IN THE LIGHT OF NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE ERZURUM PLAIN: AN OVERVIEW OF KURA-ARAXES FUNERARY PRACTICES IN EASTERN ANATOLIA

Abstract

The Early Bronze Age of the Eastern Anatolian Highlands, Northwestern Iran and Southern Caucasus has been characterized by the Kura-Araxes cultural complex, which has major significance by way of its chronology and geography. The main problem that we have is insufficient knowledge of its funerary practices, and the principal reason for this problem is a lack of excavations on necropolis sites, or on sites with burials. According to a recent study the total number of excavated sites with burials in the Southern Caucasus numbers just 111. The picture is even darker for the Eastern Anatolian Highlands. There has been no excavated graveyard in the highland up until now. Only discrete burials have been found in the region at limited excavated Kura-Araxes sites, and so far they have failed to present a burial tradition, or typology of graves, for the Kura-Araxes culture of Eastern Anatolia. Recent rescue excavation works, within the scope of the TANAP project, have been undertaken between 2016 and 2017 at * Dr., Müze Müdürlüğü Yenişehir Cad. Murat paşa Mah. No:27 Yakutiye Erzurum,