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61-679: The Chalcolithic settlements of southern Turkmenistan, according to Masson, date to the late 5th millennium – early 3rd millennium BC, as assessed by carbon dating and paleomagnetic studies of the findings from the excavations carried out by STACE in the Altyndepe and Tekkendepe . The foothills of the Kopetdag mountains have revealed the earliest village cultures of Central Asia in the areas of Namazga-Tepe (more than 50 ha) and Altyndepe (26 ha), Ulug Depe (20 ha), Kara Depe (15 ha), and Geok-Syur (12 ha). In 1952, Boris Kuftin , established

122-585: A transitional Copper Age and the Bronze Age proper . He did not include the transitional period in the Bronze Age, but described it separately from the customary stone / bronze / iron system, at the Bronze Age's beginning. He did not, however, present it as a fourth age but chose to retain the tripartite system . In 1884, Gaetano Chierici , perhaps following the lead of Evans, renamed it in Italian as

183-413: A book on the Bronze Age sequence of this site. The settlement of Ilgynly had also shifted to Altyndepe. Early Bronze period fort walls with decorated towers and a huge entrance had encircled this settlement, though when found, they were in ruins. Discoveries by Soviet archeologists dated the finds at this place, in a chronological order, to the later half of the third millennium BC. Altyn-Depe also provided

244-445: A link to the several Bronze Age cultures of Eurasia . The most notable findings in the burial ground of the elite, located in the outskirts of Altyndepe, were "a disk-like stone 'weight', a miniature column, more than 1500 beads, a steatite plate with an image of cross and half-moon, a moulded clay wolf, as well as a golden head of a bull with a turquoise sickle inlaid in the forehead". Excavations revealed bone and copper artifacts of

305-577: A single source. Knowledge of the use of copper was far more widespread than the metal itself. The European Battle Axe culture used stone axes modeled on copper axes, even with moulding carved in the stone. Ötzi the Iceman , who was found in the Ötztal Alps in 1991 and whose remains have been dated to about 3300 BC, was found with a Mondsee copper axe. Examples of Chalcolithic cultures in Europe include Vila Nova de São Pedro and Los Millares on

366-504: Is Namazga-Tepe with an area of 50 ha. The excavations done at this site lead to the discovery of six distinct periods. Named Namazgadepe I to VI, the periods extended over the late 5th millennium to early 3rd millennium BC. In the process of development over these centuries, the transition observed was from Chalcolithic period to Early Bronze Age with urban characteristics in the settlements. Dwelling houses also emerged from chaotically planned one room houses to larger houses with many rooms with

427-966: Is a Chalcolithic site in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent . It is located on the south bank of Ajay River in West Bengal . Blackware , painted Koshi ware, pottery, various ornaments made of pearl and copper, various types of tools, pieces of fabric woven from Shimul cotton thread, human and various animal skeletons, burnt clay fragments have been found at the site. In March 2018, archaeologists had discovered three carts and copper artifacts including weapons dating to 1800 BC in Sanauli village of Uttar Pradesh. The artifacts belongs to Ochre Coloured Pottery culture . Andean civilizations in South America appear to have independently invented copper smelting. The term "Chalcolithic"

488-622: Is also applied to American civilizations that already used copper and copper alloys thousands of years before Europeans immigrated. Besides cultures in the Andes and Mesoamerica, the Old Copper complex mined and fabricated copper as tools, weapons, and personal ornaments in an area centered in the upper Great Lakes region (present-day Michigan and Wisconsin ). The evidence of smelting or alloying that has been found in North America

549-485: Is also documented at the nearby site of Tell Maghzaliyah , which seems to be dated even earlier, and completely lacks pottery. The Timna Valley contains evidence of copper mining in 7000–5000 BC. The process of transition from Neolithic to Chalcolithic in the Middle East is characterized in archaeological stone tool assemblages by a decline in high quality raw material procurement and use. This dramatic shift

610-618: Is doubtful; a lead bracelet, found in level XII of Yarim Tepe I, dated to the 6th millennium BC; a small cone-shaped piece of lead, found in the "Burnt House" in TT6 at Arpachiyah , dated to the Halaf period or slightly later than the Yarim Tepe bracelet; and more. Copper smelting is also documented at this site at about the same time period (soon after 6000 BC). However, the use of lead seems to precede copper smelting. Early metallurgy

671-511: Is in the center of a cluster of tepes in the desert region on the northern Iranian border. It extends over an area of 12 ha. It is 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the east of the city of Tedzhen . Even though in the Aneolithic Period (4th – early 3rd century BC), the space between houses was used for burials, the settlement was not a cemetery but rather a settlement which was affected by shifting sand dunes and scarcity of water. Geoksyr

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732-460: Is not another -lithic age. Subsequently, British scholars used either Evans's "Copper Age" or the term "Eneolithic" (or Æneolithic), a translation of Chierici's eneo-litica . After several years, a number of complaints appeared in the literature that "Eneolithic" seemed to the untrained eye to be produced from e-neolithic , "outside the Neolithic", clearly not a definitive characterization of

793-462: Is seen throughout the region, including the Tehran Plain , Iran. Here, analysis of six archaeological sites determined a marked downward trend in not only material quality, but also in aesthetic variation in the lithic artefacts. Fazeli & Coningham use these results as evidence of the loss of craft specialisation caused by increased use of copper tools. The Tehran Plain findings illustrate

854-427: Is subject to some dispute and a common assumption by archaeologists is that objects were cold-worked into shape. Artifacts from some of these sites have been dated to 6500–1000 BC, making them some of the oldest Chalcolithic sites in the world. Some archaeologists find artifactual and structural evidence of casting by Hopewellian and Mississippian peoples to be demonstrated in the archaeological record. In

915-634: The Copper Age and Eneolithic ) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper . It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age . It occurred at different periods in different areas, but was absent in some parts of the world, such as Russia, where there was no well-defined Copper Age between the Stone and Bronze Ages. Stone tools were still predominantly used during this period. The Chalcolithic covers both

976-551: The Iberian Peninsula . Pottery of the Beaker people has been found at both sites, dating to several centuries after copper-working began there. The Beaker culture appears to have spread copper and bronze technologies in Europe, along with Indo-European languages. In Britain, copper was used between the 25th and 22nd centuries BC , but some archaeologists do not recognise a British Chalcolithic because production and use

1037-789: The Morghab River , 11 sites at the ancient delta of the Geoksyur oasis, and Bronze Age piedmont sites in the Sumbar Valley with a noteworthy discovery of the Early Bronze Age cemetery of Parkhai II. In the Margiana archaeological expeditions undertaken during the second phase, work was continued at the Auchindepe and Takirbaidepe, which revealed 100 Bronze Age sites and the settlement of Gomur I. Also explored were

1098-545: The Morghab civilization developed by Gonurdepe and Merv , which was once an important place along the Silk Route . But the river flows through the regional capital city of Mary , about 40 miles away from the exploration site of Gonurtepe. The site is dated to late 3rd millennium BC. Excavations have taken place for more than 35 years and still continue at a slow pace due to a lack of adequate funding. The main findings of

1159-549: The Stone Age despite the use of copper. Today, Copper Age , Eneolithic , and Chalcolithic are used synonymously to mean Evans's original definition of Copper Age. The emergence of metallurgy may have occurred first in the Fertile Crescent . Lead may have been the first ore that humans smelted , since it can be easily obtained by heating galena . Possible early examples of lead smelting, supported by

1220-517: The eneo-litica , or "bronze–stone" transition. The phrase was never intended to mean that the period was the only one in which both bronze and stone were used. The Copper Age features the use of copper, excluding bronze; moreover, stone continued to be used throughout both the Bronze Age and the Iron Age . The part -litica simply names the Stone Age as the point from which the transition began and

1281-656: The 1870s, when, on the basis of the significant number of large copper objects unearthed within the Carpathian Basin , he suggested that the previous threefold division of the Prehistoric Age – the Stone , Bronze and Iron Ages – should be further divided with the introduction of the Copper Age. In 1881, John Evans recognized that use of copper often preceded the use of bronze, and distinguished between

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1342-667: The 5th millennium BC copper artifacts start to appear in East Asia, such as in the Jiangzhai and Hongshan cultures , but those metal artifacts were not widely used during this early stage. Copper manufacturing gradually appeared in the Yangshao period (5000–3000 BC). Jiangzhai is the only site where copper artifacts were found in the Banpo culture. Archaeologists have found remains of copper metallurgy in various cultures from

1403-702: The Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age. Some copper items, as well as imported Lapis lazuli have been found. The southern mound also has the Iron Age remains. Although there are some similarities between the Anau IA and Jeitun ceramics, there are also many differences. Jeitun ceramics mostly use a plant-based temper, whereas those of Anau IA were tempered with a large amount of sand and bits of other ceramics. Anau IA also has similarities to Tepe Sialk I and II layers. Ceramics similar to Anau IA are also found on

1464-501: The Copper Age. Around 1900, many writers began to substitute Chalcolithic for Eneolithic, to avoid the false segmentation. The term chalcolithic is a combination of two words- Chalco+Lithic, derived from the Greek words "khalkos" meaning "copper", and "líthos" meaning "stone". But "chalcolithic" could also mislead: For readers unfamiliar with the Italian language, chalcolithic seemed to suggest another -lithic age, paradoxically part of

1525-882: The Greater Balkan region of Turkmenistan, and in the plateau of Krasnovodsk . The finds at the Jebel rock shelter site near the Caspian Sea on the southwestern end of the Uly Balkan massif was a stratigraphic sequence of Mesolithic and Neolithic deposits, considered a model for the Turkmenistan Caspian Mesolithic period. Two other sites, located in the southern escarpments of the Greater Balkan, were examined in great detail by G. E. Markov of Moscow State University ; these were

1586-519: The Iranian plateau, in northeastern Iran, and in southern Turkmenistan. Remains of the domestic pig Sus vittatus have been found here in the first sedentary horizon seemingly having appeared suddenly which would indicate it having been imported. Sus vittatus was first domesticated in Southeast Asia. The Early Chalcolithic period Anau IB followed after Anau IA. This period also parallels

1647-583: The Mesolithic sites of Dam-Dam Cheshme 1 and 2. The XIV Brigade occurred in 1952 and researched primitive settled-agriculturalist settlement attributed to the Copper and Bronze periods. The explorations in the foothills of the Kopetdag revealed well developed irrigation systems with water control arrangements which resulted in prosperous, well settled large regional centres. The largest of these settlements

1708-526: The Namazga I period, the beginning of settlement at Namazga. An enigmatic stamp seal was found here, that may be the first evidence of an indigenous written language in Anau. The find is dated to c. 2300 BC. Bronze Age seals from Altyndepe provide some parallels to the Anau seal. Two similar stamp seals have been found at Altyndepe with the same dimensions as the Anau seal. These seals are also similar to

1769-859: The Palaeo-Metallic epoch at the Allyn-Depe settlement. The VII Brigade, carried out by Kuftin, was of the Namazgadepe explorations, which revealed six phases, sequentially deposited, and referred to as Namazga I to VI. It established the Chalcolithic ( Eneolithic ) to the late Bronze Age period. Between 1951 and 1961, the VII Brigade explored the Bronze Age site of Altyndepe (which had been discovered earlier by A.A. Semenov in 1929), Iron Age Yaz I complex in Margiana (old delta of

1830-659: The basic Chalcolithics to Late Bronze Age sequence based on the excavations carried out at Namazga-Tepe (termed Namazga (NMG) I-VI). However, the Chalcolithic period ended about 2700 BC due to natural factors of ecology, with the Geok-Syur oasis becoming desertified. This resulted in the migration of people to the ancient delta of the Tedzhen River . This also led to the Early Bronze Age Settlements at Khapuz-depe . The geographical location of

1891-754: The cemeteries revealed many objects, both local and imported (from Indus Valley and Egypt). Religious practices indicated that it was the birthplace of the Zoroastrian religion , a monolithic religion. The practices of sheep sacrifices, temples dedicated to fire and water, drinking of soma-haoma (a brew presumed to be made of opium , ephedra , and a local narcotic ) have been deduced as practices followed by Zoroastrians . Chalcolithic West Asia (6000–3500 BC) Europe (5500–2200 BC) Central Asia (3700–1700 BC) South Asia (4300–1800 BC) China (5000–2900 BC) The Chalcolithic ( /ˈkælkoʊˌlɪθɪk/ cal-co- LI -thik ) (also called

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1952-529: The early cold working (hammering) of near pure copper ores, as exhibited by the likes of North American Great Lakes Old Copper complex , from around 6,500 BC, through the later copper smelting cultures. The archaeological site of Belovode, on Rudnik mountain in Serbia , has the world's oldest securely dated evidence of copper smelting at high temperature, from c.  5,000 BC . The transition from Copper Age to Bronze Age in Europe occurred between

2013-529: The effects of the introduction of copper working technologies on the in-place systems of lithic craft specialists and raw materials. Networks of exchange and specialized processing and production that had evolved during the Neolithic seem to have collapsed by the Middle Chalcolithic ( c.  4500–3500 BC ) and been replaced by the use of local materials by a primarily household-based production of stone tools. Arsenical copper or bronze

2074-406: The excavations are that the site was "an agricultural and herding community who grew grain, raised sheep, built sophisticated irrigation and sewage systems, and produced ceramics in the many kilns that dot the landscape." A fort had been built with thick walls and the enclosed area within the fort had single storied houses, and also a palace, two observatories and cremation grounds. The excavation of

2135-807: The existence of a few exotic black-slipped pottery items from the Indus Valley . In India, Chalcolithic culture flourished in mainly four farming communities – Ahar or Banas , Kayatha , Malwa , and Jorwe . These communities had some common traits like painted pottery and use of copper, but they had a distinct ceramic design tradition. Banas culture (2000–1600 BC) had ceramics with red, white, and black design. Kayatha culture (2450–1700 BC) had ceramics painted with brown colored design. Malwa culture (1900–1400 BC) had profusely decorated pottery with red or black colored design. Jorwe culture (1500–900 BC) had ceramics with matte surface and black-on-red design. Pandu Rajar Dhibi (2000–1600 BC)

2196-565: The explorations in southern Turkmenistan were not marked with precision. The Merv Oasis is one of the regions explored by Soviet archeologists of the YuTAKE; Antiochia is the primary site in this oasis. Namazgtepe ('tepe' means "hill") is 100–120 kilometers from Ashgabat in Turkmenistan at the border with Iran, southeast of the Caspian Sea . Excavations at this site have provided a chronological approach for Central Asia. Namazga-Tepewas

2257-417: The extreme rarity of native lead, include: lead beads , found on Level IX of Chatal/Çatal Hüyük in central Anatolia , though they might be made of galena, cerussite , or metallic lead, and accordingly might or might not be evidence of early smelting; a lead bead, found in a GK59 group test square in the 4th level of Jarmo , dated to the 7th millennium BCE, though it is small enough that its human usage

2318-426: The fifth millennium BC (Neolithic period), female figurines painted with ornaments, and necklaces of the fourth million BC. Brick walls of 1.5–2 metres (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) thickness with brick kilns and a hearth in the middle of the house dated to early third millennium, and small temple buildings and rectangular hearths of Namazga V type of the middle third millennium were also found. In

2379-640: The foothills of the Kopetdag mountains. These are clearly indicative of the village cultures of Central Asia. Kuftin was invited to Central Asia to carry out explorations in 1949. He first reconnoitered Turkmenistan and selected a very large tepe (hill), the Altyndepe (in Turkmen language meaning: the "Golden Hill" ). This tepe overlooks the Tedzen delta at the foot of Kopetdag. He found a Neolithic settlement extending into Bronze Age in southern Turkmenistan near

2440-525: The imperial city –of a complex Bronze Age state, one that stretched at least a thousand square miles and encompassing hundreds of satellite settlements". He also called it the "world's fifth center of ancient civilization" with its refined society called the "Turkmenistan's Morghab River society", formally called the " Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex ". It is said to be in league with the "cultural cradles of antiquity" of Egypt , Mesopotamia , India , and China . The meandering Morghab River along which

2501-462: The interiors painted (lac paintings) and with a hearth. Defensive forts were part of the settlements. Chalcolithic stone amulets with geometric shapes, pottery traditions with two-tiered furnaces for firing ceramics, terracotta figurines, stamp seals of clay and stone, and centres of metallurgical production were uncovered. Rosette and zoomorphic patterns were unearthed, representing various periods, both at Namazga-Tepe and also at other settlements in

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2562-624: The largest settlement found in the Kopetdag foothills, a range of hills extending up to the border with Iran. The Merv Oasis had been extensively explored in 1904 by an American team; however, the reports published were of a preliminary nature. During the period 1940–50, the Asian Republics started establishing archaeological institutions in their respective countries. Among them, the South Turkmenistan Complex Archaeological Expedition

2623-647: The late 5th and the late 3rd millennium BC . In the Ancient Near East the Copper Age covered about the same period, beginning in the late 5th millennium BC and lasting for about a millennium before it gave rise to the Early Bronze Age . A study in the journal Antiquity from 2013 reporting the discovery of a tin bronze foil from the Pločnik archaeological site dated to c.  4,650 BC , as well as 14 other artefacts from Bulgaria and Serbia dated to before 4,000 BC, showed that early tin bronze

2684-698: The late fourth to the early third millennia BC. These include the copper-smelting remains and copper artifacts of the Hongshan culture (4700–2900) and copper slag at the Yuanwozhen site. This indicates that inhabitants of the Yellow River valley had already learned how to make copper artifacts by the later Yangshao period. In the region of the Aïr Mountains , Niger, independent copper smelting developed between 3000 and 2500 BC. The process

2745-456: The period from late third millennium to early second millennium, the antiquaries revealed an urban habitation with artisans' houses. Also unearthed were 62 double-tiered kilns, beads and seals. Four stepped ziggurats were found. Further were revealed female terracotta figurines with plaited hair, stone vessels, hafted bronze and copper daggers with flat blades, tabbed silver and bronze seals . The further findings were, However,

2806-430: The period. Originally, the term Bronze Age meant that either copper or bronze was being used as the chief hard substance for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Ancient writers, who provided the essential cultural references for educated people during the 19th century, used the same name for both copper- and bronze-using ages. The concept of the Copper Age was put forward by Hungarian scientist Ferenc Pulszky in

2867-423: The researchers over the years. The lowest layers of the north mound in Anau provide some good evidence for the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic in the area. This archaeological sequence is known as Anau IA. More recent excavations at Monjukli Depe , which also has some Anau culture occupational levels, also helped to establish the regional chronology. The northern mound also presents remains of

2928-578: The settlement gradually disappeared (it was deserted around 1600 BC) as a result of climatic changes; people migrated to the Mugrab region, another area of South Uzbekistan ( Sapali ), and Northern Afghanistan ( Dashli ). Further, these findings confirmed the Middle Asian interaction from the north to the Oxus civilization . Geoksyur Oasis, located in the foothills of the Kopetdag, to the east of Altyndepe,

2989-536: The sites at the southern and eastern Togolok and Gomur, and in the northern part of Kalleli group sites. The Jeitun Culture of the Kopetdag Neolithic sites were explored from 1963 to 1973. The survey covered Jeitun Culture as a whole, and particular credit is given to the Turkmen archaeologist, O. K. Berdiev who died in an accident at a young age; his 10 years of explorations have been published under

3050-646: The title “The Most Ancient Agriculturalists of Southern Turkmenistan.” Neolithic pediment sites of Jeitun Culture extended from Bami in the west to the Meana Chacha district in the east. In the explorations done at the north mound of Anau , excavation in the Komanov trench at the north end were subject to deep sounding which revealed consecutive layers of buildings. From this, a stratigraphic sequence of developments evolved with "craft production and social stratification". The IX Brigade, led by Okladnikov, worked in

3111-404: The village of Miana , a settlement of 25 ha area with a total stratification thickness of 30 metres (98 ft) with an 8 metres (26 ft) strip of human habitation. This excavated tepe turned out to be a large settlement, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length and 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) in width, and was identified as a major Bronze Age town. From the highest point of this tepe, a trench

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3172-497: Was a pottery workshop in province of Balochistan , Pakistan, that dates to 4,500 years ago; 12 blades and blade fragments were excavated there. These blades are 12–18 cm (5–7 in) long, 1.2–2.0 cm (0.5–0.8 in) wide, and relatively thin. Archaeological experiments show that these blades were made with a copper indenter and functioned as a potter's tool to trim and shape unfired pottery. Petrographic analysis indicates local pottery manufacturing, but also reveals

3233-577: Was contemporary to the Anau culture. Pottery similar to that of Anau (the earliest Anau IA phase) has been found as far as Shir Ashian Tepe in the Semnan Province of Iran. The settlement of Anau started around 4500 BC in the Neolithic period, before copper was used. Thus, it is earlier than Namazga-Tepe, the main site of the Namazga culture. Anau includes two mounds, north and south. Archaeological research here began in 1890. Raphael Pumpelly , Marushchenko, and Khurban Sokhatov were some of

3294-410: Was dug to a depth of 30 metres (98 ft) and the section was logged, which revealed layers of the Bronze Age, of neolithic and Eneolithic periods. Ceramics collected from the different layers of the trench enabled Kuftin to establish the sequence and chronology of the findings. One year after he started sequencing the site, he died suddenly and was replaced by Vadim Mikhailovich Masson who published

3355-603: Was established in 1946 by Masson under the aegis of the Turkmenistan Academy of Sciences to carry out explorations at several locations. These explorations included: Since 1992, excavations have been carried out by a joint project titled “Turkmen-British-Merv Project”. This has yielded historical data on fortifications and a residential complex of the Hellenistic , Parthina and Sassanian period. The V Brigade uncovered peculiarities in metal composition during

3416-611: Was indeed taking place by the 4th millennium BC. Since the slag identified at Norşuntepe contains no arsenic, this means that arsenic in some form was added separately. A copper axe found at Prokuplje , Serbia contains the oldest securely dated evidence of copper-making, c.  5500 BC (7,500 years ago). The find in June ;2010 extends the known record of copper smelting by about 800 years, and suggests that copper smelting may have been invented in separate parts of Asia and Europe at that time rather than spreading from

3477-472: Was more common than previously thought and developed independently in Europe 1,500 years before the first tin bronze alloys in the Near East . In Britain, the Chalcolithic is a short period between about 2,500 and 2,200 BC, characterized by the first appearance of objects of copper and gold, a new ceramic culture and the immigration of Beaker culture people, heralding the end of the local late Neolithic. The multiple names result from multiple definitions of

3538-424: Was not in a developed state, indicating smelting was not foreign. It became mature about 1500 BC. Anau culture The Anau culture was an ancient agricultural civilization of Central Asia centred in southern Turkmenistan . It started during the Chalcolithic period around 4000 BC, following the Neolithic Jeitun culture. It is named after its main site of Anau, Turkmenistan . The Namazga culture

3599-567: Was on a small scale. Ceramic similarities between the Indus Valley civilisation , southern Turkmenistan , and northern Iran during 4300–3300 BC of the Chalcolithic period suggest considerable mobility and trade. The term "Chalcolithic" has also been used in the context of the South Asian Stone Age . In Bhirrana , the earliest Indus civilization site, copper bangles and arrowheads were found. The inhabitants of Mehrgarh in present-day Pakistan fashioned tools with local copper ore between 7000 and 3300 BC. The Nausharo site

3660-437: Was produced in eastern Turkey ( Malatya Province ) at two ancient sites, Norşuntepe and Değirmentepe , around 4200 BC. According to Boscher (2016), hearths or natural draft furnaces, slag , ore, and pigment had been recovered throughout these sites. This was in the context of Ubaid period architectural complexes typical of southern Mesopotamian architecture. Norşuntepe site demonstrates that some form of arsenic alloying

3721-407: Was revealed to contain "adobe multi-room houses and group burial chambers". Ceramics were also found with dichromatic paintings and many female terracotta figurines. The culture of Geoksyurtepe was correlated with an eastern Anau group of tribes linked to Elam and Mesopotamia . According to the Greek - Russian archaeologist, Sarianidi, who explored the tepes, Gonurtepe was the "capital or

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