the so-called 'Caucasian hunter-gatherer' population that would profoundly shape European genetic diversity. The cave's dry, stable environment preserved this biological treasure where humid lowland caves failed. Beyond the science, Satsurblia represents the deep human story of the Caucasus corridor, a genetic crossroads between Europe, Asia, and the Near East that shaped who we are today.