Back to the Iron Age Chronology in Southern Central Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-377
Author(s):  
Bertille Lyonnet ◽  
Michel Fontugne
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Southern Central

Abstract The article reconsiders two major sites of the 1st millennium BC in southern Uzbekistan, Kyzyltepa and Kurganzol. It contests their recent dating – exclusively the Achaemenid and transitional Hellenistic period for the first one, and the end of the 4th c. BC for the second one – mainly based upon dendrochronological analyses relating the samples to the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest or slightly before, and ruling out the other dates given to these sites in previous publications. Our argumentation is based upon (1) various archaeological arguments and (2) scientific criteria that question the dendrochronological data and the supposed aging of the 14C results due to “old waters” from glaciers.

Central Asia and the Interaction between the Iranian Plateau and the Steppes in Late First Millennium BC

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 331-353
Author(s):  
Johanna Lhuillier ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Iranian Plateau ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Middle Iron Age

AbstractResearch led by the joint French-Turkmen Archaeological Expedition (MAFTur) at Ulug-depe have brought to light the longest continuous stratigraphic sequence of southern Central Asia, starting from the Late Neolithic up to the Middle Iron Age. During the last fieldwork seasons, a later, still poorly-known occupation has been identified: after its abandonment at the end of the Middle Iron Age period, Ulug-depe was briefly reoccupied during the late 1st millennium BC. The archaeological levels related to this occupation are extremely poorly preserved, and this stage is mainly witnessed by a particular pottery complex. Preliminary and ongoing researches on this pottery complex suggest that it principally includes Hellenistic-period vessels associated with some more unusual shapes. This association of material finds analogies in the area of interaction between the northern and the southern parts of Central Asia (i.e., in Uzbekistan, in a territory stretching from Tashkent to the Aral Sea through the Syr Darya area). In this paper, we will present a first overview of these discoveries, placing Ulug-depe at the crossroads of different cultural groups, sedentary and possibly nomadic, at the end of the 1st millennium BC.

scholarly journals Preliminary report on the 2008 and 2009 excavation seasons at Jiyeh (Porphyreon)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Gwiazda
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
The Other ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Coastal Site ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
Archaeological Excavations ◽  
Curious Feature ◽  
Late Roman

Report from archaeological excavations in 2008 and 2009 carried out at the coastal site of Jiyeh in Lebanon, following up on earlier investigations, by Polish archaeologists.Remains of late Roman –Byzantine dwellings in the central part of the site, excavated originally by a Lebanese mission in 1975, were re-explored including documentation of finds in local museum collections, said to have come from these excavations. Testing in this part of the habitation quarter produced a provisional stratification, from the Iron Age (8th–7thcentury BC) directly on bedrock, through the Persian–Hellenistic period (5th–2nd centuries BC) to the late Roman–Byzantine age when the quarter has reoccupied. A curious feature consisting of pots sunk in the floor in several of the late Roman and Byzantine-age houses is discussed in the first of two appendices. The other appendix treats on stone thresholds from these houses, five types of which have been distinguished, reflecting different technical solutions used to close doors

The Citadel of Ulug Depe and the Iron Age Archaeological Sequence in Southern Central Asia

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (0) ◽  
pp. 479-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémy BOUCHARLAT ◽  
Henri-Paul FRANCFORT ◽  
Olivier LECOMTE
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Central

scholarly journals Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perle C. P. Guarino-Vignon ◽  
Nina Marchi ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento ◽  
Evelyne Heyer ◽  
Celine Bon
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
South Central ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Linguistic Groups

Since prehistoric times, South Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asia's populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian population. However, little is known about the origin of the latter. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day populations - Yaghnobis and Tajiks - with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.

Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC, from the Beginning of the Iron age to the Hellenistic period

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Present Volume ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Key Aspects

The present volume edited by Johanna Lhuillier gathers contributions presented during the workshop “Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC” at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna in 2016. Designed to treat both the Iron Age and the Hellenistic period, it aims to embrace the diversity of current archaeological work led on the 1st millennium BC in Central Asia. The contributions are based on previously unpublished data and ongoing fieldwork, treating key aspects of the covered period, like chronology, the development of settlements and architecture, and the distribution and evolution of material culture. The volume casts new light on this challenging period by characterizing its cultural, socio-economical, and political transformations and focusing on broader interactions with neighbouring cultures.

Animal exploitation in the oases: an archaeozoological review of Iron Age sites in southern Central Asia

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (357) ◽  
pp. 655-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Lhuillier ◽  
Marjan Mashkour
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Image Position

Abstract

scholarly journals Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Perle Guarino-Vignon ◽  
Nina Marchi ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento ◽  
Evelyne Heyer ◽  
Céline Bon
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Iranian Populations

AbstractSince prehistoric times, southern Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asian populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian populations. However, little is known about the origin of the latters. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day Indo-Iranian populations — Yaghnobis and Tajiks — with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.

Trees and shrubs in the sanctuary. Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros

2019 ◽  
pp. 255-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ntinou
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Wood Charcoal ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Charcoal Analysis ◽  
Additional Source ◽  
Olive Cultivation ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
By Products

Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros aims to provide information on the vegetation of the area and its management and on the range of plants used in the activities taking place at the sanctuary. During the excavations of 2003–2005 in Areas D and C, systematic samples from fills and features from all the excavated strata were recovered and water flotation was used for the separation of wood charcoal from the sediment. Wood charcoal was found in two pits dated to the Early Iron Age, near the supposed altar of the Archaic period (Feature 05), in a deposit of the Hellenistic period (the “dining deposit”), in floor deposits (Early Iron Age and Late Classical/Early Hellenistic periods), and fills of different chrono-cultural periods (Archaic–Early Roman). All the taxa identified in the wood charcoal assemblages are thermophilous Mediterranean elements, most of them evergreen broad-leaved. The assemblages show that the most frequent taxon is the olive, followed by the prickly oak, the Fabaceae, and the heather. In most assemblages mock privet/buckthorn, strawberry tree, the pear and Prunus family species are present, while Aleppo pine, lentisc, the fig, and the carob trees are less frequent. Olive cultivation was an important economic activity during the whole life of the sanctuary and probably olive pruning constantly provided the sanctuary with fuel. The woodland would be the additional source of firewood for the sanctuary’s needs for fuel for mundane activities such as heating and cooking, for more formal ones, such as sacrifice, but also for industrial activities such as tile firing. Activities related to the reorganization of space and the expansion of the sanctuary may be reflected in charcoal of carpentry by-products as the fir, cypress, and maybe pine remains.

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