The Prehistory of the Caucasus: Internal Developments and External Interactions

Kohl, Philip L.; Trifonov, Viktor; Renfrew, Colin; Bahn, Paul G.

doi:10.1017/cho9781139017831.096

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The Pirtaj excavations revealed the presence of the Kura‐Araxes culture in the region. In line with Kohl’s observation regarding the typically limited expanse of Kura‐Araxian settlements rarely exceeding 5 ha (Kohl & Trifonov, 2014, 1,580), Pirtaj represents a small community, with its material culture reflecting that the local populations were acquainted with the Kura‐Araxian tradition. The pottery diversity is particularly interesting.…”

Section: Geographic Location Of Pirtajsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Not surprisingly, in view of its vast geographic distribution (Kiguradze & Sagona, 2003; Kohl, 2007, p. 87, 2009; Kuftin, 1941, p. 114; Palumbi, 2008, p. 7; Sagona, 1984, pp. 15–16), it displays wide regional variations evidenced by a broad array of eccentricity in cultural facets, including architecture and pottery styles (Kohl & Trifonov, 2014, p. 1580; Omrani et al, 2012, p. 2; Sagona, 2014, p. 22; Sagona, 2018). Multiple dynamics came into play to make a most distinguishing regional cultural realm out of this specific culture (Palumbi, 2017, p. 113).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The designation Kura‐Araxes was first advanced by Kuftin, and related material was initially reported from eastern Anatolia and the Upper Euphrates region (Palumbi, 2017, p. 113). In Iran, the primary attestation is credited to Yanik Tepe (Burney, 1961, 1962, 1964), while related material is likewise known from Geoy Tepe (Burton Brown, 1951), Haftavan (Burney, 1973) Gijlar (Kohl & Trifonov, 2014), the northern Lake Urmia Basin (Omrani, 2012), the Lake Urmia Basin (Kroll, 2005) in northwest Iran and Godin IV (Young, 1969) in west Iran. In recent years, the culture’s boundaries have further extended in western Iran, where it has been identified at Pisa in Hamadan, Gurab in Malayer and Pirtaj in Bijar (Khaksar et al, 2015; Mohammadifar & Motarjem, 2015, 1) In general, the Kura‐Araxian sites of Iran are clustered in the northwest quadrant (Kroll, 2005; Piller, 2012, p. 441).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A laboratory analysis of the Kura‐Araxes pottery from Tepe Pirtaj using petrography and XRF techniques

Sharifi

Omrani

2022

Archaeometry

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Sounding at the archaeological site of Tepe Pirtaj in Bijar of Kurdistan aimed to investigate the foremost cultural phenomenon of the third millennium BCE across the Near East, namely the Kura-Araxes culture, in the eastern Central Zagros, as the site promised to provide important insights into the spread of the culture in an easternmost tract of the Central Zagros. Characterized by a grey body often bearing incised decorations, the Kura-Araxes material from Pirtaj shows high expertise in manufacture. The present study explored the pottery technology and manufacturing by selecting a sample of 12 sherds for petrographic and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses. The main objective was to examine the composition and structure, differences and comparisons, firing temperature and origin (local or imported) of the ceramics. This is of particular significance given the dearth of contemporaneous sites in Bijar. Petrographic and XRF analyses showed the ceramics to be indigenous to the region and, thus, locally produced. The whole sample was found to have been fired at temperatures below 800 C. Geological data attest to the abundance of slate, lime, quartz and calcite in the regional mountains and sediments. Thus the ceramics were locally produced, though some slight differences are discernible as regards technological aspects.

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Section: Geographic Location Of Pirtajsupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A laboratory analysis of the Kura‐Araxes pottery from Tepe Pirtaj using petrography and XRF techniques

Sharifi

Omrani

2022

Archaeometry

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“…In summer 1897, Professor Nikolai Veselovsky of St Petersburg University excavated a huge mound located on the outskirts of Maikop, a small town in the north-western Caucasus, on the edge of the steppe (Figure 1) (Veselovsky 1900: 2-11). In due course, the Maikop mound, famed for its extremely rich burial and evidence for extensive cultural connections, would lend its name to the Maikop Early Bronze Age Culture (c. 3700-3000/2900 BC) (Kohl & Trifonov 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Party like a Sumerian: reinterpreting the ‘sceptres’ from the Maikop kurgan

Trifonov

Petrov

Savelieva³

2022

Antiquity

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The Bronze Age Maikop kurgan is one of the most richly furnished prehistoric burial mounds in the northern Caucasus. Its excavation in 1897 yielded a set of gold and silver tubes with elaborate tips and decorative bull figurines. Interpretations of these tubes include their use as sceptres and as poles to support a canopy. Re-examination of these objects, however, suggests they were used as tubes for the communal drinking of beer, with integral filters to remove impurities. If correct, these objects represent the earliest material evidence of drinking through long tubes—a practice that became common during feasts in the third and second millennia BC in the ancient Near East.

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“…The actual number of megalithic burials in the region is estimated to be much higher, as this number does not include large dolmen fields at the foothills of the Golan Heights (such as the Shamir Dolmen and the Kurazim Fields [ 16 ]). In comparison, the total number of dolmens recorded in the entire Western Caucasus is estimated to be 3000 [ 17 ]. The large number of Golan dolmens and their wide geographical distribution led Hartal [ 15 ] to suggest abandoning the term dolmen field, as it is impossible to define the border between different fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monumental megalithic burial and rock art tell a new story about the Levant Intermediate Bronze “Dark Ages”

et al. 2017

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The Intermediate Bronze Age (IB) in the Southern Levant (ca. 2350–2000 BCE) is known as the “Dark Ages,” following the collapse of Early Bronze urban society and predating the establishment of the Middle Bronze cities. The absence of significant settlements and monumental building has led to the reconstruction of IB social organization as that of nomadic, tribal society inhabiting rural villages with no central governmental system. Excavation in the Shamir Dolmen Field (comprising over 400 dolmens) on the western foothills of the Golan Heights was carried out following the discovery of rock art engravings on the ceiling of the central chamber inside one of the largest dolmens ever recorded in the Levant. Excavation of this multi-chambered dolmen, covered by a basalt capstone weighing some 50 tons, revealed a secondary multi-burial (of both adults and children) rarely described in a dolmen context in the Golan. Engraved into the rock ceiling above the multi-burial is a panel of 14 forms composed of a vertical line and downturned arc motif. 3D-scanning by structured-light technology was used to sharpen the forms and revealed the technique employed to create them. Building of the Shamir dolmens required a tremendous amount of labor, architectural mastery, and complex socio-economic organization well beyond the capacity of small, rural nomadic groups. The monumental megalithic burial of the Shamir dolmens indicates a hierarchical, complex, non-urban governmental system. This new evidence supports a growing body of recent criticism stemming from new discoveries and approaches that calls for rethinking our views of the Levantine IB “Dark Ages.”

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The Prehistory of the Caucasus: Internal Developments and External Interactions

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

A laboratory analysis of the Kura‐Araxes pottery from Tepe Pirtaj using petrography and XRF techniques

A laboratory analysis of the Kura‐Araxes pottery from Tepe Pirtaj using petrography and XRF techniques

Party like a Sumerian: reinterpreting the ‘sceptres’ from the Maikop kurgan

Monumental megalithic burial and rock art tell a new story about the Levant Intermediate Bronze “Dark Ages”

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