Lana-Maria Megrelishvili, 13 years old 

Primitive Man

Africa is known as the cradle of humanity, but not many people know that 1.8 million years ago, the territory of what is now Georgia was inhabited by sabertoothed tigers, giant wolves and the first representatives of the human race — Homo georgicus. These ancient creatures had left arid Africa to travel to Georgia, where they settled in the area of modern Dmanisi. Thus, they became the first representatives of the genus Homo to live outside of Africa. According to one version, Homo georgicus or Dmanisi hominid subsequently became extinct. According to another, having visited Georgia, they returned to Africa to evolve further into Homo sapiens and populate the entire planet.

Tbilisi / Dmanisi, 2024