User:Y-barton/Nakhchivan Tepe

Nakhchivan Tepe is an ancient settlement located in the city of Nakhchivan, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan.[1] The settlement is located on top of a natural hill in the Nakhchivanchay river valley. The settlement dates back to the 6th–5th millennia BC.

Archaeological research at Nakhchivan Tepe began in 2017 under the leadership of Veli Bakhshaliyev of the Nakhchivan branch of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

The existence of connections between the cultures of the South Caucasus and the Middle East (including Mesopotamia) has attracted the attention of researchers for many years. Researchers such as R. M. Munchaev and O. A. Abibullaev considered the spread of cultures from the Middle East to the South Caucasus. If previously the existence of these connections was evidenced by isolated finds, now they are confirmed by much archaeological material. One of these monuments is the settlement of Nakhchivan Tepe, which is characterized by Dalmatepe ceramics.

The first inhabitants of Nakhchivan Tepe lived in houses partly dug into the ground and partly built from clay bricks. Such premises were also discovered during excavations of the settlements of Ovchulyar Tepesi. Most of their tools are obsidian, including several sickle blades, which provide information about their farming.

Animal bones show that the inhabitants were mainly engaged in breeding small livestock; hunting occupied an insignificant place in the economy.[6] The bones of horses and dogs are found only infrequently. No botanical remains have been identified so far.

Ceramics
The pottery at the site is characteristic of the first half of the 5th millennium BC, quite similar to the painted and printed pottery of Dalma Tepe. Coal from the lower horizon provides the dates around 4950 BC.[7] With the exception of isolated finds, no other complete complex of such ceramics has been discovered in the South Caucasus, so it's important for the study of chalcolithic culture of the region.

The pottery can be divided into two periods based on the stratigraphy of the settlement. It was made primarily by coiling method. Some pieces are decorated with fingerprints, which are sometimes imprinted haphazardly. The pottery was typically tempered with chaff and fired to various shades of red.

The upper horizon of the site is characterized by rectangular architecture. The pottery of this horizon has been classified into six groups, so there is a variety of shapes and decorations.

The Nakhchivan Tepe ceramics are very similar to those of Dalma Tepe and Ucan-agil. Uçan ağıl

The inhabitants of Lake Urmia basin seemed to have used the obsidian deposits of the Zangezur Mountains, while the Nakhichevan peoples were intermediaries of this trade. A stone hammer was found in the Nakhchivanchay valley with copper remains on it, so the copper deposits of Zangezur were also apparently traded.

Dalma Tepe ceramics
Dalma Tepe pottery was first explored at the site of the same name through excavations by Charles Burney in 1959 and then in 1961 by Keiler Young.[10] Similar ceramics were discovered in the settlements of Hasanlu, Haji Firuz, and Tepe Sivan.[12] Dalma Tepe pottery has been found in Iran and Iraq along with typical Halaf and Ubaid pottery. Similar pottery has been found in Zagros Mountain sites such as Kangavar Valley settlements such as Seh Gabi B. and Godin Tepe.

On the territory of Iranian Azerbaijan, this pottery tradition is also found in settlements in Kulfa-Kultepe, Akhrandzhan-Tepe, Lavin-Tepe, Gosha-Tepe, Idir-Tepe and Baruy-Tepe. Currently, similar ceramics have been discovered in South Azerbaijan at more than 100 sites. Some of these settlements belonged to settled populations, while others belonged to nomadic tribes.[14] According to researchers, this culture flourished in northwestern Iran and spread from there to the south and west of the Lake Urmia basin. Chemical analysis of Dalma Tepe pottery showed that they were made locally.