Geography of Turkmenistan

1946-1991:

The South Turkmenistan Archaeological Complex Expedition (YuTAKE) was established by M.E. Masson (1897–1986) in 1946 with its main aim being the periodisation of the history of Turkmenistan. The sector of archaeology of the Institute for history, archaeology and ethnography (later Institute for history named after Sh. Batyrov) of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenian SSR (TSSR) was created in 1951. The 9th brigade of the YuTAKE led by A.P. Okladnikov worked in western Turkmenistan (Krasnovodsk plateau and the broader Balkhan region) mostly on Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites between 1947 and 1952. The brigade worked at Jebel, and examined Dam-dam Cheshme I and II. Later, in the 1960s, G.I. Markov, head of the archaeological-ethnographical expedition of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, excavated Dam-Dam Cheshme II and Oyukly. The 14th brigade of the YuTAKE led by B.A. Kuftin began the first excavation in Jeitun in 1952. Later on (1955-1958) works were continued by V.M. Masson. The new term “Jeitun culture” for the Neolithic period in Central Asia was accepted.


Fig. 4 : Dam-Dam-Cheshme (photo courtesy of Oleg Guychgeldiev).

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Fig. 5 : Pessejik-depe. Wall painting. After Памятники архитектуры Туркменистана (Ленинград 1974)

Sites of archaic Dahistan (13th – 6/5 centuries BC) are situated in the Misrian valley (north from Etrek river) and the western part of the Kopetdag piedmont. This region was investigated at the end of the 1920s by M. Masson and in the 1930s by A. Marushenko. He proposed a new Madau culture in the article he published in 1939. According to him, the Madau culture can be dated to the end of the 2nd millennium – beginning of the 1st millennium BC. In 1947 the 10th brigade of YuTAKE (M. Masson) surveyed Dahistan. In 1951-1953 V. Masson made some excavations here. In 1968 joint teams of the Moscow Institute of Archaeology and the Institute of History of the Academy of sciences of TSSR started investigations in Dahistan. In 1968 I. Khlopin and L. Khlopina started excavations in the Sumbar river valley. They found Parhai-depe and during the excavations in 1969 and 1972 they discovered levels of the archaic Dahistan. E. Atagarryev excavated the medieval city of Misrian. In 1979 E. Muradova started excavations at Madau-depe.