Rapin and Isamiddinov say that beginning in the 7th or 6th century BCE, we see a ’proto-urbaine’ (proto-urban) structure developing at Koktepe, represented by two large fortified areas on platforms. They assign an economic-political function to area A and a sacred one to area B,
[1]
and speculate that they could be the work of sedentary Scythians.
[2]
The cultural context of Koktepe during this period differs from that of eastern Central Asia, as represented by the citadel of Ulug Depe.
[2]
There may be a case, based on similarities in architectural construction, for treating the areas around Samarkand and Padajatak-tepa (near modern-day Shahr-i Sabz) as part of this polity during this period. In an article on Samarkand, Grenet comments: ’C’est donc avec une totale surprise que, en 1991, la fouille mettait en évidence, partout sous les remparts achéménides tant de l’acropole que du plateau, un premier mur épais de 6 mètres relevant d’une tradition défensive et d’une technique différente: non à galerie intérieure, mais massif; bâti non en briques crues rectangulaires de gabarit régulier, mais en briques ovales plus grossières, "plano-convexes". Il apparaît maintenant que ce type de maçonnerie caractérise sur d’autres sites aussi la toute première phase de la construction urbaine dans les plaines de Sogdiane (Koktepe à 30 km au nord de Samarkand; Padajatak-tepa, la Nautaca des campagnes d’Alexandre, en Sogdiane méridionale près de Shahr-i Sabz) et dans leur appendice ferghanien (Ejlatan, Dalverzin-tepe)’ [It was thus a total surprise when, in 1991, the excavation revealed, throughout the site beneath the Achaemenid ramparts of the acropolis as well as the plateau, a thick earlier wall of 6 metres, related to a different defensive tradition and a different technique: not with an interior gallery, but solid; built not with adobe bricks of a regular size, but of rougher oval-shaped, "plano-convex" bricks. It now appears that this type of masonry also characterizes the very first phase of urban construction at other sites of the Sogdian plain (Koktepe, 30 km north of Samarkand; Padajatak-tepa, the Nautaca of Alexander’s campaigns, in southern Sogdiana near Shahr-i Sabz) and its Ferganian neighbour (Ejlatan, Dalverzin-tepe)].
[3]
"The transition between the period of the painted pottery (Koktepe I) and the period of the monumental courtyards (Koktepe II) needs further research, as the differences betwen the north-eastern and south-western trends of the early Iron Age cultures still need explanation."
[4]
With regard to the transition between Koktepe I and II, Rapin and Isamiddinov say that the first centuries of the 1st millennium BCE are represented throughout the site by an ’épaisse couche organique’ [thick organic layer], suggesting that ’cette période pourrait avoir été celle d’une population semi-sédentaire, peut-être assez nombreuse, qui se serait installée à Koktepe avec du bétail’ [this period could have been one of a semi-sedentary population, perhaps quite numerous, which would have been established at Koktepe with cattle].
[1]
According to Claude Rapin, for "the complex question relating to the Early Iron Age in Central Asia" read this (and another 2001 work)
Francfort, H. -P. 1989. Fouilles de Shortugai. Recherches sur l’Asie central protohistorique, Memoires de la Mission archeologique francaise en Asie centrale 2, Paris.
JR: Much of the literature on Iron Age Koktepe is in Russian. See the bibliography compiled by Claude Rapin here (pp. 6-7):
[5]
??? - 1000 BCE Koktepe I
1000 - 750 BCE Chronological gap
750 - 550 BCE Koktepe II "sacred courtyard area" "strongly fortified courtyards"
[6]
550 - ??? BCE Scythians? "nomadic establishment"
[6]
??? - ??? BCE Koktepe IIIa "totally different expression of monumental urbanism"
[6]
- could be Archaemenid
"not impossible that the nomad layers ... and the platforms of Koktepe ... could correspond to the period of the Persian invasion and the organization of the eastern part of the empire by Darius I."
[7]
Koktepe IIIa
"The next period is represented at Koktepe by the construction of two platforms with religious and political functions ... and by a huge fortification wall built in the plain around the site."
[6]
"this rampart seems to have been built at the same time as the fortification that surrounds the plateau of Afrasiab ... Both walls not only protected monumental buildings, but also encircled a large open area, probably for the surrounding population to shelter with their cattle when necessary. This conception is characteristic of Central Asian urbanism near the steppe areas (Francfor 2001), and is also apparent in later cities, such as Ai Khanum or Taxila-Sirkap."
[6]
"The sacred function of the monument, probably related to early Zoroastrianism (or at least to a local cult affiliated to the Indo-Iranian complex), is confirmed by the evidence of a ritual of foundation performed just before its construction."
[7]
"Pre-Achaemenid period. Before the arrival of Iranian peoples in Central Asia, Sogdiana had already experienced at least two urban phases. The first was at Sarazm (4th-3rd m. BCE), a town of some 100 hectares has been excavated, where both irrigation agriculture and metallurgy were practiced (Isakov). It has been possible to demonstrate the magnitude of links with the civilization of the Oxus as well as with more distant regions, such as Baluchistan. The second phase began in at least the 15th century BCE at Kok Tepe, on the Bulungur canal north of the Zarafsan River, where the earliest archeological material appears to go back to the Bronze Age, and which persisted throughout the Iron Age, until the arrival from the north of the Iranian-speaking populations that were to become the Sogdian group. It declined with the rise of Samarkand (Rapin, 2007). Pre-Achaemenid Sogdiana is recalled in the Younger Avesta (chap. 1 of the Vidēvdād, q.v.) under the name Gava and said to be inhabited by the Sogdians.
[8]
Edward Turner’s interpretation of pre-Achaemenid Sogdiana (Koktepe in particular):
’The essential tension was the sedentary population needed (their irrigated) fields for growing crops, nomads needed land for grazing. so the "strongly fortified courtyards" is a manifestation of this tension.
another reason for fortification would be that wave/s of invasion/destruction had happened before:
"By 1600 BCE, peoples carrying the Andronovo cultural package had displaced, if not destroyed, the Bactrian/Margiana towns".
then the Yaz I replaced the Andronovo - UzKok01. (destruction then as well?)
if the inhabitants within the UzKok02 courtyards were Scythians they had probably invaded then settled c750 BCE, presumably causing some destruction of the previous culture.
an important line of evidence for invade/destroy/replace also is that it is likely that about 800 BCE the nomadic tribes around Central Asia began to use armies of horseback archers. the fact the sedentarized Scythians built fortifications must reflect the increased danger from the Steppe.
their identity lasted until either the Achaemenid or until another wave of Scythians destroyed their culture c550 BCE’.
[1]: (Rapin and Isamiddinov 2013, 126) Claude Rapin and Muhammadjon Isamiddinov. 2013. ’Entre sédentaires et nomades: les recherches de la Mission archéologique franco-ouzbèke (MAFOuz) de Sogdiane sur le site de Koktepe’. Cahiers d’Asie centrale 21/22: 113-133. Available online at http://asiecentrale.revues.org/1736.
[2]: (Rapin and Isamiddinov 2013, 127) Claude Rapin and Muhammadjon Isamiddinov. 2013. ’Entre sédentaires et nomades: les recherches de la Mission archéologique franco-ouzbèke (MAFOuz) de Sogdiane sur le site de Koktepe’. Cahiers d’Asie centrale 21/22: 113-133. Available online at http://asiecentrale.revues.org/1736.
[3]: (Grenet 2004, 1052-53) Frantz Grenet. 2004. ’Maracanda/Samarkand, une métropole pré-mongole: Sources écrites et archéologie’. Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 59e Année, No. 5/6, Asie centrale: 1043-67.
[4]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[5]: http://claude.rapin.free.fr/1BibliographiesPDF/1BiblioMafouz1.pdf.
[6]: (Rapin 2007, 36) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[7]: (Rapin 2007, 37) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[8]: (De la Vaissière, Encyclopedia Iranica online, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology)
| NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI |
| population migration |
| Preceding: Ancient Khwarazm (uz_khwarasm_1) [population replacement] |
| unitary state |
| [10,000 to 40,000] people | 750 BCE 600 BCE |
| Year Range | Koktepe II (uz_koktepe_2) was in: |
|---|---|
| (750 BCE 600 BCE) | Sogdiana |
"The Achaemenids found in Sogdiana an urban civilization. Along two divergent canals fed by the Zarafshan, the proto-Dargom and the Bulungur, two gigantic sites, Afrasiab-Samarkand and Kok Tepe — each covering more than two hundred hectares — were occupied from the 8th or 7th century before our era. The valley of the Zarafshan had already known an earlier urban phase at the site of Sarazm, a small distance upstream from Samarkand, but this phase had ended a millenium before. Kok Tepe declined rapidly, but Samarkand became for two millennia the greatest city of Sogdiana, and, with Merv and Bactra, one of the very great cities of western Central Asia."
[1]
[1]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 17)
"The Achaemenids found in Sogdiana an urban civilization. Along two divergent canals fed by the Zarafshan, the proto-Dargom and the Bulungur, two gigantic sites, Afrasiab-Samarkand and Kok Tepe — each covering more than two hundred hectares — were occupied from the 8th or 7th century before our era. The valley of the Zarafshan had already known an earlier urban phase at the site of Sarazm, a small distance upstream from Samarkand, but this phase had ended a millenium before. Kok Tepe declined rapidly, but Samarkand became for two millennia the greatest city of Sogdiana, and, with Merv and Bactra, one of the very great cities of western Central Asia."
[1]
[1]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 17)
Earliest c750 BCE?
"After an apparent chronological gap around the first third of the first millennium BC, the first real monumental architecture appeared on the terrace of Koktepe"
[1]
At present, we do not know how long the gap between Koktepe I and II lasted.
[2]
Possible influence from a centralized Bactrian state or even ’empire’ from the mid-8th century BCE: archaeologist V. M. Masson ’concluded that there was in Bactria a major political unit that extended its influences to Margiana and, possibly, to Aria and Sogdiana. The existence of a pre-Achaemenian Bactrian empire has been archaeologically proved through studies of the northern Afghanistan settlements of Altyn-Dilyar-depe, with its lofty citadel ringed with ramparts and bastions, Altyn-depe I with its keep, and Altyn-depe X with its summer and winter palaces. With their tall citadels raised on platforms and their defensive walls, such heavily fortified settlements as Altyn-Dilyar in the Farukhabad oasis or Altyndepe in that of Dashly, contrast sharply with the hand-made decorated pottery. This means that the culture originated at the latest in the mid-eighth century B.C.
[3]
JR: According to Rapin, we could even start Koktepe II later than 750 BCE, around 650 BCE: ’Au vu de la minceur des couches de sol des cours fortifiées, la période de Koktepe II ne semble pas avoir duré très longtemps: un siècle au maximum, à partir, peut-être, de la seconde partie du VIIe siècle’ [In view of the shallow depth of the soil layers of the fortified courtyards, the period of Koktepe II doesn’t seem to have lasted for very long: a century at most, beginning, perhaps, from the second half of the 7th century].
[4]
Latest: c550 BCE
Scythians prior to Persian conquest
"As was the case for various earlier constructions, both monuments were abandoned during a period of nomad invasions, possibly in the sixth century BC. (We know, for instance, that east of the Caspian Sea Darius I had to fight Scythian nomads like those represented by their king Skunkha illustrated as a defeated prisoner on the relief of Behistun)."
[5]
"a period of nomadic presence ... put an end to the period of the first monumental building programme"
[6]
JR: some of the statements in a later (2013) article by Claude Rapin and Muhammadjon Isamiddinov seem to contradict the idea that the society that built the monumental courtyards of Koktepe II was overrun by Scythians before the arrival of the Achaemenids. For one, they tentatively assign these economic-political and religious areas to ’Scythes sédentarisés’ (sedentarized Scythians) themselves. They also say that ’La période dite de "Koktepe III" apparaît sans transition chronologique aussitôt après la celle de "Koktepe II". L’organisation urbaine et architecturale fondamentalement nouvelle qui se manifeste alors pourrait correspondre à l’arrivée en Asie centrale des Achéménides’ [The period called ’Koktepe III’ appears without chronological transition immediately after that of ’Koktepe II’. The fundamentally new urban and architectural organization that is manifested at this point could correspond to the arrival in central Asia of the Achaemenids],
[7]
implying cultural continuity right up to the Achaemenid period. Maybe we have a case for extending the end date of this polity to 520 BCE (the date given on the Sogdiana NGA page for the full incorporation of Sogdiana into the Achaemenid Empire)?
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 34) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[2]: (Rapin 2007, 3) Claude Rapin. 2007. ’Koktepa v period zheleznogo veka do prixoda axemenidov’ [The Iron Age at Koktepe up to the Arrival of the Achaemenids], in Samarkand shaxrining umumbasharij madanij tarakkiët tarixida tutgan ûrni: Samarkand shaxrining 2750 jillik jubilejinga baghishlangan xalkaro ilmij simposium materiallari [The Role of Samarkand in the History of World Civilization: Materials of the International Scientific Symposium Devoted to the 2750th Anniversary of the City of Samarkand], pp. 29-38. Tashkent. French version available online at http://claude.rapin.free.fr/1BiblioTextesKoktepePDF/Koktepe_SMK2007v7fr.pdf.
[3]: (Askarov 1992, 447-48) A. Askarov. 1992. ’The Beginning of the Iron Age in Transoxania’, in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol 1: The Dawn of Civilization: Earliest Times to 700 B.C., edited by A. H. Dani and V. M. Masson, 441-58. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
[4]: (Rapin 2007, 7) Claude Rapin. 2007. ’Koktepa v period zheleznogo veka do prixoda axemenidov’ [The Iron Age at Koktepe up to the Arrival of the Achaemenids], in Samarkand shaxrining umumbasharij madanij tarakkiët tarixida tutgan ûrni: Samarkand shaxrining 2750 jillik jubilejinga baghishlangan xalkaro ilmij simposium materiallari [The Role of Samarkand in the History of World Civilization: Materials of the International Scientific Symposium Devoted to the 2750th Anniversary of the City of Samarkand], pp. 29-38. Tashkent. French version available online at http://claude.rapin.free.fr/1BiblioTextesKoktepePDF/Koktepe_SMK2007v7fr.pdf.
[5]: (Rapin 2007, 36) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[6]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[7]: (Rapin and Isamiddinov 2013, 128) Claude Rapin and Muhammadjon Isamiddinov. 2013. ’Entre sédentaires et nomades: les recherches de la Mission archéologique franco-ouzbèke (MAFOuz) de Sogdiane sur le site de Koktepe’. Cahiers d’Asie centrale 21/22: 113-133. Available online at http://asiecentrale.revues.org/1736.
’Scythians’ before the Archaemenid Empire. There may be a more precise term for the group than ’Scythians’.
"Pre-Achaemenid period. Before the arrival of Iranian peoples in Central Asia, Sogdiana had already experienced at least two urban phases. The first was at Sarazm (4th-3rd m. BCE), a town of some 100 hectares has been excavated, where both irrigation agriculture and metallurgy were practiced (Isakov). It has been possible to demonstrate the magnitude of links with the civilization of the Oxus as well as with more distant regions, such as Baluchistan. The second phase began in at least the 15th century BCE at Kok Tepe, on the Bulungur canal north of the Zarafsan River, where the earliest archeological material appears to go back to the Bronze Age, and which persisted throughout the Iron Age, until the arrival from the north of the Iranian-speaking populations that were to become the Sogdian group. It declined with the rise of Samarkand (Rapin, 2007). Pre-Achaemenid Sogdiana is recalled in the Younger Avesta (chap. 1 of the Vidēvdād, q.v.) under the name Gava and said to be inhabited by the Sogdians. [1]
[1]: (De la Vaissière, Encyclopedia Iranica online, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology)
(Relationship): "Pre-Achaemenid period. Before the arrival of Iranian peoples in Central Asia, Sogdiana had already experienced at least two urban phases. The first was at Sarazm (4th-3rd m. BCE), a town of some 100 hectares has been excavated, where both irrigation agriculture and metallurgy were practiced (Isakov). It has been possible to demonstrate the magnitude of links with the civilization of the Oxus as well as with more distant regions, such as Baluchistan. The second phase began in at least the 15th century BCE at Kok Tepe, on the Bulungur canal north of the Zarafsan River, where the earliest archeological material appears to go back to the Bronze Age, and which persisted throughout the Iron Age, until the arrival from the north of the Iranian-speaking populations that were to become the Sogdian group. It declined with the rise of Samarkand (Rapin, 2007). Pre-Achaemenid Sogdiana is recalled in the Younger Avesta (chap. 1 of the Vidēvdād, q.v.) under the name Gava and said to be inhabited by the Sogdians.
[1]
(Entity): Not much known of the period between the end of Koktepe I and the start of Koktepe II.
[1]: (De la Vaissière, Encyclopedia Iranica online, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology)
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions." [1]
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
Inhabitants. 200 ha; using the Seshat-wide estimate of [50-200] inhabitants per hectare, would result in a population estimate of [10000-40000] people.
"The Achaemenids found in Sogdiana an urban civilization. Along two divergent canals fed by the Zarafshan, the proto-Dargom and the Bulungur, two gigantic sites, Afrasiab-Samarkand and Kök Tepe - each covering more than two hundred hectares - were occupied from the 8th or 7th century before our era.2 The valley of the Zarafshan had already known an earlier urban phase at the site of Sarazm, a small distance upstream from Samarkand, but this phase had ended a millenium before.3 Kök Tepe declined rapidly, but Samarkand became for two millenia the greatest city of Sogdiana, and, with Merv and Bactra, one of the very great cities of western Central Asia. The Achaemenids brought writing to Sogdiana, and the written language long remained the Aramaic of the Achaemenid Empire."
[1]
[1]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 17)
levels.
1. Fortified town
2. ? -- settlements outside the walls of this town?
levels.
No data but distinct religious institutions would have had at least one level of hierarchy. Unlikely to have had much more due to small scale of the polity.
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions."
[1]
"The religious function of the western courtyard has been determined by the presence of a fireplace, the remains of which seem to have been intentionally collected in one of the ruined towers of the main southern gate"
[2]
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
[2]: (Rapin 2007, 36) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
levels.
No data but any "strong local state organization" is likely to have at least two levels.
1.
2.3.
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions."
[1]
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions." [1]
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
Some of the monumental architecture at Koktepe may have had administrative functions, but the evidence is not strong enough to demonstrate that there were specialized government buildings.
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions."
[1]
[1]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
There is some evidence of administrative activities at Koktepe in this period, but not enough to demonstrate that full-time, specialist bureaucrats were present.
Maracanda was an administrative center.
[1]
--
"Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions."
[2]
[1]: (Francfort 1982, 186) Francfort, Henri-Paul. The economy, society and culture of Central Asia in Achaemenid times. in Boardman, John. Hammond, N. G. L. Lewis, D. M. Ostwald, M. 1988. The Cambridge Ancient History. Second edition. Volume 10. Cambridge University Press.
[2]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
Present in region. [1] "it can be provisionally assumed that the two earlier Iron Age phases distinguished at Koktepe could represent the first manifestations of local agricultural development. Maurizio Tosi has proposed that for the southern slopes of the Zerafshan valley, along the Dargom canal, this economic system could have developed from an earlier period, when irrigation was limited to the natural flows of water from the foothills (Koktepe I period), to a later irrigation system, mainly exemplified by the excavation of the great canals deriving from the Zerafshan, the Bulungur and the Dargom (Koktepe II period)." [2]
[1]: (Francfort 1982) Francfort, Henri-Paul. The economy, society and culture of Central Asia in Achaemenid times. in Boardman, John. Hammond, N. G. L. Lewis, D. M. Ostwald, M. 1988. The Cambridge Ancient History. Second edition. Volume 10. Cambridge University Press.
[2]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
"Grain would be stored, at a domestic level, in silos dug below the floors of farms and in jars, thus taking care of daily requirements and of surpluses." [1] -- reference for general region
[1]: (Francfort 1982, 184) Francfort, Henri-Paul. The economy, society and culture of Central Asia in Achaemenid times. in Boardman, John. Hammond, N. G. L. Lewis, D. M. Ostwald, M. 1988. The Cambridge Ancient History. Second edition. Volume 10. Cambridge University Press.
Organised state would likely have maintained some tracks, for example, going in and out of the settlement through the gate.
"The Achaemenids brought writing to Sogdiana, and the written language long remained the Aramaic of the Achaemenid Empire." [1] A possibility since administrative institutions use and store documents: "Reflecting the major social and political development of the region, this monumental architecture is evidence of a strong local state organization. The inner buildings of these courtyards are at present difficult to reconstruct. Although this question has still to be resolved, it would seem that the courtyards of Koktepe housed earlier religious and administrative institutions." [2]
[1]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 17)
[2]: (Rapin 2007, 35) Rapin, Claude. "Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan Period." in Cribb, Joe. Herrmann, Georgina. 2007. After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam. British Academy.
"The study of these sites by the Uzbek-French expeditiondemonstrates that the process of erecting city walls in Samarkand and Kok-tepe and shrines in Kok-tepe included large-scale works [Rapin, Isamiddinovand Khasanov]." [1]
[1]: (Waugh 2003) Daniel Waugh. From The Editor. December 2003. The Silk Road. Volume 1. Number 2.
"Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [1]
[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
absent before the gunpowder era
This is before the earliest known example of crossbows in China.
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
Weapon of the Americas, extremely unlikely to be in use here
From 700 BCE? in Steppe zone: "During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1] Hsiung-Nu reference c200 BCE: "Among their weapons we find the compound bow, bronze and bone arrowheads (their arrows also contained beads that gave them a whistling effect), broadswords, short swords, lances, and maces." [2] Can the Steppe zone be used to code Sogdiana?
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
[2]: (Golden 1992, 60) Peter B Golden. 1992. An Introduction to the History of the Turkish Peoples. Otto Harrassowitz. Wiesbaden. http://www.academia.edu/28176263/An_Introduction_to_the_History_of_the_Turkish_Peoples
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
From 700 BCE? in Steppe zone: "During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1] Hsiung-Nu reference c200 BCE: "Among their weapons we find the compound bow, bronze and bone arrowheads (their arrows also contained beads that gave them a whistling effect), broadswords, short swords, lances, and maces." [2] Can the Steppe zone be used to code Sogdiana?
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
[2]: (Golden 1992, 60) Peter B Golden. 1992. An Introduction to the History of the Turkish Peoples. Otto Harrassowitz. Wiesbaden. http://www.academia.edu/28176263/An_Introduction_to_the_History_of_the_Turkish_Peoples
Present due to the following in contemporary Chinese sources, which are relevant for gaining insight on the weapons and armor of Steppe Nomads. In use in China since at least the much earlier Shang dynasty. "Even with strong crossbows that shoot far, and long halberds that hit at a distance, the Hsiung-nu would not be able to ward them off. If the armors are sturdy and the weapons sharp, if the repetition crossbows shot far, and the platoons advance together, the Hsiung-nu will not be able to withstand. If specially trained troops are quick to release (their bows) and the arrows in a single stream hit the target together, then the leather outfit and wooden shields of the Hsiung-nu will not be able to protect them. If they dismount and fight on foot, when swords and halberds clash as [the soldiers] come into close quarters, the Hsiung-nu, who lack infantry training, will not be able to cope." [1]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 203
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.
Due to all the domestic animals being owned by a household, in which all males were nomadic warriors and would very likely have used domestic animals as pack animals. It may be a later Chinese account about Steppe Nomads along the silk road, but this is close to Sogdiana and can be used to infer about the Steppe Nomad culture: Sima’s records state "Most of their domestic animals are horses, cows, sheep, and they also have rare animals such as camels, donkeys, mules, hinnies and other equines known as t’ao-t’u and tien-hsi.53 They move about according to the availability of water and pasture, have no walled towns or fixed residences, nor any agricultural activities, but each of them has a portion of land.54 " [1]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 272
Due to all the domestic animals being owned by a household, in which all males were nomadic warriors and would very likely have used domestic animals as pack animals. It may be a later Chinese account about Steppe Nomads along the silk road, but this is close to Sogdiana and can be used to infer about the Steppe Nomad culture: Sima’s records state " Most of their domestic animals are horses, cows, sheep, and they also have rare animals such as camels, donkeys, mules, hinnies and other equines known as t’ao-t’u and tien-hsi.53 They move about according to the availability of water and pasture, have no walled towns or fixed residences, nor any agricultural activities, but each of them has a portion of land.54 " [1]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 272
Coded present due to the following in later Chinese sources, which are relevant for gaining insight on the weapons and armor of Steppe Nomads, as well as being mention as a general characteristic of Steppe Nomad clothing since 750 BC at least. "Even with strong crossbows that shoot far, and long halberds that hit at a distance, the Hsiung-nu would not be able to ward them off. If the armors are sturdy and the weapons sharp, if the repetition crossbows shot far, and the platoons advance together, the Hsiung-nu will not be able to withstand. If specially trained troops are quick to release (their bows) and the arrows in a single stream hit the target together, then the leather outfit and wooden shields of the Hsiung-nu will not be able to protect them. If they dismount and fight on foot, when swords and halberds clash as [the soldiers] come into close quarters, the Hsiung-nu, who lack infantry training, will not be able to cope." [1]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 203
Bronze helmets from Iran appear to have been used by Steppe Nomads. Also Steppe Nomads coded in other polities have been found to use leather or other helmets. "Sauromatian bronze helmets and scale or plate armor not of local production appear in the Volga River region and southern Ural Steppes in the fifth-fourth century b.c., showing an increase in the exchange economy among neighboring communities." [1]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 42
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea." [1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.