The Neolithic Settlement of Aknashen (Ararat valley, Armenia)
Excavation seasons 2004-2015
Edited by Ruben Badalyan Edited by Christine Chataigner Edited by Armine Harutyunyan
Paperback (Published)
(February 2022)
ISBN: 9781803270029
8.07 x 11.46 inches
Price: $70.00
In stock
This is the first monograph devoted to the Neolithic period in Armenia. The volume concerns the natural environment, material culture and subsistence economy of the populations of the first half of the 6th millennium BC, who established the first sedentary settlements in the alluvial plain of the Araxes river.
The Neolithic settlement of Aknashen (Ararat valley, Armenia): excavation seasons 2004-2015 is the first monograph devoted to the Neolithic period in Armenia. The research is based on an Armenian-French project, in which specialists from Canada, Romania, Germany and Greece also participated. The volume concerns the natural environment, material culture and subsistence economy of the populations of the first half of the 6th millennium BC, who established the first sedentary settlements in the alluvial plain of the Araxes river. The thickness of the cultural layer of Aknashen (almost 5m), the extent of the excavated areas and the multidisciplinary nature of the research, confer great importance upon this site for the study of the Neolithic, both in Armenia and in the South Caucasus as a whole. The publication examines the similarities and differences that exist between the sites established in the 6th millennium in the basins of the rivers Araxes (Armenia) and Kura (Georgia and Azerbaijan), as well as parallels with contemporary cultures in Southwest Asia. It also examines questions concerning the characterisation and periodisation of the Neolithic in the central part of the South Caucasus, the emergence of a production economy (pottery, animal husbandry, etc.) and the Neolithisation of this region.
Contents Acknowledgements List of authors Introduction - Ruben Badalyan, Christine Chataigner and Armine Harutyunyan THE SETTLEMENT AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CONTEXTS The settlement of Aknashen: stratigraphy and architecture - Ruben Badalyan and Armine Harutyunyan Mortuary practices at Aknashen - Modwene Poulmarc'h, Levon Aghikyan and Francoise Le Mort Tectonic impact on the Ararat Depression during the Late Neolithic: the example of the Aknashen settlement - Arkadi Karakhanyan, Lilit Sahakyan, Ara Avagyan, Andreas Iordanidis and Tatul Stalyan The many geomorphic factors and responses in the reconstruction of the Aknashen landscape - Vincent Ollivier Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates from Aknashen - Christine Chataigner, Ruben Badalyan and Armine Harutyunyan The pottery of Aknashen - Armine Harutyunyan THE ARTEFACTS Aknashen: techno-typological and functional analysis of the lithic assemblage - Jacques Chabot, Cynthia Gosselin, Patrick Eid and Bastien Varoutsikos Aknashen lithic tradition in a regional context: blade-making and neolithization of the Southern Caucasus - Bastien Varoutsikos and Artur Petrosyan The provenance of the obsidian used at Aknashen - Bernard Gratuze, Ruben Badalyan and Christine Chataigner The macrolithic industry from Aknashen - Caroline Hamon and Khachatur Meliksetian Axes and grooved polishers from Aknashen - Caroline Hamon, Ruben Badalyan and Lilit Sahakyan Neolithic bone tools from Aknashen - Christine Chataigner, Ruben Badalyan and Rozalia Christidou Miscellaneous objects from Aknashen - Ruben Badalyan, Armine Harutyunyan, Khachatur Meliksetian, Ernst Pernicka and Rozalia Christidou THE SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY Animal subsistence economy at the Neolithic site of Aknashen - Adrian Bala?escu and Valentin Radu Current results of archaeobotanical studies at the Neolithic settlement of Aknashen (Ararat valley - Roman Hovsepyan Conclusion: The Neolithic of the Ararat valley and the South Caucasus - Ruben Badalyan, Christine Chataigner and Armine Harutyunyan Bibliography, Contents ;
Acknowledgements ;
List of authors ;
Introduction – Ruben Badalyan, Christine Chataigner and Armine Harutyunyan THE SETTLEMENT AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CONTEXTSRuben Badalyan and Armine HarutyunyanModwene Poulmarc’h, Levon Aghikyan and Françoise Le MortArkadi Karakhanyan, Lilit Sahakyan, Ara Avagyan, Andreas Iordanidis and Tatul StalyanVincent OllivierChristine Chataigner, Ruben Badalyan and Armine HarutyunyanArmine Harutyunyan THE ARTEFACTS ;
Aknashen: techno-typological and functional analysis of the lithic assemblage – Jacques Chabot, Cynthia Gosselin, Patrick Eid and Bastien VaroutsikosBastien Varoutsikos and Artur PetrosyanBernard Gratuze, Ruben Badalyan and Christine ChataignerCaroline Hamon and Khachatur MeliksetianCaroline Hamon, Ruben Badalyan and Lilit SahakyanChristine Chataigner, Ruben Badalyan and Rozalia ChristidouRuben Badalyan, Armine Harutyunyan, Khachatur Meliksetian, Ernst Pernicka and Rozalia Christidou THE SUBSISTENCE ECONOMYAdrian Bălășescu and Valentin RaduRoman Hovsepyan Conclusion: The Neolithic of the Ararat valley and the South Caucasus – Ruben Badalyan, Christine Chataigner and Armine Harutyunyan Bibliography
Ruben Badalyan is a Doctor of Historical Sciences in the Academy of Sciences of Armenia and a Leading Scientific Member of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography. His work concerns the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in the South Caucasus, the chronology of the Kura-Araxes culture and the exploitation of obsidian. He has directed or co-directed field investigations at numerous archaeological sites in Armenia (Karnut, Gegharot, Tsaghkahovit, Horom), including joint Armenian-French projects (Aratashen, Aknashen, Voskeblur, Haghartsin). ;
Christine Chataigner is a researcher at the Archéorient laboratory (UMR 5133, CNRS – Université Lyon 2). Her research focuses on the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the South Caucasus as well as the characterisation and diffusion of obsidian in this region and the neighbouring countries. The Director of the Caucasus archaeological mission (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), she has participated in various surveys and excavations in Armenia (Kmlo-2, Godedzor, Getahovit, Kalavan, Tsaghkahovit rockshelter) and in Georgia (Paravani, Bavra-Ablari).
- Edited by Ruben Badalyan
- Edited by Christine Chataigner
- Edited by Armine Harutyunyan
‘This book offers the first detailed analyses of results from 11 years of excavations at the sixth-millennium BC Neolithic site of Aknashen, Ararat Valley, Armenia. The site is close to two other Neolithic settlements, Aratashen and Masis Blur, both of which are, unfortunately, less well preserved. Besides the Introduction and the Conclusion, the book includes 15 chapters from different specialists that deal with various aspects of the site and its material culture (e.g. environment, stratigraphy and architecture, chronology, mortuary practices, artefacts and subsistence economy). The data presented here, accompanied by a great number of excellent illustrations, are crucial to understanding the development of a Neolithic culture in this part of the world.’ – Bertille Lyonnet (2022), Antiquity
—
Similar Books
Archaeological Excavations at Irmis Rka: An Investigation of a Multi-Layered Settlement in Southwest Georgia
Results from the 2020 Season: Early Bronze Age to Medieval Occupations
Boğazköy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Bo 9032–Bo 9097)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesinde Bulunan Boğazköy Tabletleri (Bo 9032–Bo 9097)
Volume 4
Catuvellaunia and Rome: Economic and Political Relations during the Final Decades Pre-conquest
The Role of Grain from Southeastern Britain and Its Potential for Maintenance of the Roman Military along the Frontier on the Rhine
Connecting the Dots: Counting, Writing, and the Beginnings of Civilization
The Secret Lives of Clay Tokens: A Memoir
Curating the Prehistoric Past
Studies on West Asian Archaeology and Beyond in Honour of Yoshihiro Nishiaki
Exploring Gender Dynamics across the Ancient Near East
Collected Essays of Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East (GeMANE) 4 and 5
Volume 7
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Making and Meaning in the Bronze and Iron Ages
Chronology, Landscapes and Societies across Europe. Proceedings from the METALAGES2024 Colloquium (Florence, 23 October 2024)
Money of Mercenaries in the Cimmerian Bosporus
From the Mithridatic Wars to the Roman-Bosporan War of AD 45-49
Volume 45
New Research on Old Collections in Southwest Asian Archaeology
Proceedings of the Workshop Held at the British Museum, London, 31 July – 2 August, 2023
Old Aramaic Inscriptions and their Contexts
An Epigraphic, Archaeological, and Historical Synthesis
Volume 63
Pottery Traditions and Material Culture in Second Millennium BC Northern Mesopotamia
Contacts and New Horizons in the Land between the Tigris and the Zagros. Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the 12th ICAANE, University of Bologna, 7 April 2021
Volume 19
