Back to the Iron Age Chronology in Southern Central Asia: From Yaz II to the Hellenistic Period

The article reconsiders two major sites of the 1st millennium BC in southern Uzbekistan, Kyzyltepa and Kurganzol. It contests their recent dating – exclusively the Achaemenid and transitional Hellenistic period for the first one, and the end of the 4th c . BC for the second one – mainly based upon d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ancient civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 2021-12, Vol.27 (2), p.337-377
Main Authors: Lyonnet, Bertille, Fontugne, Michel
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The article reconsiders two major sites of the 1st millennium BC in southern Uzbekistan, Kyzyltepa and Kurganzol. It contests their recent dating – exclusively the Achaemenid and transitional Hellenistic period for the first one, and the end of the 4th c . BC for the second one – mainly based upon dendrochronological analyses relating the samples to the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest or slightly before, and ruling out the other dates given to these sites in previous publications. Our argumentation is based upon (1) various archaeological arguments and (2) scientific criteria that question the dendrochronological data and the supposed aging of the 14C results due to “old waters” from glaciers.
ISSN:0929-077X
1570-0577
DOI:10.1163/15700577-12341397