The Oxus Civilization

Abstract

ResumenLa Civilización del Oxus, también conocida como la Civilización de Bactria-Margiana, está centrada en el oasis de Murghab, Turkmenistán, y datada entre el 2200-1700 AC. Descubierta por Victor Sarianidi en la década de 1970, continua sus excavaciones en el poblado de +20 hectáreas de Gonur depe. La Civilización del Oxus tiene una arquitectura única, una cultura material excepcionalmente rica, y contactos con Mesopotamia, el Valle del Indo y la llanura iraní.Palabras clave: Civilización del Oxus, Bronce Inicial, Turkmenistán, Gonur depe. AbstractThe Oxus Civilization, also known as the Bactrian-Margina Civilization, is centere in the Murghab Oasis, Turkmenistan, and dated to 2200-1700 BC. Discovered by Victor Sarianidi in the 1970s, he continues his excavations on the +20 hectare site of Gonur depe. The Oxus Civilization has unique architecture, an exceptionally rich material culture, and contacts with Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Iranian Plateau.

Research History Of Oxus Civilization In US Archeology

“…V.I Sarianidi spent 40 years of his life researching the Gonurtepa monument, which covers more than forty hectares in Turkmenistan. According to Lamberg Karlovsky, V.I Sarianidi used the inappropriate term for this discovery, "Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex", later abbreviated BMAC [1]. Bactria and Margiana are historical geographical areas, a term first coined by the Greeks and then by Alexander the Great.…”

About two seal‐impressed jars from Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al‐Quwain). New evidence for intercultural networks in the lower Arabian Gulf in the late 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC

“…The various classes of artefacts occurring locally in this period witness the unstopped intercultural movement of goods the Oxus civilisation was part of; consistently, seals (stamps) that were a product of this culture are also found in the Arabian Gulf region (Salvatori, 2008, pp. 92–94; Lamberg‐Karlovsky, 2015, p. 41). On the other hand, the iconographic study highlighted parallels supporting the probable provenance of the jars (or the seals only!)…”

Manufacturing and trade of Asian elephant ivory in Bronze Age Middle Asia. Evidence from Gonur Depe (Margiana, Turkmenistan)

“…Unfortunately, most of the objects testifying to commercial and cultural relations between Central Asia and the Indus Valley appeared in the antiquities market deprived of associations and discovery contexts (Ligabue and Salvatori, 1989;Sarianidi, 1998;Winkelmann, 2004;Vidale, 2017). A number of new finds, however, have been recovered during archaeological excavations at Gonur Depe, Altyn Depe, Kelleli 6 and Adji-Kui 9, in Margiana, and at Dashly-3 andDzharkutan, in Bactria (Rossi Osmida, 2007, 2011;Kaniuth, 2010;Lamberg-Karlovsky, 2013). Indus artifacts discovered in Bactria and Margiana consist mainly of ornaments made from semiprecious stones and faience, small containers in softstone, and a variety of objects made from ivory.…”