Bakhtiyar Jalilov

The Kura–Araxes culture emerged in the South Caucasus in the mid-4th millennium BCE as an expression of small-scale, household-based communities. It subsequently expanded across the highlands, becoming the most widespread cultural tradition of the early to mid-3rd millennium BCE Bronze Age Southwest Asia, clearly distinct from the contemporaneous urban trajectories of early state societies in Mesopotamia. Ceramics were among the most distinctive expressions of the Kura–Araxes tradition and key markers of its expansion. They played an important role in the dynamics of social integration as well as in the material and cultural reproduction of the Kura–Araxes communities over space and through time. By adopting an integrated methodological approach combining technological, morphological, use-wear, and biomolecular analyses of pottery from the settlement of Qaraçinar (Azerbaijan), this study sheds light on the functions of ceramics within the framework of Kura–Araxes foodways. The results reveal a diverse diet supported by a mixed subsistence economy, and emphasize the cultural importance of grape-derived beverages, alongside the central role of dairy products and ruminant carcass fats in Kura–Araxes cuisine. Novel markers of culinary practices are identified, including thermal processing of carcass fats and dairy, as well as preliminary evidence of food transformation and preservation techniques that may have involved the use of fruits and conifer-derived plant products. A functional distinction is also observed between the versatile Monochrome Ware and Red-Black Burnished Ware, the latter likely dedicated to fruit- or grape-based and dairy beverages, suggesting the existence of codified cultural behaviors related to food preparation and consumption.

Burial mounds, or kurgans , are a widespread archaeological feature in ancient Eurasia. In the South Caucasus, the Kura-Araxes (KA) culture adopted these funerary structures to express horizontal social ideology through collective inhumations. KA communities also constantly re-engaged with the dead through the regular reopening of burials, contributing to a rich organic archive that relates to episodes of funerary manipulation. This article reports on the results of a radiocarbon wiggle-match obtained from a semi-burnt branch of Juniperus sp. associated with Kurgan 8 at Uzun Rama (Ganja, Azerbaijan). This structure yielded evidence of burial activity during the KA I phase (ca. 3500–3000/2900 BCE) and the post-KA, the “Early Kurgan” period (ca. 2500–2000 BCE), and the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1150 BCE). The sample came from a wooden structure constructed and then burnt in the ritual closure of the kurgan by fire, marking the final stage of its KA use. The results of the wiggle-match allowed us to produce a close estimate for the felling of the branch, thus providing a refined Terminus Post Quem (TPQ) for the construction of the wooden structure itself and its use within 3204–3174 BCE. These results shed light on finer temporal resolution of burial history not just pertaining to funerary sequences, but also in terms of social engagement with visible landmarks and long-term cultural or generational memory. The results correlate with broader trends observed in other KA kurgans and settlements excavated along the Kura basin, pointing at large-scale landscape (or even historical) reconfigurations across the Kura-Araxes world.

This project documents the current archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin in western Azerbaijan. Integrating intensive pedestrian survey, satellite imagery analysis and topographic mapping, the study identified 85 kurgans, six necropolises and nine sites from the Chalcolithic or medieval periods. The authors believe this demonstrates the potential for further archaeological studies in the region.

The article deals with the archaeological excavation of the Dashbulag settlement located in Shamkir district in the west of Azerbaijan. The step-by-step progress of the archaeological excavations conducted in the medieval settlement of Dashbulag, the discovered production and farm buildings, household devices, numerous and diverse examples of material culture are described in detail in the article. Archaeological excavations in the village-type settlement with a planned structure were carried out in three stages in 2004, 2005 and 2014 years. Based on the observation of the sediment of the cultural layer during the archaeological excavations carried out at the settlement, which consists of one cultural layer (the thickness of the layer is 1-1.5m depending on the relief), and the analysis of the actual materials uncovered, it was established that a village-type settlement with a free-plan structure existed here in the Middle Ages. Life in the medieval village of Dashbulag, built in the 9th century, was intense until the beginning of the 13th century, gradually declined after the Mongol campaigns, and continued until the end of the 18th century with some intermittent breaks. Remains of civil and economic buildings, rich handicraft products discovered as a result of archaeological excavations in the medieval settlement of Dashbulag are evidence of the economic and farming life of the medieval inhabitants of the area, as well as pottery, metalworking, glassworking, bone-processing, etc. allows to follow the characteristics and development dynamics of art fields. The analysis of the artifacts gives reason to say that the art fields in the medieval village of Dashbulag did not lag behind, on the contrary, some regions went further than the village-type settlements.

This paper presents the results of a pilot study that combines findings from satellite remote sensing analyses and an intensive interdisciplinary survey conducted in November 2021 on kurgans along the Kurekçay Valley, in western Azerbaijan. Through the integration of various methods, including historical and contemporary satellite and aerial imagery analysis, topographic mapping and geophysical prospections, this research remotely maps and quantifies the density, size, morphology and distribution of the burial mounds in the area. Unlike previous studies focusing solely on individual burial mounds, this investigation adopts a broader approach by contextualizing the kurgans within their respective landscapes. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of the physical and symbolic aspects and relationships of these structures, providing valuable insights into the enduring burial practices that shaped the funerary traditions of the Southern Caucasus during the 4th and 1st millennium BCE. Furthermore, this approach supports an assessment of the condition of the individual kurgans, thereby opening new perspectives to develop innovative plans to protect these burial mounds and their settings.

Early Bronze Age kurgan Uzun Rama was built in the form of a tomb and was used for the burial belonging to one of the tribe members. The kurgan chamber was dug in a quadrangular form and was opened an entrance door in the eastern side. Its surface was covered wooden beams, then arranged with cobblestones and finally, soil layer was added. After the tomb was filled, in accordance with the religious traditions it was fired and burnt. In the kurgan tomb a lot of ceramic examples, charred remains of the wooden vase, bone spindle heads, paste beads and pieces of fabric were uncovered. 79 persons, according to anthropological studies for bones of skulls and 83 individuals for the other bones of the body have been buried here. The Kurgan with the first phase of Early Bronze age is a longterm, cemetery of mass burial.