High in the Vayots Dzor mountains of Armenia lies the Areni-1 cave – a prehistoric “treasure trove” where our ancestors’ ingenuity leaps out of the dust. In fact, researchers describe Areni-1 as “a treasure trove of Copper Age artifacts including the oldest shoe, brain, and winery in the world”. For the past decades archaeologists have been pulling one wonder after another from its dry chambers. They’ve found beautifully made pottery, ropes and cloth, seeds of dozens of fruits and grains, and even a layer of sheep dung that amazingly sealed the cave’s contents for 6,000 years. Each discovery tells a story of our Armenian ancestors as tech pioneers – bread-bakers, weavers, vintners and metalworkers centuries before the pyramids or Stonehenge.

Inside Areni-1, scientists found evidence of large-scale ancient winemaking. In 2011 an international team reported a 2-meter-long clay treading basin next to a buried fermentation vat, with grape skins and seeds scattered around. This shows they were stomping grapes with their feet into a basin that drained into an underground jar – in other words, a full Bronze Age wine-press. UCLA archaeologist Gregory Areshian marveled, “For the first time, we have a complete archaeological picture of wine production dating back 6,100 years”. Chemical tests on pottery shards even detected malvidin – the pigment of red wine – proving these were indeed grape products. In short, Armenia was one of the world’s very first winemaking nations. (DNA studies of grapes likewise point to the Armenian highlands as an origin of viticulture.)

It’s hard not to feel a surge of pride knowing our ancestors pioneered wine. Today’s Armenian-Americans love a good glass of local pomegranate or grapes; in Areni our great-great-great-(…th) grandparents may have raised a similar toast. The same terroir that yields delicious Armenian wines now was nurtured 6,000 years ago by those barefoot vintners. (Incidentally, living-room storytellers will appreciate that the cave’s cool, stable conditions made a perfect ancient wine cellar.)

The innovations aren’t just in food and drink. Archaeologists also unearthed a remarkably well-preserved leather shoe from about 5,500 B.C. – making it the world’s oldest leather shoe. Discovered in 2008 by Armenian Ph.D. student Diana Zardaryan, this 24.5 cm cow-hide moccasin was stitched to fit its wearer’s foot and even had laces (imagine a 5,500-year-old sneaker!) and was made from a single piece of leather. According to the size and shape archeologists decided that it is a female shoe and only the right foot was found. Finding the shoe in Areni is like a family photo from prehistory – it reminds us that even then people walked our own paths.

The fact that this tiny leather moccasin survived so long speaks to both ancient craftsmanship and the cave’s magic preservation. A thick layer of dung on the cave floor actually sealed and protected all the artifacts inside. Today, when we walk in modern Armenian shoes (maybe even  handcrafted Armenian boots), we carry on a tradition of practical yet skillful design that first appears so vividly in this little moccasin.

Areni-1 was also a workshop. Excavators catalogued ropes, woven fibers, straw mats and cloth fragments, alongside remains of over 30 kinds of fruits and dozens of grains. These finds show the people here were excellent farmers and weavers. Even more striking, they found metal implements – for example, small copper knives and fragments of metal – pointing to early metallurgy. In fact, the southern Caucasus (Armenia included) was one of the first places on Earth to smelt copper. At Areni, the presence of copper tools shows our ancestors were already pioneers of the Copper Age.

Modern Armenians like to tinker and create, and this legacy runs deep. The metallurgy at Areni means the Armenian highlands had the resources and knowledge for metalworking long ago. Just as today’s advanced Armenian engineers or jewelry artisans are proud innovators, so too were these Chalcolithic craftspeople fashioning knives from ores in the mountains.

Areni-1 was not just a home or workshop – it was also a sacred place. In a back chamber, archaeologists found three sealed jars, each containing the skull of a child or young teen – likely a ritual burial. These skulls (aged about 12–14) had clear signs of deliberate injury (as if struck by clubs). Remarkably, one jar held a shriveled but intact human brain – the oldest known preserved brain ever found in the Old World. Thanks to the cave’s dry coolness, soft tissue that should have long decayed survived for millennia.

These solemn discoveries hint that Areni’s ancient villagers combined everyday life with deep ritual. Graves and wine appear linked: twenty burials lie around the wine-pressing area, and drinking cups were found with the dead. It seems likely the community made wine as libations for ancestors or deities – a spiritual toast. In this we see an echo of Armenian culture today, where wine is often poured in honor of saints or loved ones. The fact that our distant forebears put so much care into ceremonial burials and food-drink offerings shows a rich cultural tradition that has carried through the ages.

The story of Areni-1 fills us with Armenian pride. Here is concrete proof that Armenians were innovating thousands of years before recorded history. The wine they first bottled, the grapes they first grew, the crafts they first made – it all lives on. (Notably, UNESCO now recognizes Armenian winemaking as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, and our famous Armenian brandy “Ararat” comes from this deep winemaking tradition.) These finds connect the young Armenians of California with brave, ingenious ancestors.

If you want to feel this connection for yourself, consider learning more or even visiting. Tours to Areni and the nearby Noravank monastery are becoming popular; imagine standing at the cave’s mouth and picturing barefoot farmers stomping grapes. At home, share this story with friends or family. Every time you pour a glass of Armenian wine, wear an Armenian-made craft, or honor your lineage, remember the people of Areni-1 who did the very same things 6,000 years ago. Their story is our story – a story of heritage, science, and innovation that still resonates in our identity today.

Ready to explore more? Share this article, raise a toast to our ancestors, or plan a visit to Areni on your next trip to Armenia. The past is calling – will you answer it?