Abstract
The Kura-Araxes cultural tradition (ca. 3500–2200 BCE) was one of the most widespread archaeological horizons in Southwest Asian prehistory, spanning from the Caucasus to the southern Levant. Although several decades of research have considerably increased our knowledge about this Early Bronze Age tradition, the social and economic organization of its communities remains a matter of much debate. Interpretations of the organization of Kura-Araxes craft economies range from need-based household production to extra-household specialized production for exchange and elite consumption. This issue stems from the absence of a systematic approach to studying the spatial organization of craft production; that is the study of the spatial distribution of archaeological material across multiple contexts to reconstruct the location of various activities involved in craft production. Extensive evidence for craft production at Köhne Shahar (KSH)—one of the largest Kura-Araxes sites ever discovered—provides an opportunity for such a study. Faunal remains are among the most abundant types of remains recovered at KSH Phases IV and V (ca. 2800–2500 BCE), where bone and antler were cached and then shaped into tools that were used to manufacture other objects like beads. We use zooarchaeology to study the spatial distribution of worked and unworked animal remains to analyze the function of several structures and spaces in the craft production areas to ultimately gain better insight into the organization of labor and the social organization of the community. We identify evidence for two antler storage units, numerous waste dumps, and several workshops. Some workshops manufactured a similar range of small, possibly ornamental objects, while others specialized in the manufacture of certain goods, textiles, and objects made of animal horn. When combined with other lines of evidence, our observations point to a community-wide production economy with little direct evidence for a stratified social organization. We argue that the absence of a strict social hierarchy at KSH and across the Kura-Araxes world is not evidence of the absence of social complexity, but the presence of a horizontal or heterarchical social order.
Highlights
This study investigates the spatial distribution of worked and unworked faunal remains to analyze the function of various structures and spaces at the Kura-Araxes settlement of Kohne Shahar to gain better insight into the organization of craft production
We argue that the absence of a strict social hierarchy at Kohne Shahar (KSH) and across the Kura-Araxes world is not evidence of the absence of social complexity, but the presence of a horizontal or heterarchical social order
By the early third millennium BCE, it had expanded beyond its southern Caucasus “homeland.” KuraAraxes “diaspora” communities appeared as far west as Anatolia and the southern Levant, as far south as the central Zagros and the Caspian littoral, and as far north as the edges of the Eurasian Steppe [3,4,5,6]
Summary
This study investigates the spatial distribution of worked and unworked faunal remains to analyze the function of various structures and spaces at the Kura-Araxes settlement of Kohne Shahar to gain better insight into the organization of craft production. The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural tradition was arguably the most geographically-widespread and long-lived archaeological tradition in Southwest Asian prehistory [1,2]. This tradition first emerged in the highlands of the southern Caucasus in the mid-fourth millennium BCE (Fig 1). By the early third millennium BCE, it had expanded beyond its southern Caucasus “homeland.” KuraAraxes “diaspora” communities appeared as far west as Anatolia and the southern Levant, as far south as the central Zagros and the Caspian littoral, and as far north as the edges of the Eurasian Steppe [3,4,5,6]. KA sites are identified in the archaeological record [11], the social and economic structures of KA communities remain poorly understood [12]
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