Publisher Description

In The Archaeology of the Caucasus, Antonio Sagona provides the first comprehensive survey of a key area in the Eurasian land mass, from the earliest settlement to the end of the early Iron Age. Examining the bewildering array of cultural complexes found in the region, he draws on both Soviet and post-Soviet investigations and synthesises the vast quantity of diverse and often fragmented evidence across the region's frontiers. Written in an engaging manner that balances material culture and theory, the volume focuses on the most significant sites and cultural traditions. Sagona also highlights the accomplishments of the Caucasian communities and situates them within the broader setting of their neighbours in Anatolia, Iran, and Russia. Sprinkled with new data, much of it published here for the first time, The Archaeology of the Caucasus contains many new photographs, drawings and plans, many of which have not been accessible to Western researchers.

Author Biography

Antonio Sagona is an archaeologist of the ancient Near East, with expertise in Anatolia and the Caucasus. He has written a number of books on the subject, including Ancient Turkey (2009). He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities, and an Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Editor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, he teaches at the University of Melbourne.

Table of Contents

1. The land and its languages; 2. Traillblazers: the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic foundations; 3. Transition to settled life: the Neolithic; 4. Far-flung networks: the Chalcolithic; 5. Encounters beyond the Caucasus: the Kura-Araxes culture and the early Bronze Age; 6. Dolmens for the dead: the Western Caucasus in the Bronze Age; 7. The emergence of elites and a new social order; 8. From fortresses to fragmentation: the Southern Caucasus in the Late Bronze Age through Iron Age I; 9. Smiths, warriors and womenfolk: the Koban culture of the Northern Caucasus; 10. A world apart: the Colchian culture; 11. The grand challenges for the archaeology of the Caucasus.

Promotional

This conspectus brings together in an accessible and systematic manner a dizzy array of archaeological cultures situated between several worlds.

Promotional "Headline"

This conspectus brings together in an accessible and systematic manner a dizzy array of archaeological cultures situated between several worlds.

Description for Bookstore

Students of antiquity often see the ancient Caucasus as a bewildering array of cultural complexes. This book coherently brings together a vast quantity of diverse and often fragmented evidence from both sides of the frontier, encompassing the period from the earliest arrivals to the end of the early Iron Age.

Description for Library

Students of antiquity often see the ancient Caucasus as a bewildering array of cultural complexes. This book coherently brings together a vast quantity of diverse and often fragmented evidence from both sides of the frontier, encompassing the period from the earliest arrivals to the end of the early Iron Age.

Details