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The Taghlar cave. Stone work tools
During this period the inhabitants o f Karabakh developed main
principles o f farming and cattle breeding.
Cavemen also lived in N agom o Karabakh, in Zar cave formed by
the volcanic em ption in the Quatem ary era in the Central Upland o f the
Lesser Caucasus. Paleogeographic surveys conducted in the cave by
Academician A.V.Mamedov showed that during Paleolite the climate
here was moderate. The remains o f the following species were found in
the camp: bones o f w ild horses, goats, European donkeys, and ancient
deer. During the period o f warming in Paleolite the ancient inhabitants of
Karabakh went season hunting in alpine meadows o f Kelbajar and
LesserCaucasus.
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The Z ar cave is located 2,190 m above the sea level. This is a rare
site with the finding ofobsidian im plem ents. People lived in Zar during
the late M ousterian and early U pper Paleolite. Geologically this time
refers to m iddle K hvalynsk period. Judging on the variety o f implements
and technology o f their making, people who lived there represented a
transition type b etw een paleoanthropus (ancient hum ans) and
neoanthropus. The people made weapons which could be used for group
hunting.
The Z ar cave dates from 65,000-60,000 to 32,000-28,000 BC. The
Zar camp allows researching on a range o f issues related to the middle
Khvalynsky (Vurm sky) period ofC aucasian Paleolite.
Analysis o f im plem ents found in the Zar cave camp proved the
existence o f Taglar - Zengibasar - Zar culture in the Lesser Caucasus.
Thus, it was proved that cultural and ethnic connection between Middle
East, A natolia and Caucasus dates from as early as 35,000-32,000 years
ago.
KARABAKH DURING ENEOLITE
C
opper-stone age started in Azerbaijan, including Karabakh, in the
6"' m illennia w hen copper was discovered.
Large copper deposits found in N akhichevan, Gedabek,
D ashkesan and K arabakh districts o f A zerbaijan affected the
development o f Karabakh which tum ed into a centre o f primitive
metallurgy.
The Archaeological research in Islalitepe, Garakaji, Leylatepe,
Azykh, Taglar, Garakopektepe, Guneshtepe, Khantepe, Gultepe and
others show ed that craftsmen m ade copper implements originally by
means o f ham m ering, later by smelting and casting ore.
Round stone and clay firepots found in Khantepe village o f
Gum chay plain prove Karabakh was one o f the most ancient inde-
pendent metal working centres in the South Caucasus.
Artifacts o f Eneolite in Karabakh included various stone
implements: teeth o f sickles, mills, graters, bills and hoes.
During the period, development o f productive forces changed the
lifestyleofpeople.
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156
The eneolith ’s inhabited localities.
The ancient population o f Karabakh was engaged in farming and
cattle breeding; people settled in the foothills and on river banks, near
water sources.
They lived in earth houses (cattle breeders) and round houses
made o f adobe with floor covered with clay wash.
Fire was made in the centre ofhouses and at their walls.
The main occupation o f the ancient population o f Karabakh was
hoe-mattock farming and cattle breeding. The following crafts were also
popular: metal working, pottery, weaving, tanning, stonework and
bonework. Hunting and fishing were supplementary occupations during
this period.
The Eneolite saw the development o f such crafts as pottery and
bone crafts Hoes, awls, needles, scraper knives, home implements and
jew elry were made o f bone. Wool and plant fiber were used for weaving.
Pottery also developed during the Eneolite. The quality o f pottery
improved as crockery was baked to red, pink and yellow colour. Crockery
K A R A B A K H
157
of the period features handles that looked like a hole and a jut. Some items
were omamented.
H oe-m attock farming was wide spread at the time. Settled farming
tribes used bone hoes, sickles w ith teeth made o f obsidian and flint,
replaceable sickles, grinders, m ortars andpestles.
During Eneolite, various species o f barley and wheat were grown
inKarabakh.
D evelopm ent o f farming resulted in the evolution o f cattle
breeding.
Cattle breeding tribes bred bulls, cows, sheep and goat. The
increase in cattle breeding im pacted the development o f farming and
changed its nature.
During thepl Eneolite the Karabakh tribes had specifıc traditions,
religion and ideology. The deceased w ere buried in graves dug in the
ground, partially in burial mounds. Indian ochre was spread on their
bodies to signify life.
In Eneolite Karabakh tribes established cultural and economic
links with the South Azerbaijan and Mesopotamia. It can be proved by
similarity o f ceram ics and jew elry found in Karabakh sites dating from
Eneolite and in M esopotam ian Ubaid site. Cultural and economic links
between the tw o ancient cultural centres had a positive impact on the
development o f an early farming culture in the South Caucasus.
The Eneolith eartehware crockery and work tools.
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158
KARABAKH IN THE BRONZE AGE
Early Bronze Age.
/
n Karabakh, one o f the most ancient metal working centres in the
world, metal working technology changed signifıcantly 4,000 years
BC.
Craftsmen found a new metal, with higher quality than copper, -
bronze. Adding antimony, arsenic, nickel and other substances, they
increased hardness and reliability o f bronze. The Bronze Age started in the
second half o f the 4lh millennia BC and ended in the late 2nd millennia BC
Productive forces and social relations o f production experienced
significant changes during this period with various sectors o f economy
developed intensively.
In Karabakh, one o f the main centres o f ancient metallurgy o f
Azerbaijan, the Bronze Age had several stages featuring different
consecutive highly developed cultures.
The fırst stage o f the Bronze Age o f Karabakh lasted from 3,500 to
the last centuries o f 3,000 BC Kura-Araks archaeological culture dates
from thisperiod.
The second stage o f the Bronze Age (Middle Bronze) lasted
between the 23rd and 14th centuries BC. Early urban culture dates from the
M iddle Bronze in Karabakh.
The Khojali culture emerged in Karabakh in the last stage of the
BronzeA ge (13-7 centuriesBC).
Karabakh was one o f the earliest centres o f the Kura-Araks culture.
The culture dated from the second h alf o f the 4lh m illennium and spread
far beyond Azerbaijan into Syria and Palestine. Obviously, Karabakh
tribes who reached the same level as Sumers played an im portant part in
the migration o f Kura-Araks culture. The founders and the bearers o f the
culture spread to the south o f the Araks river. Cattle-breeding tribes of
Karabakh played a significant role in this process.
In the Early Bronze Age the ancient population o f Karabakh was
increasing at a high rate, which led to establishment o f many new
settlements. People settled in places best suited for farming and cattle
breeding. The settlements of Kura-Araks culture o f Karabakh followed
architectural traditions o f Eneolite: living buildings were round or square,
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159
with foundations made o f river stone and walls made o f raw bricks. Defen-
sive walls were erected around some o f the settlements (Garakopektepe).
Houses w ere heated by special devices shaped in the form o f
horseshoe or bull's head, made o f special clay and placed in the centre or
in the comers o f houses.
In the Early B ronze Age changes occurred in the farming and cattle
breeding techniques o f Karabakh tribes. N ew implements were used in
farming. Hoes w ere replaced w ith wooden ploughs, leading to
cultivation o f larger areas and the productivity o f farming increased
resulting in better living conditions.
Replaceable and bronze sickles were used to cut wheat w hile stone
and wooden threshing boards, graters (oblong, oval and cymbiform),
pestles and mortars - to separate grain. Grain was stored in wells and
largepots.
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1
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The Early BronzeAge
earthenware hearthes
from Garakyopaktapa
and Gounashtapa.
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