A Central Asian Village at the Dawn of Civilization

by Hiebert, Fredrik T.; Kurbansakhatov, Kakamurad; Dyson, Robert H., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9781931707503
• ISBN10: 1931707502
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Museum of

Summary

This integration of earlier and new scholarship reconceptualizes the origins of civilization, challenging the received view that the ancient Near East spawned the spread of civilization outward from Mesopotamia to all other neighboring cultures. Central Asia is here shown to have been a major player in the development of cities. Skillfully documenting the different phases of both Soviet and earlier Western external analyses along with recent excavation results, this new interpretation reveals Central Asia's role in the socioeconomic and political processes linked to both the Iranian Plateau and the Indus Valley, showing how it contributed substantively to the origins of urbanism in the Old World. Hiebert's research at Anau and his focus on the Chalcolithic levels provide an essential starting point for understanding both the nature of village life and the historical trajectories that resulted in Bronze Age urbanism.

Author Biography

Fredrik T. Hiebert is Assistant Professor in Archaeology and Assistant Curator of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Kakamurad Kurbansakhatov is Director of the Southern Turkmenistan Multidisciplinary Archaeological Expedition.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix
Foreword	xv
Robert H. Dyson, Jr.
Preface	xvii
Anau North, an Introduction	1	(14)
The Settlement History of Central Asia in the Village Period	15	(9)
The History of Investigations at Anau North	24	(8)
1997 Excavations: Context of Deposition and Stratigraphy	32	(23)
Radiocarbon Chronology	55	(2)
Ceramic Complexes of Anau North and Relative Chronology	57	(24)
Small Finds from Anau North	81	(17)
Ogul'sona Lollekova
Katherine M. Moore
Architecture at Anau North	98	(18)
Burials	116	(11)
L. Warner
K. Kurbansakhatov
The Use of Plants at Anau North	127	(12)
Naomi F. Miller
Microscopic Analysis of Soils from Anau North	139	(15)
Alexandra A. Golyeva
Animal Herding, Hunting, and the History of Animal Domestication at Anau depe	154	(6)
K. M. Moore
N. M. Ermolova
Prehistoric Behavior at Anau North	160	(9)
The Evolution of the Settlement at Anau North	169	(51)
Appendices
A 1904 Excavations at Anau North	174	(20)
Hubert Schmidt
B Catalogue of Small Finds from the 1904 Excavations	194	(7)
Katherine M. Moore
C Botanical Data from the 1997 Excavations	201	(15)
Naomi F. Miller
D A Basketry/Textile Impression from Anau North	216	(4)
J. M. Adovasio
J. S. Illingworth
Bibliography	220	(16)
Index	236