Yaz culture

Early Iron Age culture of Margiana, Bactria and Sogdia

The Yaz culture (named after the type site Yaz Tappe, Yaz Tepe, or Yaz Depe, near Baýramaly, Turkmenistan) was an early Iron Age culture of Margiana, Bactria and Sogdia (c. 1500–500 BC, or c. 1500–330 BC). It emerges at the top of late Bronze Age sites (BMAC), sometimes as mud brick platforms and sizeable houses associated with irrigation systems. Ceramics were mostly hand made, but there was increasing use of wheel thrown ware. There have been found bronze or iron arrowheads, also iron sickles or carpet knives among other artifacts. With the farming citadels and absence of burials it has been regarded as a likely archaeological reflection of early East Iranian culture as described in the Avesta. So far, no burials related to the culture have been found, and this is taken as possible evidence of the Zoroastrian practice of exposure or sky burial.

In the region of Southern Central Asia, the Bronze Age Oxus civilization (or BMAC) was characteristic for irrigation and proto state society based on long distance trade of raw materials and goods. However, it suddenly disappeared in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1900–1500 BC), and in its place emerged the Early Iron Age (c. 1500/1400 1000 BC) Yaz I culture with rural settlements based around fortified structures, control of irrigation systems, with specific hand made ceramic type, as well as the almost complete disappearance of graves, compared to thousands of kurgans in the north. The ceramics, and spherical stone maces, show continuity and contemporaneity between Yaz Depe and Ulug Depe of the Early Iron Age and Tekkem Depe among others of the Namazga Tepe VI period. Yaz I culture is argued to be related to the sedentarisation of the nomadic Indo Iranians in the Eurasian Steppe, a synthesis with autochthonous traits. It extended from the central part of the Kopet Dag mountains to the fertile delta of the Murghab River. It is characterised for total lack of necropolises and tombs, as well as painted ceramic with triangle and ladder patterns. Recent research shows four groups of patterns, the triangular (triangles and chevrons), lozenges, bands, and of additional elements. It seems to be connected to the Chust culture of Fergana Valley, Mundigak V VI in Sistan, and Pirak I III on the Kacchi Plain. Compared to the Chust culture, no tombs from the Yaz culture have been found. Asko Parpola and Fred Hiebert argued that these cultures seemingly derived from the Haladun culture (1750–1200 BC) of Xinjiang, and some Andronovo culture contacts, indicating a Europid upper strata who spoke East Aryan. The introduction of the culture is seemingly related to the sound change *s > h when Iranian language came in the Indo Iranian borderlands of Rgvedic tribes around 1500 BC, seen in the change of the Vedic river Sindhu into Avestan Hindu (Indus River), Sarasvati into Haraxhvaiti.

It is dated circa 700–400 BC, or second half of the 6th and end of the 4th century BC (c. 540–329 BC) in the Late Iron Age, part of the Achaemenid Empire period, but is still characterized by the same cultural and funerary continuity. The beak shaped rim is replaced in form of a flattened roller, vessels are cylindrical conical, and a bronze three bladed arrow, iron axes and adzes were discovered.

The Yaz Tepe settlement was the central district in the then metropolitan part of Margiana. It covered 1 ha in Iron Age phase, and stood on brick platform mound 8 m high, while the stratigraphic excavations in the area revealed Yaz I (900–650 BC) complex (with bronze arrowheads and iron artefacts in Tillya Tepe), Yaz II (650–450 BC) and Yaz III (450–350 BC) house remains, although the chronology was later updated to Yaz I (ca. 1500/1400 1000 BC), Yaz II (ca. 1000 540 BC), and Yaz III (ca. 550 330 BC). Regarding Turkmenistan, many notable archaeologist investigated Yaz ceramic assemblage; A. F. Ganialin and A. A. Maruschenko considered northern pastoralist influence, V. M. Masson it is connected to the Namazga Tepe VI, but with a break of 100–150 years in between, while V. Sarianidi that the Yaz I assemblage arrived from eastern Khorasan. There three groups of hand made ware in shape, color of sherd, and the admixture of crushed ceramics into the body of vessels. Recent research confirmed of the three the Masson's thesis that the Yaz I type ceramics in the foothill of Kopet Dag mountain are a natural development of the Late Bronze Age assemblage from Namazga VI period, but without any time lapse and external influence.

Several recent 2008–2012 discoveries of Early Iron Age burials on the sites of Dzharkutan in Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan, and Ulug Depe in Turkmenistan shown diverse funerary practices of the Iron Age in Central Asia. It shows burials still existed, but were not numerous. They were primary, secondary, multiple burials, and silo tombs, divided on seasonal and permanent dwellings. In the silos were buried mostly adult females, while in the others the head was mostly removed, indicating symbolic, cult or social reason. A lack of graves and excarnations emerged in the Early Iron Age, especially in Yaz I and II cultures, the same period in which Zoroastrianism developed (works such as the Gathas often being dated to the second half or end of the 2nd millennium BC); the contemporary occurrence falls in line with certain traditions (see Tower of Silence) and cultural schools of thought, but there is ongoing scholarly debate surrounding such a connection There is evidence for excarnation in non Zoroastrian cultures like those in Siberia and Mongolia, as well excarnation and dakhmas in some Bronze Age sites like Gonur Tepe and Altyndepe, thus in could have persisted into Early Iron Age as a notion for the long process of formation of the Proto Zoroastrianism and Avesta.

Some sites which had Yaz culture layers like the Yaz Depe, Takhirbaj Depe, Taip, Gonur, Togoluk are on the UNESCO's World Heritage List of the State Historical and Cultural Park "Ancient Merv" (1999).