Kura–Araxes culture

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Kura–Araxes culture, Kur–Araz culture
Trialeti culture, Nakhchivan culture

The Kura–Araxes culture (also named Kur–Araz culture, Mtkvari–Araxes culture, Early Transcaucasian culture) was an

Ararat plain; it spread north in the Caucasus by 3000 BC.[3]

Altogether, the early

Transcaucasian culture enveloped a vast area approximately 1,000 km by 500 km,[4] and mostly encompassed the modern-day territories of the South Caucasus (except western Georgia), northwestern Iran, the northeastern Caucasus, eastern Turkey, and as far as Syria.[5][6]

The name of the culture is derived from the

Nakhchivan region and nearby areas, Kura-Araxes culture was followed by Nakhchivan culture
.

Early history

Shengavit Settlement
.

The formative processes of the Kura-Araxes cultural complex, and the date and circumstances of its rise, have been long debated.

Shulaveri-Shomu culture
preceded the Kura–Araxes culture in the area. There were many differences between these two cultures, so the connection was not clear. Later, it was suggested that the Sioni culture of eastern Georgia possibly represented a transition from the Shulaveri to the Kura-Arax cultural complex.

At many sites, the Sioni culture layers can be seen as intermediary between Shulaver-Shomu-Tepe layers and the Kura-Araxes layers.[8] This kind of stratigraphy warrants a chronological place of the Sioni culture at around 4000 BCE.[9]

Some scholars consider the Kartli and Kakheti areas as key to forming the earliest phase of the Kura–Araxes culture.[9] To a large extent, this appears as an indigenous culture of Caucasus that was formed over a long period, and at the same time incorporating foreign influences.

There are some indications (such as at

Uruk cultures; such contacts may go back even to the Middle Uruk period.[10]

Some scholars have suggested that the earliest manifestation of the Kura-Araxes phenomenon should be dated at least to the last quarter of the 5th millennium BC. This is based on the recent data from Ovçular Tepesi, a Late Chalcolithic settlement located in Nakhchivan by the Arpaçay river.[11]

The Kura–Araxes culture () and distribution of archaeological cultures in Europe and Caucasus before and after 3000 BC.[12]

Expansion

Rather quickly, elements of Kura–Araxes culture started to proceed westward to the

Amuq valley), and as far as Palestine
.

Its territory corresponds to large parts of modern

At

Sos Hoyuk, in Erzurum Province, Turkey, early forms of Kura-Araxes pottery were found in association with local ceramics as early as 3500-3300 BC. During the Early Bronze Age in 3000-2200 BC, this settlement was part of the Kura-Araxes phenomenon.[14]

At

Arslantepe, Turkey, around 3000 BCE, there was widespread burning and destruction, after which Kura-Araxes pottery appeared in the area.[15]

According to Geoffrey Summers, the movement of Kura-Araxes peoples into Iran and the Van region, which he interprets as quite sudden, started shortly before 3000 BC, and may have been prompted by the 'Late Uruk Collapse' (end of the Uruk period), taking place at the end of Uruk IV phase c. 3100 BC.[16]

Iranian sites

There are many important Kura-Araxes sites located along the Araxes river, south of which is modern Iran.

Kultepe, Azerbaijan, in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic close to Araxes river, has already been known for a long time.[17][18] In Iran, the excavations especially accelerated in the 21st century. Kul Tepe Jolfa, a related site, is seen as an important gateway for Kura-Araxes culture on its way south towards Lake Urmia area. Ancient obsidian trade and distribution are particularly revealing of cultural connections, and Kul Tepe Jolfa was an important transshipment point for the movement of Caucasian obsidian to Iranian sites. This trade was probably conducted by groups of mobile pastoralists from Iran.[19]

Also in Iran downstream the Araxes river, two additional sites from the same period have recently been excavated,

Kohne Pasgah and Kohne Tepesi.[20]

Many other Iranian sites have come to light recently and have been excavated already.[20]

Cultural connections

Kura–Araxes culture is closely linked to the approximately contemporaneous Maykop culture of the North Caucasus. The two cultures seem to have influenced one another.[22][23]

Economy

The economy was based on

farming and livestock-raising (especially of cattle and sheep).[24] They grew grain and orchard crops, and are known to have used implements to make flour. They raised cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, and in later phases, horses.[24]

Before the Kura-Araxes period, horse bones were not found in Transcaucasia. Later, beginning about 3300 BCE, they became widespread, with signs of domestication.[25]

There is evidence of trade with Mesopotamia as well as

Asia Minor.[24] It is, however, considered above all to be indigenous to the Caucasus, and its major variants characterized (according to Caucasus historian Amjad Jaimoukha) later major cultures in the region.[24]

Settlements

Archaeological evidence of inhabitants of the Kura–Araxes culture showed that ancient settlements were found along the

Hrazdan river, as shown by drawings at a mountainous area in a cave nearby.[26] Structures in settlements have not revealed much differentiation, nor was there much difference in size or character between settlements,[3] facts that suggest they probably had a poorly developed social hierarchy for a significant stretch of their history. Some, but not all, settlements were surrounded by stone walls.[3] They built mud-brick houses, originally round, but later developing into subrectangular designs with structures of just one or two rooms, multiple rooms centered around an open space, or rectilinear designs.[3]

At some point the culture's settlements and burial grounds expanded out of lowland river valleys and into highland areas.[27] Although some scholars have suggested that this expansion demonstrates a switch from agriculture to pastoralism and that it serves as possible proof of a large-scale arrival of Indo-Europeans, facts such as that settlement in the lowlands remained more or less continuous suggest merely that the people of this culture were diversifying their economy to encompass crop and livestock agriculture.[27]

Shengavit Settlement is a prominent Kura-Araxes site in present-day Yerevan area in Armenia
. It was inhabited from approximately 3200 BC cal to 2500 BC cal. Later on, in the Middle Bronze Age, it was used irregularly until 2200 BC cal. The town occupied an area of six hectares, which is large for Kura-Araxes sites.

Metallurgy

In the earliest phase of the Kura–Araxes culture, metal was scarce. In comparison, the preceding

Arslantepe. The use of an arsenical component up to 25% in copper objects resulted in a shiny greyish, silvery colour. So it's quite possible that these unusually high arsenical alloys were intended to imitate silver.[29]

The Kura–Araxes culture would later display "a precocious metallurgical development, which strongly influenced surrounding regions".[30] They worked copper, arsenic, silver, gold,[3] tin, and bronze.[27]

Their metal goods were widely distributed, from the

Don-Donets river systems in the north to Syria and Palestine in the south and Anatolia
in the west.

Pottery

Pottery

Their pottery was distinctive. The spread of their pottery along trade routes into surrounding cultures was much more impressive than any of their achievements domestically.[3] It was painted black and red, using geometric designs. Examples have been found as far south as Syria and Israel, and as far north as Dagestan and Chechnya.[31] The spread of this pottery, along with archaeological evidence of invasions, suggests that the Kura-Araxes people may have spread outward from their original homes and, most certainly, had extensive trade contacts. Jaimoukha believes that its southern expanse is attributable primarily to Mitanni and the Hurrians.[24]

According to Giulio Palumbi (2008), the typical red-black ware of Kura–Araxes culture originated in eastern Anatolia, and then moved on to the Caucasus area. But then these cultural influences came back to Anatolia mixed in with other cultural elements from the Caucasus.[32]

Köhne Shahar is a very large Kura-Araxes archaeological site in Iran located close to the Turkish border. Situated in a narrow valley at the altitude of 1905m asl, it was excavated in 2012-2014. It was located on the trade route between Iran and Anatolia.[33]

Viticulture

Shulaveri-Shomu culture
.

The earliest evidence of domesticated grapes in the world has been found at Gadachrili Gora, near the village of Imiri, Marneuli Municipality, in southeastern Republic of Georgia; carbon-dating points to the date of about 6000 BC.[34][35]

Grape pips dating back to the V-IVth millennia BC were found in Shulaveri; others dating back to the IVth millennium BC were found in Khizanaant Gora—all in this same 'Shulaveri area' of the Republic of Georgia.[36]

A theory has been suggested by Stephen Batiuk that the Kura-Araxes folk may have spread Vitis vinifera vine and wine technology to the "Fertile Crescent"—to Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean.[37] The spread of the wine-goblet form, such as represented by the Khirbet Kerak ware, is clearly associated with these peoples. The same applies to the large ceramic vessels used for grape fermentation.

Burial customs

Anatolian Neolithic (AN) and Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG).[38]

Inhumation practices are mixed. Flat graves are found but so are substantial kurgan burials, the latter of which may be surrounded by dolmen. This points to a heterogeneous ethno-linguistic population (see section below).[citation needed
]

Analyzing the situation in the Kura-Araxes period, T. A. Akhundov notes the lack of unity in funerary monuments, which he considers more than strange in the framework of a single culture; for the funeral rites reflect the deep culture-forming foundations and are weakly influenced by external customs. There are non-kurgan and kurgan burials, burials in ground pits, in stone boxes and crypts, in the underlying ground strata and on top of them; using both the round and rectangular burials; there are also substantial differences in the typical corpse position.[39] Burial complexes of Kura–Araxes culture sometimes also include cremation.[40]

Here one can come to the conclusion that the Kura–Araxes culture developed gradually through a synthesis of several cultural traditions, including the ancient cultures of the Caucasus and nearby territories.

Late Kura-Araxes sites often featured Kurgans of greatly varying sizes, with larger, wealthier kurgans surrounded by smaller kurgans containing less wealth. These kurgans also contained a wide assortment metalworks.[2] This trend suggests the eventual emergence of a marked social hierarchy.[2] Their practice of storing relatively great wealth in burial kurgans was probably a cultural influence from the more ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent to the south.[2]

In the 3rd millennium B.C., one particular group of mounds of the Kura–Araxes culture is remarkable for their wealth. This was the final stage of culture's development. These burial mounds are known as the Martqopi (or Martkopi) period mounds. Those on the left bank of the river Alazani are often 20–25 meters high and 200–300 meters in diameter. They contain especially rich artefacts, such as gold and silver jewelry.[41]

Ethno-linguistic makeup

While it is unknown what languages were present in Kura-Araxes, the two most widespread theories suggest a connection with Hurro-Urartian[42][43][44][45] and/or Anatolian languages.[46][47][48][49][50] The Kartvelian[51] and Northeast Caucasian languages[52] were likely spoken in the region as well.

See also

Timeline
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References

  1. ^ The early Trans-Caucasian culture, I.M. Diakonoff, 1984
  2. ^
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  4. ^ The Hurro-Urartian people – John A.C. Greppin
  5. ^ p 44
  6. ^ p 163
  7. .
  8. ^ Kighuradze T. 1998:19
  9. ^ a b Guram Mirtskhulava, Guram Chikovani, PHASE OF TRANSITION TO THE KURA-ARAXES CULTURE IN EASTERN GEORGIA. Problems of Early Metal Age Archaeology of Caucasus and Anatolia. Proceedings of International Conference. Tbilisi, 2014
  10. ^ Giorgi Leon Kavtaradze (2012), On the Importance of the Caucasian Chronology for the Foundation of the Common Near Eastern – East European Chronological System
  11. ^ Wang, Chuan-Chao (2016). "Ancient human genome-wide data from a 3000-year interval in the Caucasus corresponds with eco-geographic regions". Nature Communication.
  12. ^ Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology – Page 246 by Barbara Ann Kipfer
  13. .
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  15. ^ Geoffrey D. Summers, The Early Trans-Caucasian Culture in Iran: Perspectives and problems. Paléorient 2014 Volume 40 Numéro 2 pp. 155-168
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  17. ^ Akbar Abedi, Behrooz Omrani and Azam Karimifar, Fifth and fourth millennium BC in north-western Iran: Dalma and Pisdeli revisited, in: Documenta Praehistorica XLII, 2015, p.323 - academia.edu
  18. ^ Khazaee, Mostafa, Michael D. Glascock, P. Masjedi, A. Abedi & F.K. Nadooshan (2011), The origins of obsidian tools from Kul Tepe, Iran. International Association of Obsidian Studies Bulletin, 45: 14–17.
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  21. ^ Antonio Sagona. Rethinking the Kura-Araxes Genesis. (2014). pp. 26
  22. ^ Philip L. Kohl.The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia. pp. 74, 82
  23. ^ a b c d e Jaimoukha, Amjad. The Chechens. Pages 25-6
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  25. ^ Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: L to Z. page 52 by Jamie Stokes
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  27. ^ Tufan Isaakoglu Akhundov, AT THE BEGINNING OF CAUCASIAN METALLURGY. Problems of Early Metal Age Archaeology of Caucasus and Anatolia. Proceedings of International Conference. Tbilisi 2014
  28. ^ Th. Stöllner. I. Gambashidze, The Gold Mine of Sakdrisi and early Mining and Metallurgy in Transcaucasus and the Kura-Valley System. In: Problems of Early Metal Age Archaeology of Caucasus and Anatolia. Proceedings, November 19-23, 2014, Tblisi, 101-124. p.104
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  30. ^ The Pre-history of the Armenian People. I. M. Diakonoff
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  33. ^ Nana Rusishvili, The grapevine Culture in Georgia on Basis of Palaeobotanical Data. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine "Mteny" Association, 2010
  34. ^ Peter Boisseau, How wine-making spread through the ancient world: U of T archaeologist. June 17, 2015 – news.utoronto.ca
  35. ^ Malkhaz Kharbedia, THE HISTORY OF GEORGIAN WINE 01/20/2015
  36. .
  37. ^ Wang, Chuan-Chao (2016). "Ancient human genome-wide data from a 3000-year interval in the Caucasus corresponds with eco-geographic regions". Nature Communication.
  38. ^ Севда Сулейманова, ДРЕВНЕЙШИЕ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ И КУЛЬТУРНЫЕ СВЯЗИ В БЛИЖНЕВОСТОЧНО-КАВКАЗСКОМ АРЕАЛЕ Баку 2011
  39. ^ А.И. Мартынов, Кавказский центр металлургии. Культуры долин и гор 5-е изд., перераб. - М.: Высш. шк., 2005
  40. ^ Konstantine Pitskhelauri (2012). "Uruk Migrants in the Caucasus" (PDF). Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences. 6 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-07.
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  42. ^ Charles Burney. Historical Dictionary of the Hittites. (2004) pp. 129. [2]
  43. ^ Marilyn Kelly- Buccellati. Andirons at Urkesh: New Evidence for the Hurrian Identity of the Early Trans-Caucasian Culture. (2004) [3]
  44. ^ Alexei Kassian. Lexical Matches between Sumerian and Hurro-Urartian: Possible Historical Scenarios. (2014) [4]
  45. ^ Petra Goedegebuure. Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh. 2020. [5]
  46. ^ T. V. Gamkrelidze; V. V. Ivanov (March 1990). "The Early History of Indo-European Languages". Scientific American. Vol. 262, no. 3. pp. 110–116. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06.
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  48. , Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
  49. ^ David Anthony. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World (2007). P. 98.
  50. ^ Kavtaradze, Giorgi. "The Chronology of the Caucasus during the Early Metal Age: Observations from Central Trans-Caucasus, – A View from the Highlands. Archaeological Studies in Honour of Charles Burney. Edited by Antonio Sagona. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Supplement 12). Leuven: Peeters, 2004, pp. 539-556. ISBN 90-429-1352-5".

Sources

External links