Spread and Characteristics of the Shomutepe Culture in the Ganja-Gazakh Region
Aisha Ismayilzade
Abstract. The article studies the main characteristics, distribution area and historical significance of the Shomutapa culture spread in the Ganja-Gazakh region. The study analyzes the economic life, architectural traditions and material culture of the early agricultural tribes of the region based on archaeological materials obtained from Shomutapa, Goytepa, Hajialamkhanli, Toyratepa and other Neolithic settlements. The article studies the stages of the formation of agriculture and cattle breeding in the Ganja-Gazakh region based on radiocarbon analyses, archaeobotanical and osteological materials. It was determined that the Shomutapa culture was one of the oldest agricultural cultures of the South Caucasus and played an important role in the emergence of a sedentary lifestyle in the region. During the study, the relations of the Shomutapa culture with the early agricultural cultures of the Near East and the local development characteristics were also studied in a comparative manner. The article emphasizes that the Goytepa and Hajialamkhanli monuments are of particular importance in determining the chronology of the South Caucasus Neolithic.
Keywords: Shomutape culture, Ganja-Gazakh region, Neolithic period, Early agriculture, Goytepe settlement