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This integration of earlier and new scholarship reconceptualizes the origins of civilization, challenging the received view that the ancient Near East spawned the spread of civilization outward from Mesopotamia to all other neighboring cultures. Central Asia is here shown to have been a major player in the development of cities.Skillfully documenting the different phases of both Soviet and earlier Western external analyses along with recent excavation results, this new interpretation reveals Central Asia's role in the socioeconomic and political processes linked to both the Iranian Plateau and the Indus Valley, showing how it contributed substantively to the origins of urbanism in the Old World. Hiebert's research at Anau and his focus on the Chalcolithic levels provide an essential starting point for understanding both the nature of village life and the historical trajectories that resulted in Bronze Age urbanism.
List of contents
Illustrations
Foreword
Preface
1. Anau North, an Introduction
2. The Settlement History of Central Asia in the Village Period
3. The History of Investigations at Anau North
4. 1997 Excavations: Context of Deposition and Stratigraphy
5. Radiocarbon Chronology
6. Ceramic Complexes of Anau North and Relative Chronology
7. Small Finds from Anau North
8. Architecture at Anau North
9. Burials
10. The Use of Plants at Anau North
11. Microscopic Analysis of Soils from Anau North
12. Animal Herding, Hunting, and the History of Animal Domestication at Anau depe
13. Prehistoric Behavior at Anau North
14. The Evolution of the Settlement at Anau North
Appendices
A. 1904 Excavations at Anau North
B. Catalogue of Small Finds from the 1904 Excavations
C. Botanical Data from the 1997 Excavations
D. A Basketry/Textile Impression from Anau North
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Fredrik T. Hiebert. With Kakamurad Kurbansakhatov
Summary
Challenges the traditional notion that Mesopotamia was the sole origin of civilization. By synthesizing Soviet and Western analyses and incorporating recent excavations, Hiebert illuminates Central Asia's contribution to the socioeconomic and political processes of the Iranian Plateau and the Indus Valley.
