Veli B. Bakhshaliyev^a,#, Lauren Ristvet^b,##, Hilary Gopnik^c,###, Jennifer Swerida^b,####, Selin Nugent^d,#####, Hannah Lau^e,######

^aNakhchivan Brunch of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
^bUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
^cMonash University, Melbourne, Australia
^dUniversity of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
^eUniversity of Colgate, New York, USA

^#E-mail: velibahshaliyev@mail.ru
^##E-mail: lristvet@gmail.com
^###E-mail: hilarygopnik@aol.com
^####E-mail: jswerida@gmail.com
^#####E-mail: selinnugent@gmail.com
^######E-mail: hannah.k.lau@gmail.com

Keywords: East Anatolia, Nakhchivan, Urmia basin, Kizkala, painted ceramics, Middle Bronze Age.

Research shows that despite several distinctive local features the Middle Bronze Age cultures of the South Caucasus and Near East share many similarities. During the Middle Bronze Age black ceramics were widespread in parts of the South Caucasus; however, painted ceramics characterized the southern areas. These Middle Bronze Age painted ceramic cultures from the South Caucasus were also present in Northwest Iran (Iranian Azerbaijan) and East Anatolia. The origins of the painted ceramics culture of the Middle Bronze Age are subject to debate, while the particular local features are designated by various names. In general, excavations in East Anatolia, Northwest Iran, and the South Caucasus have revealed few settlements connected with the culture of painted ceramics of the Middle Bronze Age (2400–1500 BC). In East Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia and in Azerbaijan, not including Nakhchivan, no settlements connected with this culture have been identified. Evidence of the fortification-type settlements and the locations of these sites in easily defensible places illustrate the need for defense among the Middle Bronze Age occupants of Nakhchivan. Indeed, fortresses and fortified settlements are widespread during this period as evidenced by excavations at Kultepe II and Kizkala located in river valleys. Work at Kizkala has explored this settlement’s citadel, its domestic settlement, and a necropolis which are important for studying the painted ceramic culture of the Middle Bronze Age of the South Caucasus in general.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606322020052