Van-Urmia culture

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Van-Urmia culture, Karmirvank culture
Geographical range South Caucasus, Urmia basin
Period Bronze Age
Datescirca 2200 B.C.E. — circa 1300 B.C.E.
Major sites Haftavan tepe
Preceded by Kura-Araxes culture
Followed by Grooved ware, Grey ware


The Van-Urmia culture was a Bronze Age culture responsible for painted ceramics (also called Urmia Ware) that spread around Lake Urmia (north-west Iran) and Lake Van (eastern Anatolia), extending into the parts of the South Caucasus. [1] In post-Soviet sources, it is known as Karmirvank or Kizylvank culture, based on the name of a site in Nakhichevan. [2] The term “Urmia style” or “Urmia Ware” was first applied by archaeologist Michael R. Edwards to pottery found at the site of Haftavān Tepe (in the Urmia basin) at the VI B level of excavation. Later discovery of similar pottery in the Van region prompted the use of the term “Van-Urmia”. [3]

Contents

Origins

Van-Urmia appeared (about 2200–1300 BCE) after the Early Bronze Age Kura-Araxes culture went into decline. Scholars debate the reasons for this decline. Some proposed that new migrations were the cause, [4] while others suggested internal reasons. Recent archaeogenetic studies revealed that another post-Kura-Araxes culture, the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture which shares some typological features with Urmia ware, emerged as a result of a migration from the Pontic-Caspian steppe. [5] It is possible that the same migration played a role in the formation of Van-Urmia. However, currently, there is no ancient DNA from Van-Urmia burials and the available data from Hasanlu tepe Iron Age only indirectly hints at the presence of a Steppe-related migration. [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Edwards, Michael (1986). "Urmia Ware" and Its Distribution in North-Western Iran in the Second Millennium B.C.: A Review of the Results of Excavations and Surveys". Iran. 24. Taylor & Francis: 45–67. doi:10.2307/4299765. JSTOR   4299765 . Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  2. ↑ Amelirad, Shelir (2021), Bayazid Abad (Bayazi Awa): Transition of Material Patterns from the Middle Bronze to the Iron Age in North-Western Iran. (PDF), Heidelberg University, retrieved 22 November 2025
  3. ↑ Çilingiroğlu, Altan (1984). "The Second Millennium Painted Pottery Tradition of the Van Lake Basin". Anatolian Studies. 34. British Institute at Ankara: 129–139. doi:10.2307/3642861. JSTOR   3642861 . Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Alizadeh, Karim; Maziar, Sepideh; Mohammadi, Rouhollah (July 2018). "The End of the Kura-Araxes Culture as Seen from Nadir Tepesi in Iranian Azerbaijan". The American Journal of Archaeology. 122 (3). University of Chicago Press: 463–477. doi:10.3764/aja.122.3.0463 . Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Yediay, Fulya Eylem (December 2024), Ancient genomics support deep divergence between Eastern and Western Mediterranean Indo-European languages., pp. 2024.12.02.626332, doi:10.1101/2024.12.02.626332, PMC   11642759 , PMID   39677618
  6. ↑ Lazaridis, Iosif (August 2022). "A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia". Science. 377 (6609): 940–951. Bibcode:2022Sci...377..940L. doi:10.1126/science.abq0755. hdl:20.500.12684/12351. PMC   10019558 . PMID   36007020.


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