Bronze Age Cultures of the Steppe and Highlands in Central Asia

Abstract

During the late third and early second millennium B.C., the Namazga (cf. Anau civilization of Vinogradova and Kuz'mina, this issue) developed along a narrow strip of foothills in the south of Turkmenistan (see map). This foothill area, with large and sophisticated settlements such as Altyn depe, was closely related to agricultural oases to the north in the Kara Kum Desert (the Margiana oases) and to the east (ancient Bactria). At that time, the extensive desert and steppe regions to the north of both the foothills and oases belonged to remarkably different cultures based on hunting and gathering economies and then herding economies. Regions of Central Asia developed unevenly during this period of early complex societies. This paper describes the steppe and highland settlements north of the sedentary agricultural settlements, with a focus on the southern Aral region (Khorezm), the Ferghana valley, the Zeravshan valley, and the mountain zones of Tajikistan (Fig. 1).