Eastern Anatolia in the Early Bronze Age

This article presents data on the Early Bronze Age of eastern Anatolia. During the period that for most scholars is recognized as the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3100–2100 BCE), eastern Anatolia was occupied by an intriguing cultural complex related to the Kura–Araxes culture, as it has been described by Kuftin after his excavations in Transcaucasia. This complex has alternatively been called “Karaz,” “Red Black Burnished,” or “Early Transcaucasian,” depending on the viewpoint adopted by successive scholars. Of all the labels used for describing the Early Bronze Age faciès of eastern Anatolia, the term Early Transcaucasian Culture seems to be the most appropriate, as it implies an organic relationship between East Anatolian cultural assemblages and Transcaucasia. Indeed, even if this issue is still a matter of debate, today most of the evidence points to a Transcaucasian origin for the east Anatolian Early Bronze Age.