  Namazga-Tepe Location in Turkmenistan Show map of Turkmenistan Namazga-Tepe Namazga-Tepe (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia | |
| Alternative name | Namazga-depe |
|---|---|
| History | |
| Periods | Bronze Age |
| Cultures | BMAC |
Namazga-Tepe orNamazga-depe, is aBronze Age (BMAC) archaeological site inTurkmenistan, at the foot of theKopet-Dag, near the delta of theTejen River, some 100 km east ofAşgabat, near the border toIran. Excavated byVadim Mikhailovich Masson,Viktor Sarianidi, andI. N. Khlopin from the 1950s, the site set the chronology for the Bronze Age sites in Turkmenistan (Namazga III-VI).
Namazga culture was preceded in the area by theJeitun culture.
It is believed[by whom?] that theAnau culture of Turkmenistan considerably precedes the Namazga culture in the area. Namazga I period (c. 4000–3500 BC),[1] is considered contemporary with Anau IB2 period.[citation needed]
Namazga III (c. 3200–2800) as a village settlement inLate Chalcolithic phase, and Namazga IV (c. 2800–2400 BC) as aproto-urban site, both belong to the LateRegionalization Era.[1]
Namazga V (c. 2400–2000 BC),[1] is in theIntegration Era or the period of "urban revolution" following theAnatolian model[clarification needed] with little or no irrigation. Namazga-Tepe emerges as the production and probable governmental center[of what?], covering some 60 hectares, withAltyndepe likely a secondary capital. Around 1600 BC, Altyndepe is abandoned, and Namazga-Tepe shrinks to a fraction of its former size.
Namazga VI in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1800–1500 BC),[1] as part of theLocalization Era is characterized by the incursion of nomadic pastoralists from theAlekseyevka culture and/orSrubna culture.[citation needed]
There have also been detailed painted potteries located at this site.[2]
The following table clarifies the chronology of Namazga culture.
| Period | Dates |
|---|---|
| Neolithic of Jeitun type | 6200–5000 BCE |
| Proto-Chalcolithic (Anau Ia) | 5200–4800 BCE |
| Early-Chalcolithic (Namazga I) | 4800–4000 BCE |
| Middle-Chalcolithic (Namazga II) | 4000–3500 BCE |
| Late-Chalcolithic (Namazga III) | 3500–3000 BCE |
| Early Bronze (Namazga IV) | 3000–2500 BCE |
| Middle Bronze (Namazga V) | 2500–2200 BCE |
| Late Bronze (Namazga VI) | 2200–1500 BCE |
| Late Bronze (Margian,Gonur phase) | 2200–1800 BCE |
| Late Bronze (Margian,Togolok phase) | 1800–1500 BCE |
| Early Iron (Yaz culture I) | 1500–1100 BCE |
| ArchaicDehistan/Mishrian (SW Turkmenistan) | 1300–500 BCE |
| Pre-Achaemenid andAchaemenid (Yaz II-III) | 1100–329 BCE |
37°22′22″N59°33′25″E / 37.37278°N 59.55694°E /37.37278; 59.55694