Anau, Turkmenistan
Anau (also spelled Annau, ) is a city in Turkmenistan. It is the capital of Ahal Province and is 8 km southeast of Ashgabat which is connected via the M37 highway.

The name Anau is from Persian Âbe nav (آب نو) meaning "New Water".

In 2003, the city built a new stadium, and in 2005 a major museum called 'Ak Bugday (White Wheat) Museum', housing artifacts recovered from the area.

Archaeology

The Chalcolithic Anau culture dates back to 4500 BC, following the Neolithic Jeitun culture in the cultural sequence of southern Turkmenistan.

Anau was a stopping point along the famous ancient Silk Road. Fine painted potteries are found here.

Pottery similar to that of Anau (the earliest Anau IA phase) has been found as far as Shir Ashian Tepe in the Semnan Province of Iran.

Remains of the domestic pig Sus vittatus have been found here in the first sedentary horizon seemingly having appeared suddenly which would indicate it having been imported.  Sus vittatus was first domesticated in Southeast Asia.

Site description
Anau includes two mounds, north and south. Archaeological research here began in 1890. R. Pumpelly, Marushchenko, and Khurbansokhatov were some of the researchers over the years. The northern mound presents remains of the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age, and the southern mound has the Iron Age remains.

The lowest layers of the north mound in Anau provide some good evidence for the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic in the area. The lowest layers were divided into two periods, Anau IA, and Anau IB. Some copper items, as well as imported Lapis lazuli have been found.

Although there are some similarities between the Anau IA and Jeitun ceramics, there are also many differences. Jeitun ceramics mostly use a plant-based temper, whereas those of Anau IA were tempered with a large amount of sand and bits of other ceramics.

Anau IA also has similarities to Tepe Sialk I and II layers. Ceramics similar to Anau IA are also found on the Iranian plateau, in northeastern Iran, and in southern Turkmenistan.

Namazga culture also descended from Jeitun, but later. Anau IB2 period, starting in 3800 BC, is considered contemporary with Namazga I period.

Stamp seal
An enigmatic stamp seal was found here, that may be the first evidence of an indigenous written language in Anau. The new find is dated to c. 2300 BC.

Bronze Age seals from Altyndepe provide some parallels to the Anau seal. Two similar stamp seals have been found at Altyndepe with the same dimensions as the Anau seal.

These seals are also similar to the ones from Tepe Hissar and from Tepe Sialk in Iran, where such seals with geometric designs go back to the 5th millennium BC. Also, some Chinese parallels to the Anau seal are possible.