page_title: Bronze and Iron Age in Azerbaijan
section_title: Middle Bronze Age
hierarchical_section_title: Bronze and Iron Age in Azerbaijan / Middle Bronze Age
caption_attribution_description: English: Painted vessel from Kultepe
context_page_description: Bronze Age in Azerbaijan began in the second half of the 4th millennium BC and ended in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, while the Iron Age commenced in approximately 7-6th centuries BC. The Bronze Age in territory of today's Azerbaijan is divided into the early Bronze Age, the middle Bronze Age and the late Bronze Age. Bronze Age was studied in Nakhchivan, Ganja, Dashkasan, Mingachevir, Gobustan, Qazakh and Karabakh.
context_section_description: The Middle Bronze Age was substituted with the Middle Bronze Age at the end of the third millennium BC continued until the beginning of the second millennium BC. The middle Bronze Age is characterized by “painted earthenware”, or “painted pottery” culture.
  During this period, much larger settlements were established, social and property inequality among the population started to increase, more sustainable relationship between the tribes resulted in emerging separate ethnocultural commonalities. Oval shaped settlements of previous periods replaced with houses with several rooms. Besides, cyclopean areas in mountainous territories started to be used from this period as strengthened settlements built with huge parts of rocks in order to protect the possessions of the tribal unions. Based on the findings in Uzerliktepe, Aghdam (grapevine kernel remainings) and in Nakhchivan (stone tools for crushing grapes), grapevine growing and winemaking emerged in this period. Second division of labor occurred in middle Bronze Age and craftsmanship separated from other production areas.
  Painted pottery culture was first observed during the land works in Kizyl-Vank in 1895. Polichrom pottery patterns shared common features with Haftavan-tepe and Geoy-tepe settlements around the Urmiya lake. The remnants of this period were more commonly found in Nakhchivan (II Kul-tepe, Chalkhangala), Gobustan (Boyuk dash site), and Aghdam (Uzerliktepe), Karabakh (Garakopaktepe), Gazakh (Dashsalahli). City centers and the ancient city of Nakhchivan springed up in the middle Bronze Age.
  A.Miller found painted pottery remains from the Kizyl-Vank cemetery (Nakhchivan) in 1926.
  16 spear heads and 17 arrow heads were found from burial mounds dating XVIII-XVII century. These spears were from Dashsalahli (Gazakh), Hachbulaq (Dashkasan, Khankendi (Garabakh), Chalkhangala (Nakhchivan). Three of them made from arsenic copper, eight tin bronze, two arsenic tin bronze, two lead tin bronze. Arrows were from Dashsalahli (Gazakh), Gyzylburun (Nakhchivan), II Kul-tepe, Boyuk Gyshlag (Tovuz). Four of them made from arsenic copper, 7 tin bronze, 2 lead tin bronze, 1 arsenic tin bronze, 2 copper, 1 copper lead alloy.  The recent studies indicate that most of arrow heads and spear heads were fused from crude materials of local origin with supplementation of imported tin.
  On the III layer of the I Kul-tepe were found wall remnants of four-shaped houses, monochrome and polychrome clay pots and stone tools.
  In the Dize necropolis revealed in 2008, were found a pitcher and a cutting tool made from flint. Sharur archaeological expedition investigated three kurgans, grave monuments and fragments of painted dishes.
caption: Painted vessel pattern from Kul-Tepe I
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