Leyla-Tepe culture facts for kids
Ceramic vessel from the site of Leyla-Tepe, near Quzanlı, Aghdam District of modern day Azerbaijan
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| Geographical range | South Caucasus |
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| Period | Chalcolithic |
| Dates | circa 4350 BCE — circa 4000 BCE |
| Major sites | Leyla-Tepe |
| Preceded by | Shulaveri–Shomu culture |
| Followed by | Kura–Araxes culture |
The Leyla-Tepe culture (Azerbaijani: Leylatəpə mədəniyyəti) was an ancient way of life in the South Caucasus region. It existed during the Chalcolithic era, which is also known as the Copper Age. This culture gets its name from an important archaeological site in the Agdam District of modern-day Azerbaijan.
People of the Leyla-Tepe culture lived in settlements across the southern slopes of the Central Caucasus mountains. They were active from about 4350 BCE to 4000 BCE. This means they lived over 6,000 years ago!
Archaeologists first found signs of the Leyla-Tepe culture in the 1980s. Later, in the 2000s, more attention was given to these sites. This was because new pipelines, like the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, were being built. Experts wanted to make sure these ancient places were protected from damage.
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Discovering the Leyla-Tepe Site
The main Leyla-Tepe settlement is on the Karabakh plain. It is near the village of Eyvazlı, Agdam and the town of Quzanlı in Azerbaijan. An archaeologist named I. Narimanov found it in 1984. The site sits about 100 meters above sea level. A riverbed is located a few kilometers to the north.
When first found, the settlement looked like a round hill. It was about 50-60 meters wide and 2 meters tall. Modern farming had damaged its surface. However, pieces of old pottery were still found there. The ancient layers of the site are about 2 meters thick. Research at the site was paused for a while due to local events.
The Leyla-Tepe site shows signs of only one main period of life. This means the culture stayed pretty much the same over time. Archaeologists found four building levels. The top one was mostly destroyed by farming. The lowest level has not yet been fully explored.
All the buildings found at Leyla-Tepe were rectangular. They were built directly on flat ground without deep foundations. The walls were made from rectangular mud bricks. These bricks were laid in even rows using a special mud mixture.
Other sites from the Leyla-Tepe culture are also in the Aghdam District. These include Chinar-Tepe, Shomulu-Tepe, and Abdal-Aziz-Tepe.
What Made Leyla-Tepe Culture Special?
The Leyla-Tepe culture is also seen at another site called Böyük Kəsik. People from this culture often buried their dead in large ceramic pots. This type of burial, called a Jar burial, has been found in many parts of the world. Some of these burials date back as early as 4500 BCE.
Another important Leyla-Tepe site is Poylu II in Azerbaijan. It was discovered during the building of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. The oldest layers at Poylu II show it was a Leyla-Tepe settlement from the early fourth millennium BCE.
The Soyugbulag kurgans, or burial mounds, are very important. These mounds are in central Georgia. Their excavation showed that such structures appeared very early in Azerbaijan. They date back to the beginning of the 4th millennium BCE.
The Leyla-Tepe culture also has links to sites in northern Mesopotamia. These include places like Arslantepe in Eastern Anatolia. The settlements were similar to those in Western Asia. Their homes were close together and made of mud bricks. They also had special openings for smoke.
Some experts believe the Leyla-Tepe people might have been the founders of the later Maykop culture. Many researchers agree that the Maykop culture is connected to the Leyla-Tepe complex.
Archaeological teams have found similar items in Syria. These items from the ancient city of Tel Khazneh I look like those from Maykop and Leyla-Tepe. This suggests a connection across these regions.
The pottery from Leyla-Tepe is very similar to 'Chaff-Faced Ware' found in northern Syria and Mesopotamia. This type of pottery is also found at Kultepe, Azerbaijan.
Galayeri: An Important Discovery
In 2012, a significant Leyla-Tepe site called Galayeri was explored. It is located in the Qabala District of Azerbaijan, near the Qabala International Airport.
At Galayeri, archaeologists found structures made of clay layers. They did not find mud-brick walls like at Leyla-Tepe. Most of the discoveries at Galayeri show features from the Chalcolithic period in Eastern Anatolia. Similar clay structures are found at Arslantepe/Melid VII. More research was done at Galayeri in 2018.
The items found at Galayeri are very similar to those from Böyük Kəsik I and Poylu II. The pottery, especially, looks alike across all these sites.
Small metal tools found at Galayeri show that metal was being produced there 6,000 years ago. Also, parts of a very early potter's wheel were discovered.
Radiocarbon dating tells us that the Galayeri settlement dates back to the early 4th millennium BCE. This matches what archaeologists found there.
Early Metalwork in Leyla-Tepe
The Leyla-Tepe culture played a big role in the early use of copper. Research from 2017 shows that copper metallurgy appeared in the Caucasus during the second half of the 5th millennium BCE. This was even before it appeared in Mesopotamia.
In the past, people thought copper use in the Caucasus came from migrants. These migrants might have arrived from the Uruk region around 4500 BCE. However, it now seems that local traditions, like those from the late Ubaid period, were also important.
The metalwork of the Leyla-Tepe culture was very advanced from the start. They even made many items from bronze. Later, the quality of metalwork changed with the arrival of the Kura–Araxes culture. The quality only improved again much later in the Kura-Araxes period.
See also
- Kura–Araxes culture
- Yarim Tepe, Iraq
Sources
- Р. М. Мунчаев, Н. Я. Мерперт, Ш. Н. Амиров ТЕЛЛЬ-ХАЗНА I. Культово-административный центр IV–III тыс. до н. э. в Северо-восточной Сирии. Издательство «Палеограф». Москва 2004. ISBN: 5-89526-012-8
- Najaf Museyibly, Archeological Excavations Along the Route of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline and the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, 2002–2005
