A Central Asian Village at the Dawn of Civilization: Excavations at Anau, Turkmenistan

Fredrik Hiebert, Kakamurad Kurbansakhatov

UPenn Museum of Archaeology, Mar 31, 2003 - History - 238 pages

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.

Contents

• Foreword Robert H Dyson: 7
• Anau North an Introduction: 7
• A: 11
• B 1: 17
• 4: 26
• 12: 36
• 4: 41
• 6: 48
• 19: 52
• 1: 58
• 1: 61
• 5: 65
• 14: 72
• 8: 81
• 7: 83
• 9: 89
• 13: 93
• 81: 98
• 3: 99
• 17: 107
• 26: 114
• 1: 116
• 4: 120
• 1: 127
• 4: 133
• Microscopic Analysis of Soils from Anau North Alexandra A Golyeva: 139
• 4: 145
• Animal Herding Hunting and the History of Animal Domestication at Anau depe: 154
• 1: 155
• Prehistoric Behavior at Anau North: 160
• A 2: 164
• 1: 165
• The Evolution of the Settlement at Anau North: 169
• A 1: 174
• A 3: 180
• A 6: 181
• Terrace 3 pedestalled pottery vessel: 187
• East Gallery Correlates of Stratigraphy: 191
• TABLES: 206
• 3: 210
• Bibliography: 220
• 216: 231

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Central Asian Village at the Dawn of Civilization: Excavations at Anau, Turkmenistan; Volume 116 of Museum monographs; Volume 116 of University Museum monograph // University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology; Volume 116 of University Museum monograph; Volume 116 of University of Pennsylvania Museum Monographs
• Authors: Fredrik Hiebert, Kakamurad Kurbansakhatov
• Contributor: Kakamurad Kurbansakhatov
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 2003
• ISBN: 1931707502, 9781931707503
• Length: 238 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; History / Asia / Central Asia; Social Science / Archaeology; Social Science / Sociology / Rural; Social Science / Sociology / Urban