Risultati preliminari delle indagini archeologiche ed etnografiche presso il sito di Togolok 1

Modern Turkmenistan is mainly constituted by a desert landscape, yet despite its harsh climate, cultures have been able to construct networks of water channels since the Bronze Age. This has resulted in a man-made landscape that integrates towns and villages. Extensive surveys and recent archaeological excavations have highlighted that between 2400 and 2100 BC (Namazga V period), the region of the Murghab alluvial fan was characterised by the development of complex urban societies. However, starting from the Late Bronze Age, a new group of mobile pastoralists appeared in the Murghab region and settled along the edges of the sedentary sites. Although their presence is well-attested both by survey and excavation data, their degree of interaction with the sedentary farmers is still debated. In modern Turkmenistan, semi-mobile shepherds continue to drive their cattle across the Murghab, using mobile camps for different months. This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavation of the sedentary site of Togolok 1, as well as the first ethnographic study of the mobile communities of the Murghab region

Transfers and Interactions between North and South in Central Asia during the Bronze Age

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Tombes féminines et pratiques funéraires en Asie centrale protohistorique. Quelques réflexions sur le « statut social » des femmes dans la civilisation de l’Oxus

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L'âge du Bronze final en Asie centrale méridionale (1750-1500/1450 avant n.è.) : la fin de la civilisation de l'Oxus

After the peak period during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2100-1800/1750 B.C.), around 1750 B.C. the Oxus civilization knows a phase of deep transformations leading to its disappearance and to the emergence of a new cultural complex around 1500 B.C. The Final Bronze Age, yet not much undocumented in Southern Central Asia, seems to be too unknown, and hence disparaged. It represents though a major period in the Central Asia history, where remain unanswered complex questions such as the one of the "decline" of societies, or the one of the interactions between miscellaneous ethnocultural groups. This work, based on ancient and unpublished sources, in a multidisciplinary approach, allows us to specify this era pointing out especially its multicultural characteristic. The study of the periodization is another major aspect of this work. Approached, until now, as an only chronological block, the Final Bronze Age may be shared out in two phases. The material complex, typical of each phase, is unevenly distributed over the territory. In addition, reviewing the causes of the shifts, previously proposed, allows to revise, temper or eliminate some of them. Finally, the analysis of mutations gives us the opportunity to conceive not a general decline, but gradual and heterogeneous developments leading to the emergence of a new type of society, which continuities are visible in the Early Iron Age. Despite some resiliency phenomenons, the impact of the noticed transformations won't allowed the political and cultural structures of the Oxus civilization to be maintained in the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C.Après une phase d'apogée au cours de l'âge du Bronze moyen (environ 2100-1800/1750 av. n.è.), la civilisation de l'Oxus connaît à partir de 1750 av.n.è. environ une phase de transformations profondes menant à sa disparition et à l'émergence d'un nouvel ensemble culturel aux alentours de 1500 av. n.è. Cette période de l'âge du Bronze final encore peu documentée en Asie centrale méridionale apparaît bien méconnue et, de ce fait, dépréciée. Elle représente pourtant une phase majeure dans l'histoire de l'Asie centrale où se posent certaines questions complexes comme celle du "déclin" des sociétés ou encore celle des interactions entre divers groupes ethnoculturels. Ce travail, établi à partir de sources anciennes et inédites dans une démarche pluridisciplinaire, permet de préciser la spécificité de cette période en mettant particulièrement en avant son caractère multiculturel. L'étude de la périodisation constitue un autre aspect majeur. Abordé jusqu'à présent comme un seul bloc chronologique, l'âge du Bronze final peut être réparti en deux grandes phases, dont les assemblages matériels caractéristiques se distribuent de façon inégale sur l'ensemble du territoire. Par ailleurs, l'examen des causes des mutations, proposées par de précédents travaux, permet de les réviser, de les nuancer ou de les éliminer. Enfin, l'analyse des transformations pointe, non un déclin général, mais des évolutions graduelles et hétérogènes, représentant l'émergence d'un nouveau type de société dont les continuités sont visibles à la période suivante de l'âge du Fer ancien. Malgré certains phénomènes de résilience, l'impact des transformations constatées ne permet toutefois pas le maintien des structures politiques et culturelles de la civilisation de l'Oxus au milieu du 2e millénaire avant n.è

The End of the Oxus Civilization

International audienceThis chapter presents a concise synthesis of the state of knowledge on the end of the Oxus Civilization. It brings new lights on diverse issues about the interpretation of this particular moment of sociocultural evolution and on the causes of transformations

Figurines féminines nues protohistoriques d'Asie centrale et d'Iran oriental. Typologie, usages et symbolique

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Pluralising power: ceramics and social differentiation in Bronze Age central Eurasia

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Les différentes formes de richesse dans les sociétés d'Asie centrale aux âges du Bronze et du Fer (IIIe-Ier millénaires av. J.-C.)

International audienceWealth finds strongly varying expression among the proto-historical societies of Central Asia, both from a diachronic (Bronze vs. Iron Ages) as well as from a geographical point of view (northern steppe zone vs. southern oasis zone). A comparative approach using such parameters as architecture, funerary practices and use of land, one can outline some interpretations about the evolution of the notion of wealth and highlight common or singular features among the relevant cultures. In the Oxus Bronze Age civilization as well as among the Saka of the Iron Age steppes, wealth finds expression through possession of prestige goods and display, which marks economic, social, if not political, inequality (rich/poor; male/female; human/animal). In the oasis zone, at the beginning of Iron Age, the total disappearance of such wealth and of any visible signs of power reflects a new conception of power, now focused on the control of the territory and of the means of production.Les sociétés protohistoriques d’Asie centrale présentent une variabilité importante dansl’expression de la richesse, aussi bien diachronique (âges du Bronze et du Fer) que géographique(zone steppique septentrionale/monde des oasis méridional). L’étude croisée de paramètres tels que l’architecture, les pratiques funéraires et la gestion du territoire permet d’esquisser quelques interprétations sur l’évolution de la notion de richesse, en soulignant les similitudes ou les divergences entre les différentes cultures considérées. Dans la civilisation de l’Oxus de l’âge du Bronze comme chez les populations Sakas des steppes de l’âge du Fer, elle s’exprime dans la possession de biens de prestige et l’ostentatoire, qui marque une inégalité économique, sociale, voire politique (riches/pauvres, hommes/femmes, humains/animaux). Dans la zone d’oasis, au début de l’âge du Fer, la disparition totale de ces richesses et des marqueurs du pouvoir traduit une conception renouvelée de celui-ci, dans son expression comme dans son application, désormais centré sur le contrôle du territoire et des moyens de production

Archaeometric investigations of the Molali pottery complex (Bronze Age, Uzbekistan). New data on technology and exchanges at the end of the Oxus Civilization

International audienceThe recent excavations at the site of Molali, located in southern Uzbekistan and dated to the mid-second millennium BCE, offer new insights into the definition of the Final Bronze Age pottery complex in southern Uzbekistan and the technological and stylistic links between the potting traditions of the various cultural groups at this period. An archaeometric study has been conducted in order to characterize the various wares, investigate the compositional variability of the ceramic assemblage, and determine the provenance of the raw materials. The results from a combination of techniques (Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence, X-Ray Diffraction, and thin section Optical Microscopy) allowed us to identify a local pottery production of wheel-made fine ware and to determine the local/regional origin of the handmade, coarse, shell-tempered ware. Exchange relationships with ‘steppe’ populations have been confirmed; they involved not only vessels (coarse rock-tempered pots) but also pottery traditions (specific ‘steppe’-like decorations on pots of regional origin). Although not numerous, they are nonetheless evidence of large-scale connections between the settlements in the Surkhan Darya valley and other peripheral cultures and areas in the mid-second millennium BCE. The diversity of fabrics (use of various raw materials and different technological processes) is also discussed regarding the choices made for intrinsic material properties required for specific functions, highlighting the strong expertise and management acquired by the potters for the production of diverse ceramic functional categories