26/10/2010 14:56
Expedition discovers mummified goat in Areni cave
An expedition excavating Areni cave discovered a mummified goat – head, part of body, perhaps, also brain, head of the Armenian party in the expedition, Boris Gasparyan told reporters.
He supposes the mummified goat is 1000-1500 years older than Egyptian mummies.
According to Pavel Avetisyan, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Egyptian mummifications are man-made while Areni cave mummifications are triggered by environment.
The expert said the mummified goat gives a possibility to study the process of domestication of animals. If scientists prove that the goat dates from late 5th millennium or early 4th millennium BC, they will have a good basis to study wild goat species.