The World of the Oxus Civilization 1315193353, 9781315193359

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“This ambitious book provides a comprehensive overview by many experts of the remarkable Bronze Age Civilization of the Oxus, including detailed description of the settlement systems, the archaeological evidence for a complex and unique culture, as well as discussions of relations with neighboring civilizations in Iran, the Indus valley, and Mesopotamia.” Holly Pittman, University of Pennsylvania, USA “The World of the Oxus Civilization brings to life one of the great ‘lost civilizations’ of the ancient world, lost only because, while extraordinarily rich and extensive in its reach, its story has long been hidden from the broader world of scholarship by extreme political and linguistic barriers. This volume, telling the full story of the Oxus Civilization for the first time, is a magnificent gift for anyone interested in the rich complexity of the ancient world and the early rise of internationalism across Asia. Its comprehensive coverage, presented as a series of specialist essays by a range of international scholars, will be warmly welcomed as a much needed authoritative work of reference filling a critical gap in the early history of Old World development, linking Eurasia with the greater Iranian world, the Indus valley with Mesopotamia, and placing Central Asia in its rightful position as a wellspring of early cultural development.” Alison Betts, University of Sydney, Australia

T HE WO R L D O F TH E OXUS CIVIL IZATIO N

This collection of essays presents a synthesis of current research on the Oxus Civilization, which rose and developed at the turn of the 3rd to 2nd millennia BC in Central Asia. First discovered in the 1970s, the Oxus Civilization, or the Bactria-​Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), has engendered many different interpretations, which are explored in this volume by an international group of archaeologists and researchers. Contributors cover all aspects of this fascinating Bronze Age culture: architecture; material culture; grave goods; religion; migrations; and trade and interactions with neighboring civilizations, from Mesopotamia to the Indus, and the Gulf to the northern steppes. Chapters also examine the Oxus Civilization’s roots in previous local cultures, explore its environmental and chronological context, as well as the available sources, and look into the reasons for its decline. The World of the Oxus Civilization offers a broad and fascinating examination of this society, and provides an invaluable updated resource for anyone working on the culture, history, and archaeology of this region and on the multiple interactions at work at that time in the ancient Near East. Bertille Lyonnet is Directrice de Recherches Emeritus at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, as an archaeologist. She has worked in Central Asia (Afghanistan, Tadjikistan, and Uzbekistan), northeastern Syria, the northern Caucasus, and Azerbaijan. A specialist in ceramics, she has always shown a particular interest in the interrelations between the different areas of the world where she has worked. She is the author of several books and over 150 articles. Nadezhda A. Dubova is a main researcher and head of the Center of Human Ecology at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (IEA) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. She was the head and/​or a member of more than 60 physical anthropological and archaeological expeditions in Russia, Central Asia, Iran, and the Moldova Republic. She now heads the Russian-​Turkmen Margiana archaeological expedition. She gives lectures at different universities (Lomonosov Moscow, Ufa (Bashkortostan), Voronezh, South Kazakhstan (Shimkent), and Bern (Switzerland)). She is the author and editor of more than 400 publications on physical anthropology, human ecology, Eurasian archaeology, and theoretic problems of anthropology.

T HE ROU T L E DGE WO RLDS THE ETRUSCAN WORLD Edited by Jean MacIntosh Turfa THE SWAHILI WORLD Edited by Stephanie Wynne-​Jones and Adria LaViolette THE MEDIEVAL WORLD, SECOND EDITION Edited by Peter Linehan, Janet L. Nelson, and Marios Costambeys THE ELAMITE WORLD Edited by Javier Álvarez-​Mon, Gian Pietro Basello, and Yasmina Wicks

THE WORLD OF THE OXUS CIVILIZATION Edited by Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova THE GRAECO-​BACTRIAN AND INDO-​GREEK  WORLD Edited by Rachel Mairs THE UMAYYAD WORLD Edited by Andrew Marsham THE BUDDHIST WORLD Edited by John Powers THE CRUSADER WORLD Edited by Adrian Boas

THE FIN-​DE-​SIÈCLE WORLD Edited by Michael Saler

THE POSTCOLONIAL WORLD Edited by Jyotsna G. Singh and David D. Kim

THE GNOSTIC WORLD Edited by Garry W. Trompf, Gunner B. Mikkelsen, and Jay Johnston

THE SUMERIAN WORLD Edited by Harriet Crawford

THE ANDEAN WORLD Edited by Linda J. Seligmann and Kathleen Fine-​Dare THE SYRIAC WORLD Edited by Daniel King

THE OCCULT WORLD Edited by Christopher Partridge THE WORLD OF INDIGENOUS NORTH AMERICA Edited by Robert Warrior

THE FAIRY TALE WORLD Edited by Andrew Teverson

THE WORLD OF THE REVOLUTIONARY AMERICAN REPUBLIC Edited by Andrew Shankman

THE MELANESIAN WORLD Edited by Eric Hirsch and Will Rollason

THE SHAKESPEAREAN WORLD Edited by Jill L. Levenson and Robert Ormsby

THE MING WORLD Edited by Kenneth M. Swope

THE WORLD OF COLONIAL AMERICA Edited by Ignacio Gallup-Diaz

THE GOTHIC WORLD Edited by Glennis Byron and Dale Townshend

THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN WORLD Edited by Augustine Casiday

THE IBERIAN WORLD Edited by Fernando Bouza, Pedro Cardim, and Antonio Feros THE MAYA WORLD Edited by Scott Hutson and Traci Ardren

THE MODERNIST WORLD Edited by Allana Lindgren and Stephen Ross THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WORLD, SECOND EDITION Edited by Philip F. Esler

www.routledge.com/​Routledge-​Worlds/​book-​series/​WORLDS

THE WORLD OF THE OX U S C I V I L I Z AT I O N

Edited by

Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova

First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data Names: Lyonnet, Bertille, editor. | Dubova, Nadezhda, editor. Title: The world of the Oxus Civilization / edited by Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda Dubova. Identifiers: LCCN 2019044889 (print) | LCCN 2019044890 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Asia, Central –​History. | Asia, Central –​Civilization. | Asia, Central –​Antiquities. | Civilization, Ancient. Classification: LCC DS329.4 .W67 2020 (print) | LCC DS329.4 (ebook) | DDC 939/​.6 –​ dc23 LC record available at https://​lccn.loc.gov/​2019044889 LC ebook record available at https://​lccn.loc.gov/​2019044890 ISBN: 978-1-138-72287-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-19335-9 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Newgen Publishing UK

CONTENTS

xi

List of figures  List of tables 

xxii

List of contributors 

xxiv

Foreword 

xxxi

Introduction  Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova

1

PART I: THE OXUS CIVILIZATION BACKGROUND  5 1 Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria-​Margiana Archaeological Culture (BMAC): an overview  Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova 2 The Oxus Civilization and Mesopotamia: a philologist’s point of view  Michaël Guichard 3 Environmental changes in Bactria and Sogdiana (Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan) from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age: interaction with human occupation  Eric Fouache, Lucie Cez, Valérie Andrieu-​Ponel, and Rocco Rante 4 The rise of the early urban civilization in southwestern Central Asia: from the Middle Chalcolithic to the Middle Bronze Age in southern Turkmenistan  Ljubov’ B. Kircho

vii

7

66

82

110

—​​​ C o n t e n t s —​​​

PART II: THE “CORE AREA”  143 5 The architecture of the Bactria-​Margiana Archaeological Culture  Ruslan G. Muradov 6 Some thoughts on the imaginary representations in the Bactria-​Margiana Archaeological Culture  Elena V. Antonova

145

178

7 Myths and gods in the Oxus Civilization  Annie Caubet

195

8 BMAC glyptics: typology, context, function, and background  Sylvia Winkelmann

215

9 Chlorite containers from the Oxus Civilization: between technical choices and iconographic codes  Massimo Vidale

293

10 The “Royal Necropolis” at Gonur Depe: an attempt at systematization (plan, constructions, rituals)  Nadezhda A. Dubova

333

11 Polychrome inlayed and painted mosaics from Gonur Depe (Turkmenistan)  Nadezhda A. Dubova

367

12 Animal burials at Gonur Depe  Robert M. Sataev

386

13 Funerary rituals and archaeothanatological data from BMAC graves at Ulug Depe (Turkmenistan) and Dzharkutan (Uzbekistan)  Julio Bendezu-​Sarmiento

405

14 Bioarchaeology of the BMAC population: a short review  Vladimir V. Kufterin

425

15 Animal exploitation at Gonur Depe  Robert M. Sataev

438

16 Life in the countryside: the rural archaeology of the Sapalli culture  Kai Kaniuth

viii

457

—​​​ C o n t e n t s —​​​

17 Who interacted with whom? Redefining the interaction between BMAC people and mobile pastoralists in Bronze Age southern Turkmenistan  Barbara Cerasetti 18 The end of the Oxus Civilization  Elise Luneau

487 496

PART III: THE “SURROUNDING AREAS”  525 19 The BMAC presence in eastern Iran: state of affairs in December 2018 –​towards the Greater Khorasan Civilization?  Raffaele Biscione and Ali A. Vahdati

527

20 The relationship between the Oxus Civilization and the Indo-​Iranian borderlands  Benjamin Mutin and C.C. Lamberg-​Karlovsky

551

21 Interaction between the worlds of South Asia and Central Asia  Shereen Ratnagar

590

22 The Oxus Civilization/​BMAC and its interaction with the Arabian Gulf: a review of the evidence  Pierre Lombard

607

23 The formation of the Oxus Civilization/​BMAC in southwestern Tajikistan  Natal’ja M. Vinogradova

635

24 The Zeravshan regional variant of the Bactria-​Margiana Archaeological Complex: interaction between two cultural worlds  Nona A. Avanesova

665

25 The “classical Vakhsh culture”: a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC in southern Tajikistan  Mike Teufer

698

26 The Oxus Civilization and the northern steppes  Gian Luca Bonora

734

PART IV: METALS AND METAL DEPOSITS  777 27 Archaeometallurgical studies on BMAC artifacts  Steffen Kraus

ix

779

—​​​ C o n t e n t s —​​​

28 Metal sources (tin and copper) and the BMAC  Jennifer Garner

799

29 The acquisition of tin in Bronze Age Southwest Asia  Vincent C. Pigott

827

Appendix: Radiocarbon dates related to the BMAC/​Oxus Civilization  Michel Fontugne, Ganna I. Zajtseva, Bertille Lyonnet, Nadezhda A. Dubova, and Natalja D. Burova

863

Index 

912

x

FIGURES

.1 1 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 .3 4 4.4

4.5 4.6

4.7 4.8 4.9

The world of the Oxus Civilization: main sites mentioned in the book  10 The studied areas (Balkh plain and lower Zeravshan)  84 Geomorphological map of the Balkh plain (northern Afghanistan)  85 Paleochannels of the Zeravshan River in the Bukhara oasis (Uzbekistan)  87 Schematic map of southern Central Asia with the sites mentioned in the chapter  111 Southern Turkmenistan, Middle Chalcolithic period (NMG II, са. 3650–​3200/​3100 ВС)  113 Altyn Depe, cart models of the Late Chalcolithic period  119 Geoksjur 1 and Geoksjur 5 (Chong Depe), Geoksjur period: pottery of the end of the Middle Chalcolithic, and the early and middle phases of the Late Chalcolithic (end NMG II, early/​middle NMG III, ca. 3200–​3000 BC)  120 Evolution of NMG III–type painted pottery complex (3200/​3100–​2800/​2700 BC)  121 Geoksjur 1 and Geoksjur 5 (Chong Depe), Geoksjur period: architecture, terracotta, metal, and stone artifacts of the end of the Middle Chalcolithic, and the early and middle phases of the Late Chalcolithic (end NMG II–​early/​middle NMG III, ca. 3200–​3000 BC)  122 Kara Depe, main components of the cultural complex of the Late Chalcolithic period (early and middle NMG III, ca. 3200/​3100–​2900 BC)  123 Altyn Depe (Altyn 14–​9 levels, ca. 3300–​2800/​2700 BC), main components of the cultural complex of the last phase of the Middle Chalcolithic period and Late Chalcolithic period  125 Altyn Depe (8–​6 levels), main components of the cultural complex of the early phase of the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2800/​2700–​2500 BC)  129

xi

—​​​ F i g u r e s —​​​

4.10 Altyn Depe (5–​4 levels), main components of the cultural complex of the late phase of the Early Bronze Age (late NMG IV, ca. 2500–​2350 BC)  4.11 Altyn Depe and Taichanak Depe (2), cart clay models of the late phase of the Early Bronze Age (late NMG IV, ca. 2500–​2350 BC)  5.1 Kelleli 3. Plan  5.2a Gonur Depe North. Palace-​temple complex. Air photo (2004)  5.2b Gonur Depe North. Palace-​temple complex. Plan (2018)  5.3 Gonur Depe South (temenos). Plan  5.4 Adji Kui 8. Plan  5.5 Adji Kui 1. Plan  5.6 Adji Kui 9. Subphase 3B. Plan  5.7 Togolok 1. Temple. Plan  5.8 Togolok 21. Plan  5.9 Dashly 1. Plan  5.10 Dashly 3. “Round temple.” Plan of the excavated part  5.11 Dashly 3. Palace. Plan  5.12 Sapallitepa. Plan  5.13 Dzharkutan. Tepe VI. Plan of the later building covering an earlier one  5.14 Sarazm. Plan  5.15 Kelleli 4. Plan  5.16 Adji Kui 1. Residential house  5.17 Gonur 21. Residential house. Plan  5.18 Dashly 3. Domestic architecture. Plan  6.1 (1) NMG II figurines; (2) NMG II pottery decoration; (3) NMG III figurines; (4) NMG III pottery decoration  6.2 (1–​3) NMG IV figurines; (4–​7) NMG III–​IV pottery decoration  6.3 NMG V figurines  6.4 NMG IV pottery decoration and signs on NMG V figurines  6.5 (1) Stone figurine, Gonur Depe; (2) terracotta figurine, Gonur Depe; (3–​4) trans-​Elamite cylinder seals, from Gonur Depe (3), from Tepe Yahya (4)  6.6 Bronze compartmented seals from Bactria  6.7 Other bronze compartmented seals from Bactria  7.1 Spoon handle: winged dragon swallowing a calf, elephant ivory, Gonur Depe  7.2 Seated Lady, chlorite and calcite  7.3 Scarface, chlorite and calcite  7.4 Stamp seal: master of the snakes, copper alloy  7.5 Stamp seal: Lady seated on a unicorn with caprids, silver  7.6a Silver pyxis with a banquet feast (photo)  7.6b Silver pyxis with a banquet feast (drawing)  7.7 Ceremonial axe: seated wise elder, copper alloy and silver  7.8 Female figurine, terracotta. Private collection  8.1 “Murghab-​style” seals, different shapes  xii

131 133 148 149 150 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 163 163 165 166 167 169 180 181 182 184 185 187 188 197 198 199 201 201 202 203 205 206 263

—​​​ F i g u r e s —​​​

.2 8 8.3 8.4 .5 8 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 .11 8 8.12 8.13 .14 8 8.15 8.16 .17 8 8.18 8.19 8.20 9.1 9.2

9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8

“Drilled-​style” seals, different shapes  Clay stamp seals from Gonur Depe: face and side views  Faience seals with remains of greenish glaze, partly reworked with secondary perforation: face, back, and handle  Two-​sided “Murghab-​style” seals in graphic substyle  Different “Murghab-​style” seals: (a–​e) plastic substyle; (f) graphic substyle  Unusual “Murghab-​style” seals  Local cylinder seals and Akkadian cylinder seal from Gonur Depe  Local stamp cylinders from Gonur Depe and Togolok 1  Three imported southeastern Iranian cylinder seals found at Gonur Depe  Two cylinder seals of mixed styles  Compartmented seals with animal depictions  Open-​work compartmented silver seals with rectangular handles and plastically rendered back or/​and incisions coming from the same workshop  Compartmented seals with flat back and mythological depictions  Compartmented open-​work silver seal with scenic depiction: young man being offered a drinking vase from a goddess  Obverse and reverse of open-​work compartmented seals with mythological depictions  Bullae, cretula, sherd, and stoppers with seal impressions  Two casting molds for seals from Gonur Depe  Standing, kneeling, and enthroned goddesses on compartmented seals of the BMAC  Minor art from southeastern Iran with depictions of goddesses on seals and on lapis lazuli discs  A map of Middle Asia showing the production areas of small-​sized chlorite containers in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC  Decorative patterns on chlorite containers (drilled and excised, see text) presumably imported in Bactria and/​or Margiana from southeastern Iran or further south from the workshop areas of the Gulf coasts  Incised patterns, made of a series of triangles on the outer surface of low trays  Incised patterns, made of a series of more complex triangles and squares  Additional patterns incised on the outer wall of kidney-​shaped low trays  Patterns recorded on different types of unrestricted, hemispherical to subcylindrical containers of variable height, and small restricted pots  Motifs incised on square-​based, subrectangular, and trapeze-​like vials; triangle-​based patterns  Motifs incised on square-​based, subrectangular, and trapeze-​like vials; window-​like frames and hourglass patterns  xiii

264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 298

299 302 305 307 310 313 315

—​​​ F i g u r e s —​​​

9.9

Vegetal designs (presumably trees and tulip flowers) on square-​section chlorite vials  317 9.10 Three examples of square-​section chlorite vials with figurative motifs  319 9.11 Motifs recorded on rectangular footed trays and on a square compartmented box  321 9.12 A sketch summarizing the friezes on a composite stemmed cup in black steatite or chlorite, found in the Large Necropolis of Gonur (grave 1750)  323 10.1a General plan of the central part of Gonur Depe North showing where the “Royal Necropolis” is situated (southeast corner)  335 10.1b Plan of the “Royal Necropolis.” In thick black, the encircling wall of the town, built after the necropolis had been out of use  336 10.2 Tomb 3895, with the burial of a dismembered cow  337 10.3 Collective pit burial 4110, containing a woman and seven children together with the full carcass of a puppy and dismembered animal remains  338 10.4 Silver conical cup with a low-​relief animal composition from hypogeum 3235  341 10.5 Three ivory plaques with geometric decorations from hypogeum 3235  342 10.6 Mosaic inlays decoration in situ on the northern wall of hypogeum 3235, next to a silver vessel  343 10.7 Top view of hypogeum 3220 during cleaning. View from the northeast  345 10.8 Different fragments of mosaic compositions from the southern room in hypogeum 3220  345 10.9a Ceremonial bronze axe and compartmented seal together with flint arrowheads in situ on the floor near the northern wall of the southern room in hypogeum 3220 during cleaning  346 10.9b The bronze ceremonial axe from hypogeum 3220 after restoration  346 10.10a Part of the silver vessels from the hypogeum 3220 hoard, after discovery  347 10.10b Silver spouted vessel from the hypogeum 3220 hoard, after restoration  348 10.10c Silver footed goblet from the hypogeum 3220 hoard, after restoration  348 10.11 Mosaic “ostensory” standing above the male burial in hypogeum 3220  349 10.12 Eastern part of “ditch” 3900 with its finds in situ  350 10.13 Flint arrowheads in situ under the head of a male skeleton in hypogeum 3230  356 10.14a Gold and agate beads in situ on the neck of a female skeleton in hypogeum 3230  357 10.14b The gold and agate beads necklace from hypogeum 3230, after restoration  358 10.15 Turquoise, lapis, and gold beads left by the robbers in the upper levels of hypogeum 3230. Hypothetical reconstruction as a necklace  359 xiv

—​​​ F i g u r e s —​​​

0.16 Three from the eight large jars discovered in hypogeum 3880  1 10.17 Part of other pottery vessels from hypogeum 3880  10.18 Two bronze lamps “braziers” and a conical cup with handmade red decoration in situ in hypogeum 3200  10.19 Head from a composite statuette found plastered in the northern wall of hypogeum 3210  10.20 One of the two eagles in gypsum and faience with a gold frame from hypogeum 3200  10.21a The “Vegetation” deity(?) in situ at the time of its discovery in hypogeum 3200 (gold, silver, gypsum, bronze)  10.21b Reconstitution of the “Vegetation” deity(?)  10.22 Three radiocarbon dates from the “Royal Necropolis”  11.1 Game board from tomb 2900 during cleaning in situ  11.2a Game board from tomb 3210 during cleaning in situ  11.2b Ivory insertion to the game board in the tomb 3210  11.3 Side wall of the “ostensory” in hypogeum 3230 during cleaning in situ  11.4 Side wall of the “ostensory” from hypogeum 3230 after restoration  11.5 Gonur Depe, 2009. V.I. Sarianidi and restorer M. Rzakov during restoration of the “ostensory” from hypogeum 3880  11.6 Fragments of the mosaics on the western wall of hypogeum 3200 during cleaning in situ  11.7 Fragment of the mosaics on the northern wall of hypogeum 3235 during cleaning in situ  11.8 Beveled-​cut edges on the back of the stone inlay from hypogeum 3230  11.9 Incised marks on the back of the inlays from hypogeum 3015  11.10 Four inlays in the shape of a dragon’s head from hypogeum 3210  11.11 Comparison between the mosaics “griffin in a cartouche” from hypogeum 3210 at Gonur Depe (bottom) and a fragment of the “Zimri-​Lim’s investiture” painted scenes in the Amorite palace at Mari in Syria (top)  11.12 G. Veresotskaja’s reconstruction of one mosaic scene from hypogeum 3210  11.13 Mosaic inlay in the shape of a human portrait from tomb 3245 in the Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”  11.14 Wooden box with mosaic inlays made of stone and ivory during cleaning in situ in chamber tomb 3870 at Gonur Depe  12.1 Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”, hypogeum 3200 during excavation. General view from the southwest  12.2 Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”, grave 3225 during excavation. General view from the west  12.3 Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”, grave 3900 during excavation. General view from the north  12.4 “Ritual animal burial” in Area 16 at Gonur Depe  12.5 Gonur Depe grave 3597 (view from the south), with the burial of a donkey and three lambs (near its tail)  xv

359 360 360 361 361 362 362 363 368 369 370 371 371 372 372 373 375 376 377

379 380 381 381 391 392 393 394 395

—​​​ F i g u r e s —​​​

12.6 Gonur Depe cist grave 4140, with a young sheep in one of the rooms; three more sheep were discovered on the ground behind the southern wall of the tomb  12.7 Gonur Depe grave 3895, with a complete bull burial  12.8 Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”. Drawing of the upper layer of grave 4065, with the burial of seven dogs  12.9 Gonur Depe “Royal Necropolis”, general view of the upper layer of grave 4065 during excavation  13.1 Map of southern Central Asia with the distribution of Bronze Age archaeological sites  13.2 Ulug Depe. Primary individual burials, sectors 1 and 17, graves 64, 91.  13.3 Ulug Depe. Two graves showing individuals with very tightly restrained positions of the upper and lower limbs, sector 1  13.4 Ulug Depe. Perinatal and infant subjects, sector 1, graves 68, 69, 74  13.5 Dzharkutan. Individual primary graves 1051 and 1045  13.6 Dzharkutan. Rich archaeological material remaining from looted graves (left to right): steatite vase, bronze flacon, detail of one of the ram’s-​head protomes on the bronze flacon  13.7 Ulug Depe. “Priestess tomb,” ceramic vessels characteristic of the NMG V period  13.8 Ulug Depe. “Priestess tomb,” alabaster vases  13.9 Ulug Depe. Female(?) graves in the form of cells  13.10 Ulug Depe. Ceramics deposited in the cell graves  13.11 Ulug Depe. Human body’s simulacrum of burial, sector 1  13.12 Dzharkutan necropolis 3. In the background, a brick structure found at the surface level; in the foreground, a set of offerings found near the surface  13.13 Dzharkutan. Looted grave 1001B  14.1 Average life expectancy of the adult population (AA) in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age samples  14.2 “Correspondence analysis” results. Layout of features and groups in the range of I and II vectors (47.6% and 32.8% of inertia)  15.1 Cat terracotta figurine from Gonur Depe, room 46, Area 19  15.2 Zebu clay figurine from Gonur Depe upper layer, Area 17  15.3 Drawing of camels represented in relief on a silver cylindrical vessel from Gonur Depe, hypogeum 3220  15.4 Dog steatite figurine from Gonur palace, room 220  15.5 Small dog burial in situ in Gonur Depe, hypogeum 3210  15.6 Bull clay figurine with a distinct groove around its neck, from Gonur Depe, room 12, Area 18  16.1 Surkhan Darya region map with major Late Bronze Age sites  16.2 Pashkhurt valley map with known Late Bronze Age sites  16.3 Late Bronze Age pottery from Kirkkiz 3  16.4 Tilla Bulak. Plan of phase 1  xvi

396 397 399 400 406 408 409 409 410 411 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 426 433 441 442 444 445 446 451 459 461 470 472

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6.5 Chimney of Tilla Bulak, phase 1  1 16.6 Tilla Bulak, phase 1. Context TB-​852 with in situ inventory covered by mudbrick collapse. Phase 2 walls are lightly shaded  16.7 Tilla Bulak. Room inventory 3145 from context TB-​852, phase 1  16.8 Tilla Bulak. LB I seals of stone, metal, and alabaster  16.9 Tilla Bulak. LB I axes and eagle pendant from phases 1 and 2  16.10 Pashkhurt. LB II pottery collected at PAS 01  17.1 The alluvial fan of the Murghab River (southern Turkmenistan)  18.1 Map of the main sites related to the Final Bronze Age in southern Central Asia  18.2 Examples of pottery types related to the Final Bronze Age  18.3 Examples of specific artifacts related to the Oxus Civilization from Uzbekistan in the Final Bronze Age  18.4 Geographic and quantitative distribution of the miniature metallic items at the Final Bronze Age sites of the Oxus Civilization  18.5 Types of graves and funerary practices related to the Oxus Civilization from Uzbekistan in the Final Bronze Age  18.6 Examples of imported artifacts and/or of influences related to the northern steppe Central Asian cultures in the Oxus Civilization  18.7 Geographic distribution of the main types of burial practices at the Final Bronze Age sites of the Oxus Civilization  19.1 Geographical features and modern cities mentioned in the chapter  19.2 “Formative” and “core” areas of the BMAC/​GKC and archaeological sites with BMAC/​GKC materials determining expansion and influence areas  19.3 Archaeological sites mentioned in the chapter  19.4 A composite figurine from the pillaged grave at Gavand  19.5 Other materials from the pillaged grave at Gavand  19.6 Pottery from the Tang-​e Ghelyeh Rez necropolis (1)  19.7 Pottery from the Tang-​e Ghelyeh Rez necropolis (2)  19.8 Iranian and Afghan Seistan, with the main geographical features and archaeological sites mentioned in the chapter  19.9 “Miniature columns” and stone disks at the shrine of Godar-​i Shah, Afghan Seistan  19.10 BMAC/​GKC pottery from the Dales survey in Afghan Seistan (1)  19.11 BMAC/​GKC pottery from the Dales survey in Afghan Seistan (2)  19.12 BMAC/​GKC pottery from the Dales survey in Afghan Seistan (3)  20.1 Map of Middle Asia with the locations of the main sites discussed in the text  21.1 The area of South Asia and Central Asia  21.2 Indus seal with Indus script found at Gonur North Area, 9 room 19  22.1 Map of the Arabian Gulf area, with archaeological sites mentioned in the chapter  22.2 Dilmun stamp seal from unknown provenience, Afghanistan(?)  22.3 Grave 3245 from the Gonur “Royal Necropolis” 

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22.4 Compartmented chlorite vessel from grave 3245, Gonur “Royal Necropolis”  22.5 Some of the burial offerings from tomb 3245, Gonur “Royal Necropolis”  22.6 Cardium shell from grave 3245, Gonur “Royal Necropolis”  22.7 BMAC stamp seal or amulet from the Madinat Hamad cemetery (Bahrain)  22.8 Cylinder-​seal impression on a pottery jar fragment from Tell F6, Failaka, Kuwait  22.9 Cosmetic vial from Al-​Rufay’a (Tarut island, Saudi Arabia)  22.10 Cubic-​shaped chlorite bottle/​vial from Al-​Maqsha (Bahrain)  22.11 Cubic-​shaped chlorite bottle/​vial from Hili North (Abu Dhabi, UAE)  22.12 Ivory comb, with incised decoration from Tell Abraq (Sharjah, UAE)  22.13 Copper bull’s head from the Barbar Temple (Bahrain)  22.14 Copper mirror’s handle from the Barbar Temple (Bahrain)  22.15 Alabaster/​calcite vessels from the Barbar Temple (Bahrain)  22.16 Unpainted pedestal-​pottery vessels from the Arabian Gulf  22.17 Painted pedestal-​pottery vessels from the Arabian Gulf  22.18 Painted pedestal-​pottery vessel from Saar (Bahrain)  22.19 Copper pedestal-​pottery vessels from the Arabian Gulf  23.1 Map. Localization of the Farkhor, Darnajchi, and Gelot cemeteries  23.2 Farkhor cemetery. Chance finds: (1) stone weight; (2) stone “rod”; (3) onyx vessel  23.3 Farkhor cemetery. Area 6A, grave 32, funerary material  23.4 Farkhor cemetery. Area 6, grave 33 and its funerary material  23.5 Farkhor cemetery. Area 6A, grave 19, photo  23.6 Farkhor cemetery. Area 6A, grave 19, drawing with funerary inventory  23.7 Farkhor cemetery. Area 6A, grave 18 and its funerary inventory  23.8 Farkhor cemetery. Area 1, grave 4 and funerary inventory  23.9 Farkhor cemetery. Area 5, grave 12 and funerary inventory  23.10 Gelot cemetery. Pottery from various graves  23.11 Gelot cemetery. Pottery from various graves (continued)  23.12 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Plan and section of the grave  23.13 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Photo, in situ  23.14 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Funerary material: pottery vessels  23.15 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Funerary material  23.16 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Stone figurine (front view)  23.17 Gelot cemetery. Area 6, grave 2. Stone figurine (side view)  23.18 Darnajchi cemetery. Area 1, grave 5 funerary inventory  23.19 Darnajchi cemetery. Area 2, grave 2 and funerary inventory  23.20 Darnajchi cemetery. Pottery from destroyed graves  23.21 Gelot cemetery. Vakhsh culture wheel-​turned pottery  23.22 Gelot cemetery. Vakhsh culture handmade and cooking pottery  23.23 Darnajchi cemetery. Vakhsh culture wheel-turned and handmade pottery  24.1 Siab burial. From N. Avanesova’s excavations in 1976. Funerary inventory  xviii

610 611 612 613 614 615 616 616 617 619 620 622 625 626 627 628 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 644 645 647 648 649 650 651 652 652 653 653 654 655 656 657 658 670

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4.2 Dzham burials. Funerary inventory  2 24.3 Sazagansaj. Tomb 1. Funerary inventory  24.4 Sazagansaj. Tomb 2. Funerary inventory  24.5 Zardcha Khalifa. Funerary inventory  24.6 Aksaj. Funerary inventory  24.7 Tusunsaj. Funerary inventory  24.8 Tugaj. Several finds from the settlement  24.9 Pre-​Andronovo artifacts from the early layers of the Sapalli culture  25.1 Distribution map of the “classical Vakhsh culture”  25.2 Kurgans of the “classical Vakhsh culture”  25.3 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: beakers  25.4 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: beakers and pots  25.5 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: beakers  25.6 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: beakers  25.7 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: jugs  25.8 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: globular pots  25.9 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: bowls  25.10 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: bowls  25.11 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: bowls  25.12 Pottery types of the “classical Vakhsh culture”: goblets and pedestal bowls  25.13 Pottery inventory from grave 2 from Gelot, necropolis 2, and its parallels from the Sapalli-​Dzharkutan and Dashly cultures  25.14 Ceramic inventory from Darnajchi, necropolis 2, grave 2  25.15 Ceramic inventory from Gelot, necropolis 6, grave 13  25.16 Straight-​walled cups from the “classical Vakhsh culture” (top) and inventory from Farkhor, necropolis 6A, grave 18 (bottom)  25.17 Pottery inventory from Krugsaj, grave 3  25.18 Beakers of type IDa and similar beaker of type A2 from the Sapalli-​Dzharkutan and Dashly cultures  25.19 Daggers  25.20 Sequence of the Vakhsh graves from the lower Vakhsh valley and dated grave finds from southern Tajikistan  25.21 Older beakers of types ICa and ICb compared to the carinated biconical vessels from Gelot and Darnajchi and the beakers of type 3 from the Middle Bronze Age in Margiana  25.22 Younger beakers of type IDc and the pottery inventory from Gonur, grave 431 and grave channel 7  26.1 Map of Central Eurasia with the location of the main archaeological sites mentioned in the chapter (in italic) and the most important modern cities (in roman, bold)  26.2 Stepped pyramid decorative patterns (crenellation motifs) on steppe pottery and on southern Central Asian pottery  26.3 Pottery podstavska (stand) from Shagalaly II, with potters’ marks on its outer surface  26.4 Plain inner surface of the pottery podstavska (stand) from Shagalaly II  xix

671 672 673 675 676 677 677 681 699 703 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 711 712 713 716 717 717 718 722 723 724 725 726 727 736 756 757 757

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26.5 Pottery podstavska (stand) from Shagalaly II  26.6 Upper part of the body of the large wheel-​made jar found within pit 6, in stratigraphic association with the pottery podstavska (stand)  26.7 Finds of pottery podstavska (stand) with incised potters’ marks from Burly 3, steppe Altai region of southern Siberia  26.8 Lock-​shaped “handbag” from the Lenin village of the Kurdaj district, at the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan  27.1 General map showing BMAC sites investigated within the ROXIANA project  27.2 Ternary diagram of analyzed gold objects from Gonur Depe showing two types of gold metal classified by their silver content  27.3 Lead isotope diagram comparing the lead artifacts from Gonur Depe and Sarazm with potential lead ore deposits in Central Asia  27.4 Frequency distribution of selected element concentrations in the analyzed metal objects from Sarazm measured with ED-​XRF  27.5 Lead isotope diagram comparing the copper-​based metal artifacts from Sarazm with potential copper ore deposits in Central Asia  27.6 Frequency distribution of selected element concentrations in the analyzed metal objects from Gonur Depe and Gonur 21 measured with portable XRF  27.7 Frequency distribution of selected element concentrations in the analyzed metal objects from Gonur Depe and Gonur 20 measured with ED-​XRF  27.8 Lead isotope diagram comparing the copper-​based metal artifacts from Gonur Depe with potential copper ore deposits in Central Asia  27.9 Frequency distribution of selected element concentrations in the analyzed metal objects from Bronze Age sites in Tajikistan measured with ED-​XRF  27.10 Lead isotope diagram comparing the copper-​based metal artifacts from Bronze Age sites in Tajikistan with potential copper ore deposits in Central Asia  27.11 Frequency distribution of selected element concentrations in the analyzed metal objects from Dzharkutan measured with ED-​XRF  27.12 Lead isotope diagram comparing the copper-​based metal artifacts from Bronze Age sites in Uzbekistan with potential copper ore deposits in Central Asia  28.1 Map of Central Asia, showing the different mining and metallurgy centres, especially the tin mines of the Zeravshan valley  28.2 The open-​cast tin mines of Karnab, Uzbekistan  28.3 View of rock pillars with remains of an ore vein  28.4 Thousands of stone hammer tools found inside the mines at Karnab  28.5 View of the Mushiston deposit in Tajikistan  28.6 Plan view of the Mushiston (Tajikistan) labyrinth-​like underground tin mine  29.1 Map showing the “southwest Eurasian metallurgical heartland” wherein the earliest exploitation of copper ores and native copper began  xx

758 758 759 761 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 804 805 806 807 808 809 828

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29.2 Map of Southwest and Central Asian regions where the earliest tin bronze artifacts occur, beginning in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC and continuing later  29.3 Map showing locations (1–​7) of documented prehistoric tin mines or mining regions mentioned in the chapter. Map also shows the location of the Uluburun shipwreck, as well as the layered ecological zonation of northern Eurasia  29.4 The Kestel tin mine, Bolkardağ region, south-​central Anatolia, 3rd millennium BC  29.5 Plan for Göltepe building 1 (Area A) depicting ore processing, workshop stalls, thermal installations, ore grinders, and crucibles  29.6 The Assyrian network of trade in Anatolia ca. 1880 BC. Note tin coming from southern Mesopotamia  29.7 Map showing (A) the southern route of the Assyrian trade network and (B) the overland northern potential route used to transport tin to the ancient Near East from sources east of Mesopotamia  29.8 A modern donkey caravan transporting slabs of salt from the salt-​mining area of Hamed Ela and Lake Asale in the Afar region of Ethiopia  29.9 Cargo excavated from the shipwreck at Uluburun, off the southern coast near Kaș, Turkey, late 14th century BC  29.10 Map of Elam and its two capitals at Susa and Anshan (Tal-​i Malyan), the neighboring Deh Hosein mining area, and the potential directions from which tin was entering Elam and southern Mesopotamia  29.11 Open-​pit-​mining depressions and spoil heaps that dot the landscape of the Deh Hosein tin-​mining area  29.12 Map of major Zagros orogenic belts in western Iran. Important to the discussion is the Sanandaj-​Sirjan fold belt (see arrows) in which Deh Hosein is situated 

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TABLES

1.1 Chronological table for sites in Central Asia, the Indus area, Iran, the Gulf, and Mesopotamia  1.2 Approximative chronological table for Gonur Large Necropolis and Gonur North (different areas and graves), based upon the median 14C dates  1.3 Approximative chronological table for sites in Margiana, Turkmenistan, and Bactria, based upon the median 14C dates  3.1 Synthetic table of climatic evolution during the Holocene in arid Central Asia  8.1 Published BMAC seals from different sites, except Gonur  8.2 Gonur Depe Large Necropolis: distribution of the 126 seals discovered between male, female, or unknown sex graves  8.3 Gonur Depe Large Necropolis: type and material of the seals  8.4 Margiana stamp seals: materials and store museums  8.5 Stamp seals type 1: one-​sided with a handle on the back  8.6 Stamp seals type 2: two-​sided from various areas of the BMAC  8.7 Stamp seals types 3 to 7 from Margiana and Bactria  8.8 Types of compartmented seals from Margiana and Bactria  8.9 Cylinder seals and stamp cylinder seals from Margiana and Bactria  8.10 Impressions of stamp, compartmented, and cylinder seals from Margiana  8.11 Margiana stamp seals: styles and store museums  8.12 Characteristic BMAC single motifs  8.13 BMAC characteristic scene depictions  8.14 Correlation between the numbers of the figures, those of the museums, and those in Sarianidi (1998b)  9.1 Kidney-​shaped or semicircular low trays: rows of triangles on the exterior  9.2 Kidney-​shaped or semicircular low trays: more triangles, curvilinear designs, and others  9.3 Additional motives on kidney-​shaped trays  xxii

8 34 36 91 219 222 223 225 227 228 230 232 236 240 244 252 255 258 303 306 308

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9.4 Different types of unrestricted, hemispherical to subcylindrical containers of variable height, and small restricted pots  9.5 Square-​based, subrectangular, or trapeze-​like vials; triangle-​based patterns  9.6 Square-​based, subrectangular, or trapeze-​like vials; hourglass-​based patterns  9.7 Square-​based, subrectangular, or trapeze-​like vials; trees and tulips  9.8 Square-​based holders: three vials with figurative motifs  9.9 Footed rectangular trays and a compartmented box  9.10 A composite stemmed cup  10.1 Main characteristics of the hypogea and large “ditches” of the “Royal Necropolis” at Gonur Depe  14.1 Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements in Central Asia and adjacent regions with paleodemographical data  14.2 BMAC settlements and sites from adjacent regions from which human remains were the subject of paleopathological examination  14.3 Frequency of dental disease in some Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Early Iron Age groups (individual account, both sexes together)  14.4 Frequency (%) of stress indicators in some Bronze Age groups  14.5 “Correspondence analysis” results: loads of marks for vectors I and II  14.6 Summary of results: frequency of diseases and stress indicators among the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age populations  15.1 Characteristics of the zooarchaeological material from Areas 18, 19, and 23 at Gonur Depe  16.1 Late Bronze Age sites in the Pashkhurt valley  18.1 The Oxus Civilization final phase: continuities and changes  19.1 BMAC/​GKC materials on sites in eastern Iran and on other sites mentioned in the chapter  23.1 Radiocarbon dates from the Gelot and Darnajchi burials  25.1 Sequence of the graves from Gelot and Darnajchi  25.2 Sequence of the Vakhsh graves from the lower Vakhsh valley  26.1 The approximate position of the Namazga (NMG) V and VI periods in relation to the chronological framework for the Middle and Late Bronze Age cultures across the Eurasian steppes  28.1 The different Andronovo groups, their geographical and chronological position 

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CONTRIBUTORS

Valérie Andrieu-​Ponel has been Maître de Conférences at the Aix-​Marseille University (AMU), France, since 2000. She teaches plant biology, ecology, and paleoecology (AMU, Tunis, Sfax), and her research focuses on the reconstruction of ancient ecosystems and environments in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Central Asia over the last five years. She has published 113 articles in peer-​reviewed journals, 35 book chapters, and participated as either leader or participant in 71 research programs (Industry, Europe, USA). Elena V. Antonova is a main researcher in the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East, at the Oriental Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), Russia. She is the author of more than 100 publications on antiquity historical and cultural data, Bronze Age cultures of Central Asia and neighboring regions, theoretical problems, the village-​to-​city social structure evolution, rituals and mythological representations, culture formation, and the relations between Central Asia and the Near East. Nona A. Avanesova is a specialist of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Eurasian steppes, the Zeravshan, and southern Uzbekistan. She is a professor in the Department of Archaeology at Samarkand University, Uzbekistan, and an associated professor in the Department of Theory and History of Culture at Samara State University, Russia. She was an invited professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France. She has discovered and investigated more than 20 archaeological sites in the Zeravshan valley, eight of which have been excavated. She is a member of international archaeological expeditions in southern West Siberia and Altai regions in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. She has published more than 150 scientific publications, including four monographs and four tutorials. Julio Bendezu-​Sarmiento is a senior archaeologist and was director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA) from 2014 to 2018. Trained in funeral archaeology and biological anthropology, he first worked on Bronze and Iron Age populations in Kazakhstan. He was a researcher at the French Institute for Iranian studies (IFRI) in 2005–​2007, deputy director and director of the French Institute for xxiv

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Central Asian Studies in Uzbekistan (IFEAC) in 2007–​2010, and has been involved for more than two decades in archaeological fieldwork in Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Karakalpakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A  member of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS/ MNHN), Paris, he is currently mainly working on Bronze and Iron Age periods in Central Asia. He has contributed to numerous publications on archaeology (methods, techniques, fieldwork) and on biological anthropology and archaeothanatology. Raffaele Biscione is an archaeologist and senior researcher emeritus at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche  (CNR), Rome, Italy. He has worked in Iran at Shahr-​i Sokhta, and is currently excavating at Tepe Chalow, a Bronze Age site in the northeastern part of Iran. He also worked on Urartian fortresses in Armenia. He is the author of a number of publications. Gian Luca Bonora has taught at the University of Bologna, Italy, and for four years at the L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan. He participated in numerous archaeological expeditions in Central and Middle Asia led by the International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient (ISIAO), and the University of Bologna. He has been the director of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Kazakhstan, on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since 2007. In 2012, he became a member and scientific researcher for ISMEO in Rome, Italy, and he is currently associate professor of cultural anthropology at the Antonianum University of Vatican City. He is the author of more than 80 publications in Italian, English, Russian, and Kazakh, mainly dedicated to the study and analysis of the prehistoric and protohistoric communities of Middle and Central Asia, among which a two-​volume Multilingual Dictionary of Archaeological Terms in four languages (Kazakh, Russian, English, and Italian) (2014). Natalja D. Burova is a scientific researcher, now responsible for radiocarbon dating and is head of the Laboratory of Archaeological Technology, at the Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), St. Petersburg, Russia. Annie Caubet is a French archaeologist and museum curator. She is currently a professor at Ecole du Louvre and honorary curator at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, where she was the former head of the Department of the Ancient Near East (1988–​2006). She was also a Mellon fellow (2013–​2014) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. She has done extensive fieldwork in Syria, Cyprus, and various archaeological sites in the Near East, and has worked at Ulug Depe (Turkmenistan). Her main areas of interest are luxury goods in the ancient Near East and Central Asia, especially faience, ivory, precious stones, the archaeology of music, and coroplastic studies. Barbara Cerasetti has been the project director of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Turkmenistan since 2006. Her main specialization is the reconstruction of ancient landscape in prehistoric Central Asia, in correlation with climate change through advanced technology, especially remote sensing. She is particularly interested in the interaction and integration between nomad and sedentary cultures in Turkmenistan and in Central Asia during the Bronze Age. She has taken part in numerous field xxv

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research projects worldwide, often in collaboration with European and American institutions. She is the author of many contributions in peer-​reviewed journals and has a long experience as peer reviewer for specialized journals as well as funding sponsor. Lucie Cez is a PhD student in geoarchaeology at the University of Pantheon-​Sorbonne (Paris 1), France, and a member of the UMR 7041 ArScAn (Nanterre), France. Her doctoral research is devoted to the study of ancient irrigation canals discovered in the vicinity of the Late Chalcolithic site of Sarazm occupied in the 4th and 3rd millennium BC (Zeravshan valley, Tajikistan). The sedimentary archives of several fills in these canals allow the documentation of relations between paleoenvironmental conditions and human occupation in this Central Asia semiarid valley highly dependent on tectonic constraints. She has developed geoarchaeological approaches based on geomorphology and micromorphology of soils in semiarid to arid regions in East Africa (Egypt and Sudan). Nadezhda A. Dubova is a main researcher and head of the Center of Human Ecology at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (IEA) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. She was the head and/​or a member of more than 60 physical anthropological and archaeological expeditions in Russia, Central Asia, Iran, and the Moldova Republic. She now heads the Russian-​Turkmen Margiana archaeological expedition. She gives lectures at different universities (Lomonosov Moscow, Ufa (Bashkortostan), Voronezh, South Kazakhstan (Shimkent), and Bern (Switzerland)). She is the author and editor of more than 400 publications on physical anthropology, human ecology, Eurasian archaeology, and theoretic problems of anthropology. Michel Fontugne is a geochemist affiliated to the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) and to CNRS (Paris and Aix-​en-​Provence), France. His research mainly concerns the dynamics of paleoenvironmental changes and their relationship with the cultural development of human societies in the last 50,000 years. He is the author or co-​author of over 350 publications. Eric Fouache is a professor of physical geography and geoarchaeology at the University of Paris-​Sorbonne (Paris 4), France, and vice-​chancellor of Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, since 2012. His research concerns geoarchaeological, paleoenvironmental, and paleogeographical issues in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Near and Middle East, and Central Asia (UMR ENeC 8185, France). He has published two books as a single author and more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, including more than 50 in international peer-​reviewed journals. In 2000 and 2007, he received