View source for Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex

{{Short description|c. 2250–1700 BC Central Asian archaeological culture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox archaeological site
| name               = Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
| map_type           = Continental Asia
| image              = {{multiple image
| perrow            = 1/1
| total_width       = 250
| caption_align     = center
| align             = center
| border            = none
| direction         = horizontal
| header            = 
| image1            = BMAC.png
| caption1          = The extent of the BMAC (according to the ''[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture]]'')
| image2            = Seated female MET DT867.jpg
| caption2          = Female statuette, an example of a "Bactrian princess"; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; [[steatite]] or [[Chlorite group|chlorite]] and [[alabaster]]; 9 × 9.4 cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
| footer            = 
}}
| location           = [[Central Asia|Southern Central Asia]], mainly in modern-day Eastern [[Turkmenistan]], [[Afghanistan|northern Afghanistan]], southern [[Uzbekistan]], and Western [[Tajikistan]]
| region             = [[Margiana]], [[Bactria]]
| excavations        = [[Viktor Sarianidi]] (late 1960s to 1979)
| condition          = Ruins
| designation1_date  = Named by [[Viktor Sarianidi]]
| designation1_number= Soviet excavations
}}
{{Indo-European topics}}
[[File:Indo-Iranian origins.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Archaeological cultures associated with [[Indo-Iranian migration]]s (after ''[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|EIEC]]''). The [[Andronovo culture|Andronovo]], BMAC and [[Yaz culture]]s have often been associated with [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] migrations. The [[Gandhara grave culture|GGC]] (Swat), [[Cemetery H culture|Cemetery H]], [[Copper Hoard Culture|Copper Hoard]] and [[Painted Grey Ware culture|PGW]] cultures are candidates for cultures associated with [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] [[Indo-Aryan migration|migrations]].]]

The '''Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex''' ('''BMAC''') is the modern archaeological designation for a particular Middle [[Bronze Age]] [[civilisation]] of southern [[Central Asia]], also known as the '''Oxus Civilization'''. The civilisation's urban phase or Integration Era<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vidale |first=Massimo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilization of Central Asia |date=21 June 2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-976-4 |language=en}}</ref> was dated in 2010 by Sandro Salvatori to {{circa|2400}}–1950 BC,<ref>Salvatori, Sandro, (2010). [https://www.academia.edu/6751849/Thinking%20Around%20Grave%203245%20in%20the%20Royal%20Graveyard%20of%20Gonur%20Murghab%20Delta%20Turkmenistan%20?sm=b "Thinking Around Grave 3245 in the 'Royal Graveyard' of Gonur (Murghab Delta, Turkmenistan)"], in: On the Track of Uncovering a Civilisation. A volume in honor of the 80th-anniversary of Victor Sarianidi, p. 249: "Summing up we can now date the MBA 2400/2300-1950 BC and the LBA 1950–1500 BC and to recognise a very strong chronological correlation between the southern Central Asia MBA and the late Umm an-Nar period."</ref><ref name="Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)" /> but a different view is held by Nadezhda A. Dubova and Bertille Lyonnet, {{circa|2250}}–1700 BC.<ref name="Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)">Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b). [https://www.routledge.com/The-World-of-the-Oxus-Civilization/Lyonnet-Dubova/p/book/9781138722873 "Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Culture (BMAC): an overview" ], in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, '''p. 32.''': "...Salvatori has often dated its beginning very early (ca. 2400 BC), to make it match with Shahdad where a large amount of material similar to that of the BMAC has been discovered. With the start of international cooperation and the multiplication of analyses, the dates now admitted by all place the Oxus Civilization between 2250 and 1700 BC, while its final phase extends until ca. 1500 BC..."</ref><ref>Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020a). [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Bertille-Lyonnet/dp/1138722871?asin=036753309X&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 "Introduction"], in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, '''p. 1''' : "The Oxus Civilization, also named the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (or Culture) (BMAC), developed in southern Central Asia during the Middle and Late Bronze Age and lasted for about half a millennium (ca. 2250–1700 BC)..."</ref>

Though it may be called the "Oxus civilization", apparently centred on the upper [[Amu Darya]] (Oxus River) in [[Bactria]], most of the BMAC's urban sites are located in [[Margiana]] (now [[Turkmenistan]]) on the [[Marghab River|Marghab delta]], and in the [[Kopet Dagh]] range. There are a few later ({{Circa|1950}}–1450 BC) sites in northern Bactria, today southern [[Uzbekistan]],<ref>Kaniuth, Kai, (2016). [https://www.academia.edu/33288328/Kaniuth_2016_Tilla_Bulak_Four_Years_SAA_2012_pdf "The Late Bronze Age Settlement of Tilla Bulak (Uzbekistan): A Summary of Four Years' Work"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406165322/https://www.academia.edu/33288328/Kaniuth_2016_Tilla_Bulak_Four_Years_SAA_2012_pdf |date=6 April 2023 }}, in South Asian Archaeology and Art 2012, Volume 1, Brepols, '''p. 119:''' "Taken together, our dates suggest a timeframe of ca. 1950-1800 cal. BCE for phases 1–2 of Tilla Bulak, and, by extension, for the Sapalli Culture phase LB Ia and the transition to Ib."</ref> but they are mostly graveyards belonging to the BMAC-related Sapalli culture.<ref>Kaniuth, Kai, (2007). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240790708_The_Metallurgy_of_the_Late_Bronze_Age_Sapalli_Culture_Southern_Uzbekistan_and_its_implications_for_the_%27tin_question%27 "The Metallurgy of the Late Bronze Age Sapalli Culture (Southern Uzbekistan) and its implications for the 'tin question'"], in Iranica Antiqua 42, '''p. 26:''' "Northern Bactria (Southern Uzbekistan) has produced some monumental buildings, but nothing to rival the spectacular architectural or sepulchral finds of Margiana and
Southern Bactria."</ref><ref>Kaniuth, Kai, (2013). [https://www.academia.edu/35960221/Kaniuth_2013_A_new_Late_Bronze_Age_site_EASAA_2007 "A new Late Bronze Age site in Southern Uzbekistan"], in South Asian Archaeology 2007, Volume I, Prehistoric Periods, BAR International Series 2454, '''p. 151''': "A series of 26 radiocarbon dates from Dzarkutan established a time bracket of the 20th–15th centuries BC [for Sapalli culture], but these samples have not yet been published with reference to certain ceramic assemblages, so we lack a good resolution within this 500-year span (Görsdorf and Huff 2001)."</ref><ref>Kaniuth, Kai, (2020). "Life in the Countryside: The rural archaeology of the Sapalli culture", in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, '''p. 457:''' "The Sapalli culture, the local northern Bactrian variant of the Oxus Civilization, flourished from the 20th to the 15th century BC."</ref> A single BMAC site, known as Dashli, lies in southern Bactria, current territory of northern [[Afghanistan]].<ref>Kaniuth, Kai, (2007). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240790708_The_Metallurgy_of_the_Late_Bronze_Age_Sapalli_Culture_Southern_Uzbekistan_and_its_implications_for_the_%27tin_question%27 "The Metallurgy of the Late Bronze Age Sapalli Culture (Southern Uzbekistan) and its implications for the 'tin question'"], in Iranica Antiqua 42, '''p. 26:''' "There is general agreement that the date of unprovenanced finds stretches back further than that of the 20th–18th-century BC graves scientifically excavated at Dashly-1 and 3 (Sarianidi 1976), and that they start in the last centuries of the third millennium BC."</ref> Sites found further east, in southwestern [[Tajikistan]], though contemporary with the main BMAC sites in Margiana, are only graveyards, with no urban developments associated with them.<ref>Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020a). [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Bertille-Lyonnet/dp/1138722871?asin=036753309X&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 "Introduction"], in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, p. 1.</ref>

The civilisation was named BMAC by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] archaeologist [[Viktor Sarianidi]] in 1976 when he was excavating in northern Afghanistan (1969–1979).<ref>Vassar College WordPress, (10 May 2017). [https://pages.vassar.edu/central-asia-sites/2017/05/10/dashly/ "Dashly"]: "Viktor Sarianidi (1929–2013), a Russian archaeologist born in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, discovered the sites [in northern Afghanistan]. His works are famous, but somewhat difficult to find in English. He, along with his collaborators from the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow, excavated the sites from 1969–1979, halting work when Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan (Salvatori, 2000:97)."</ref> Sarianidi's excavations from the late 1970s onward revealed numerous monumental structures in many sites, fortified by impressive walls and gates. Reports on the BMAC were primarily published in Soviet journals.<ref>See Sarianidi, V. I. 1976. "Issledovanija pamjatnikov Dashlyiskogo Oazisa," in ''Drevnii Baktria'', vol. 1. Moscow: Akademia Nauk.</ref> A journalist from ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote in 2001 that during the years of the Soviet Union, the findings were largely unknown to the West until Sarianidi's work began to be translated in the 1990s.<ref>John Noble Wilford, (13 May 2001). [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/13/world/in-ruin-symbols-on-a-stone-hint-at-a-lost-asian-culture.html "In Ruin, Symbols on a Stone Hint at a Lost Asian Culture"], in New York Times.</ref> However, some publications by Soviet authors, like Masson, Sarianidi, Atagarryev, and Berdiev, had been available to the West, translated in the first half of 1970s, slightly before Sarianidi labelled the findings as BMAC.<ref>Kurbanov, Aydogdy, (14 September 2018). [https://archeorient.hypotheses.org/9078 "A brief history of archaeological research in Turkmenistan from the beginning of the 20th century until the present"], in ArchéOrient.</ref><ref>Atagarryev E., and Berdiev O.K., (1970). "The Archaeological Exploration of Turkmenistan in the Year of Soviet Power", East and West 20, pp. 285–306.</ref><ref>Masson, V.M., and V.I. Sarianidi, (1972). Central Asia: Turkmenia before the Achaemenids, London, Thames and Hudson. [Reviewed in: Kolb, Charles C., (1973). [https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1525/aa.1973.75.6.02a01240 American Anthropologist, Vol. 75, Issue 6, December 1973], pp. 1945–1948.], p. 1945: "The [Middle] Bronze Age...2000-1600 B.C...(Namazga V) is the period of an urban revolution based on an Anatolian model of limited (or no) irrigation agriculture and retarded social development...Namazga-depe (170 acres) is the production and probable governmental center, while Altin-depe (114 acres) is a second capital. Specialization in ceramics, metallurgy, monumental architecture (including the Altin-depe ziggurat), wealth-based class stratification, internal and
external trade, and vestiges of a symbol system...A sudden and gradual cultural decline began about 1600 B.C., and Namazga-depe shrank to three acres while Altin-depe was completely abandoned..."</ref><ref>Levine, Louis D., (1975). [https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/80/2/375/118767 "Review to:  Masson, V. M., and V. I. Sarianidi. Central Asia: Turkmenia before the Achaemenids (1972)" ], in The American Historical Review, Volume 80, Issue 2, April 1975, p. 375.</ref>

==Origin and chronology==
Italian archaeologists, like Massimo Vidale and Dennys Frenez, support Sandro Salvatori's hypothesis that Namazga V is the beginning of the ultimate urban phase called BMAC, belonging to the Integration Era (c. 2400–1950 BC).<ref>Vidale, Massimo, 2017. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 Treasures from the Oxus], I.B. Tauris, p. 8: "...Soviet scholars [excavated] Namazga Depe [belonging to] the Regionalization and Integration Eras. This latter (phases Namazga IV and V) encompasses the replacement of the Bronze Age cities of the early and mid third millennium BC by large palace-centred fortified compounds surrounded by secondary urban clusters in the late third millennium..."</ref> On the other hand, Russian and French archaeologists Nadezhda Dubova and Bertille Lyonnet consider there was a gap between the end of Namazga III phase and the beginning of BMAC in Margiana, and that most of the sites both in Margiana and Bactria were founded on virgin soil only around 2250 BC lasting until 1700 BC.<ref>Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b). [https://www.routledge.com/The-World-of-the-Oxus-Civilization/Lyonnet-Dubova/p/book/9781138722873 "Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Culture (BMAC): an overview" ], in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, '''p. 20.''': "...Though some authors consider that the Oxus Civilization could be an ultimate development of the Namazga culture...there is in fact a gap in our knowledge of a few hundred years in Margiana between the end of the NMG III period and the beginning of the BMAC, and the great majority of the sites in Bactria and Margiana are founded upon virgin soil."</ref>

==Etymology==
The region was first named Bakhdi in [[Old Persian]], which then formed the Persian [[satrap]]y of [[Margiana|Marguš]] (perhaps from the Sumerian term [[Marhasi]]),<ref>Hiebert, Fredrik Talmage (1994): Origins of the Bronze Age Oasis Civilization in Central Asia, p. 12</ref> the capital of which was [[Merv]], in modern-day southeastern Turkmenistan. It was then called ''Bāxtriš'' in [[Middle Persian]], and ''Baxl'' in [[New Persian]]. The region was also mentioned in ancient [[Sanskrit]] texts as {{lang|sa|बाह्लीक}} or {{transliteration|sa|Bāhlīka}}. The modern term ''[[Bactria]]'' is derived from Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|Βακτρία}} ({{transliteration|grc|Baktría}}), modern [[Balkh]].

==Early Food-Producing Era==
There is archaeological evidence of settlement in the well-watered northern foothills of the Kopet Dag during the Jeitun era (7200−4600 BC). In this region, mud brick houses were first occupied during the Jeitun, also called the Early Food-Producing Era.<ref name="auto1">Vidale, Massimo, (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ Treasures from the Oxus], p. 9, Table 1.</ref> The inhabitants were farmers with origins in [[West Asia]] who kept [[pastoralism|herds of goats and sheep]] and grew wheat and barley.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=D. R. |last1=Harris |first2=C. |last2=Gosden |first3=M. P. |last3=Charles |title=Jeitun: Recent excavations at an early Neolithic site in Southern Turkmenistan |journal=Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society |year=1996 |volume=62 |pages=423–442 |doi=10.1017/S0079497X00002863 |s2cid=129621644 }}</ref> Jeitun has given its name to the whole Neolithic in the northern foothills of the Köpet Dag. At the late Neolithic site of Chagylly Depe, farmers increasingly grew the kinds of crops that are typically associated with irrigation in an arid environment, such as [[hexaploid wheat|hexaploid bread wheat]], which became predominant during the [[Chalcolithic]] period.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Naomi F. |last=Miller |title=Agricultural development in western Central Asia in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages |journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany |year=1999 |volume=8 |issue= 1–2|pages=13–19 |doi=10.1007/BF02042837 |bibcode=1999VegHA...8...13M |s2cid=53965048 }}</ref> This region is dotted with the multi-period hallmarks characteristic of the [[ancient Near East]], similar to those southwest of the Köpet Dag in the [[Gorgan Plain]] of Iran.{{sfn|Kohl|2007|pp=189–190}}

==Regionalization Era==
The [[Regionalization Era]] begins in [[Anau, Turkmenistan|Anau]] IA with a pre-Chalcolithic phase also in the [[Kopet Dag]] piedmont region from 4600 to 4000 BC, then the [[Chalcolithic]] period develops from 4000 to 2800 BC in [[Namazga]] I-III, Ilgynly Depe, and [[Altyn Depe]].<ref name="auto1"/> During this Copper Age, the population of the region grew. Archaeologist Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, who led the [[South Turkmenistan Complex Archaeological Expedition]] of 1946, saw signs that people migrated to the region from central Iran at this time, bringing metallurgy and other innovations, but thought that the newcomers soon blended with the Jeitun farmers.<ref name="MassonThe">{{cite book |first=V. M. |last=Masson |chapter=The Bronze Age in Khorasan and Transoxiana |editor-first=A. H. |editor-last=Dani |editor2-first=Vadim Mikhaĭlovich |editor2-last=Masson |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |volume=1: ''The dawn of civilization: earliest times to 700 BCE'' |year=1992 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=92-3-102719-0 }}</ref> (Vadim was the son of archaeologist [[Mikhail Masson]], who had previously already started work in this same area.) By contrast, a re-excavation of [[Monjukli Depe]] in 2010 found a distinct break in settlement history between the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic eras there.<ref>Reinhard Bernbeck et al., [http://journal.topoi.org/index.php/etopoi/article/view/6 "A-II Spatial Effects of Technological Innovations and Changing Ways of Life,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010013350/http://journal.topoi.org/index.php/etopoi/article/view/6 |date=10 October 2017 }} in Friederike Fless, Gerd Graßhoff, Michael Meyer (eds.), ''Reports of the Research Groups at the Topoi Plenary Session 2010'', ''eTopoi: Journal for Ancient Studies'', Special Volume 1 (2011).</ref><ref>[http://monjukli.net/artefakte.html Monjukli Depe artefacts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629083425/http://monjukli.net/artefakte.html |date=29 June 2017 }} (in German).</ref>

[[File:AltynDepeMap.jpg|thumb|right|Altyn-Depe location on the modern [[Middle East]] map as well as location of other [[Eneolithic]] cultures ([[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]]).]]

Major chalcolithic settlements sprang up at [[Kara Depe|Kara-Depe]] and [[Namazga-Tepe|Namazga-Depe]]. In addition, there were smaller settlements at [[Anau, Turkmenistan|Anau]], Dashlyji, and [[Yassy Depe|Yassy-depe]]. Settlements similar to the early level at Anau also appeared further east– in the ancient delta of the river [[Tejen River|Tedzen]], the site of the [[Geoksiur]] Oasis. About 3500 BC, the cultural unity of the area split into two pottery styles: colourful in the west (Anau, Kara-Depe and Namazga-Depe) and more austere in the east at [[Altyn-Depe]] and the Geoksiur Oasis settlements. This may reflect the formation of two tribal groups. It seems that around 3000 BC, people from Geoksiur migrated into the [[Murghab River|Murghab]] delta (where small, scattered settlements appeared) and reached further east into the [[Zeravshan River|Zerafshan]] Valley in [[Transoxiana]]. In both areas pottery typical of Geoksiur was in use. In Transoxiana they settled at [[Sarazm]] near [[Panjakent|Pendjikent]]. To the south the foundation layers of [[Shahr-e Sukhteh|Shahr-i Sōkhta]] on the bank of the [[Helmand River]] in south-eastern Iran contained pottery of the Altyn-Depe and Geoksiur type. Thus the farmers of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan were connected by a scattering of farming settlements.<ref name="MassonThe" />

==Late Regionalization Era==
At Altyndepe, the Namazga III phase, which spanned from 3200 to 2800 BCE, exhibited a late Chalcolithic culture at the beginning of the Late Regionalization Era.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vidale |first1=Massimo |title=Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilization of Central Asia |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-976-4 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |language=en}}</ref>

In the [[Early Bronze Age]], at the end of the Late Regionalization Era (2800 to 2400 BC),<ref name="auto1"/> the culture of the Köpetdag [[oases]] in the Altyndepe site developed a proto-urban society. This corresponds to phase IV at [[Namazga-Tepe]]. Altyndepe was a major centre even then. [[Potter's wheel|Pottery was wheel-turned]] and [[viticulture|grapes were grown]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Integration Era: Oxus Civilization==
The height of the urban development was reached in the [[Middle Bronze Age]], also known as [[Integration Era]], mainly in three regions, Kopet Dag piedmont, Margiana, and southern Bactria, as well as some cemetery remains recently found in southwestern Tajikistan.

===Kopet Dag, Namazga V phase===
BMAC's urban period begins in the Kopet Dag piedmont, as per Massimo Vidale, corresponding to [[Namazga-Depe]] level V ({{Circa|2400}}-2000 BC).<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="MassonThe" /> [[Namazga Depe]] reaching c. 52 hectares and holding maybe 17,000–20,000 inhabitants, and [[Altyn Depe]] with its maximum size of c. 25 hectares and 7,000–10,000 inhabitants, were the two big cities in [[Kopet Dag]] piedmont.<ref>Vidale, Massimo, (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 Treasures from the Oxus], pp. 10, 18.</ref> This urban development is considered to have lasted, not from 2400 BC, but from {{Circa|2250}} to 1700 BC by Lyonnet and Dubova's recent publication.<ref name="Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)"/>

===Margiana, Kelleli phase===
Identification of the first large settling in Margiana was possible through excavations at Kelleli 3 and 4, and these are the type sites of Kelleli phase.<ref>Hiebert, Fredrik Talmage, (1984). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2DAy7gMnSroC&dq=gonur+kelleli+phase&pg=PA17 Origins of the Bronze Age Oasis Civilization in Central Asia], Peabody Museum Press, '''p. 17:''' "The excavations at Kelleli 3 and 4 have given the name 'Kelleli phase' to the first major occupation in Margiana."</ref> Massimo Vidale (2017) considers that the Kelleli phase was characterised by the appearance of the first palatial compounds from 2400 to 2000 BC.<ref name="auto1"/> Kelleli is located around 40&nbsp;km northwest of Gonur; featuring Kelleli 3 with four hectares, characterised by towers in a double perimetral wall, four equal entrances, and houses in the southwest of the site. Kelleli 4 settlement is around three hectares, with the same characteristics in its wall.<ref>Eduljee, K. E., (2005). [https://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/merv/gonur3.htm "Kelleli"]''':''' "...located some 40 km northwest of Gonur. The settlement has two major sites: Kelleli 3 and 4. Kelleli 3 is four hectares in size and had double external wall with towers flanking four symmetrical entrances. In the south-western sector, is an area of houses. Kelleli 4 is three hectares in size and also has a double outer wall with towers..."</ref> Sandro Salvatori (1998) commented that Kelleli phase began sightly later than Namazga V period.<ref name="Salvatori, Sandro">Salvatori, Sandro, (1998). [https://www.academia.edu/37391998/THE_BRONZE_AGE_IN_MARGIANA "The Bronze Age in Margiana"], in A. Gubaev, G.A. Koshelenko, and M. Tosi (eds), The Archaeological Map of the Murghab Delta, Preliminary Reports 1990–95, Rome, p. 48.</ref>

===Margiana, Gonur phase===
Gonur phase was considered, by Sarianidi, as a southward movement of the previous Kelleli phase people.<ref name="Salvatori, Sandro"/> In the ancient region of [[Margiana]], the site [[Gonur Depe]] is the largest of all settlements in this period and is located at the delta of [[Murghab river]] in southern Turkmenistan, with an area of around 55 hectares. An almost elliptical fortified complex, known as Gonur North includes the so-called "Monumental Palace", other minor buildings, temples and ritual places, together with the "Royal Necropolis", and water reservoirs, all dated by Italian archaeologists from around 2400 to 1900 BC.<ref>Frenez, Dennys, (2018). [https://www.academia.edu/34596109/Manufacturing_and_trade_of_Asian_elephant_ivory_in_Bronze_Age_Middle_Asia._Evidence_from_Gonur_Depe_Margiana_Turkmenistan_ "Manufacturing and trade of Asian elephant ivory in Bronze Age Middle Asia: Evidence from Gonur Depe (Margiana, Turkmenistan)"] in Archaeological Research in Asia 15, p. 15.</ref> However French and Russian scholars like Lyonnet and Dubova date it to {{Circa|2250}}-1700 BC.<ref name="Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)" />

===Southern Bactria===
In southern [[Bactria]], northern Afghanistan, the site Dashly 3 is regarded to be also from Middle Bronze Age to Late Bronze Age (2300–1700 BC) occupation,<ref>Eduljee, K. E., (2005). [http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/dashly.htm "Dashly"]: "...Dashly 3 site consists of two complexes and its occupation is dated to the [middle]-late Bronze Age, (2300–1700 BCE) and the Iron Age..."</ref> but its beginning is probably later than 2300 BC, although earlier than 2000 BC, if new datings for BMAC by Lyonnet and Dubova are taken into account.<ref>Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b). [https://www.routledge.com/The-World-of-the-Oxus-Civilization/Lyonnet-Dubova/p/book/9781138722873 "Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Culture (BMAC): an overview" ], in Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A. Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, London and New York, '''p. 31.''': "The oldest period (pre-2000 BC) is mainly identified in Margiana and probably also at...Dashly 3."</ref> The old Dashly 3 complex, sometimes identified as a palace, is a fortified rectangular 88 m x 84 m compound. The square building had massive double outer walls and in the middle of each wall was a protruding salient composed of a T-shaped corridor flanked by two L-shaped corridors.<ref>Eduljee, K. E., (2005). [http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/dashly.htm "Dashly"]</ref>

===Southwestern Tajikistan===
New archaeological research has recently found at three ancient cemeteries in southwestern [[Tajikistan]] called [[Farkhor]], Gelot (in [[Kulob District]]), and Darnajchi, ceramics influenced by [[Namazga-Tepe|Namazga]] IV and [[Namazga-Tepe|Namazga]] V transitional period from Early to Middle Bronze Age, which can suggest a presence of BMAC inhabitants in this region earlier considered out of their influx.<ref>Vinogradova, Natal'ja M., (2020). [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315193359-27/formation-%D0%BExus-civilization-bmac-southwestern-tajikistan-natal-ja-vinogradova?context=ubx&refId=aabc12d5-612d-4628-8b86-2475e3e8e59c "The formation of the Оxus Civilization/BMAC in southwestern Tajikistan"], in ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, Abstract: "Southwestern Tajikistan has long been considered as isolated from the rest of Central Asia, and only slightly and late affected by the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) phenomenon. However recent discoveries at cemeteries (Farkhor, Gelot, and Darnajchi) where the material can be compared to that of Middle and Late Bronze Age sites (from Namazga (NMG) IV/early V to VI) disrupt this scenario..."</ref> Gelot's grave N6-13 was dated to 2203–2036 cal BC (2 sigma), and Darnajchi's grave N2-2 as 2456-2140 cal BC (2 sigma).<ref>Teufer, Mike, (2020). [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315193359-29/classical-vakhsh-culture-mike-teufer?context=ubx&refId=59214d4c-f3b3-46ee-acb0-56b3bb60e4fd "The 'classical Vakhsh culture'" ], in ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, pp. 698–733.</ref> Farkhor's cemetery is located on the right bank of [[Panj (river)|Panj]] river, very near the [[Indus Civilization]]'s site [[Shortugai|Shortughai]].<ref>Francfort, Henri-Paul, (2019). [https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03059953/document "The Grand'Route of Khorasan (Great Khorasan Road) during the third millennium BC and the 'dark stone' artefacts"], ''The Iranian Plateau during the Bronze Age: Development of urbanisation, production and trade'', Archéologies, p. 262.</ref>

==Material culture==
[[File:Compartmented Seal with Bird-Headed Man with Snakes LACMA AC1995.5.6.jpg|thumb|Bird-headed man with snakes; 2000–1500 BC; bronze; 7.30&nbsp;cm; from Northern Afghanistan; [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (USA)]]

===Agriculture and economy===
The inhabitants of the BMAC were sedentary people who practised [[irrigation]] farming of [[wheat]] and [[barley]]. With their impressive material culture including monumental architecture, bronze tools, ceramics, and jewellery of semiprecious stones, the complex exhibits many of the [[civilization#Characteristics|hallmarks of civilisation]]. The complex can be compared to proto-urban settlements in the [[Helmand Province|Helmand basin]] at [[Mundigak]] in western Afghanistan and [[Shahr-e Sukhteh]] in eastern Iran, or at [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]] in the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]].{{sfn|Kohl|2007|pp=186–187}}

Models of two-wheeled carts from {{Circa|3000 BC}} found at Altyn-Depe are the earliest evidence of wheeled transport in Central Asia, though model wheels have come from contexts possibly somewhat earlier. Judging by the type of harness, carts were initially pulled by oxen or a bull. However, camels were domesticated within the BMAC. A model of a cart drawn by a camel of {{Circa|2200 BC}} was found at Altyn-Depe.<ref>{{cite journal |first=L. B. |last=Kirtcho |title=The earliest wheeled transport in Southwestern Central Asia: new finds from Alteyn-Depe |journal=[[Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia]] |volume=37 |issue=1 |year=2009 |pages=25–33 |doi=10.1016/j.aeae.2009.05.003 }}</ref>

===Art===
Fertility goddesses, named "Bactrian princesses", made from limestone, [[chlorite]] and clay reflect agrarian [[Bronze Age]] society, while the extensive corpus of metal objects point to a sophisticated tradition of metalworking.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fortenberry|first1=Diane|title=THE ART MUSEUM |date=2017|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-7502-6|page=66|language=en}}</ref> Wearing large stylised dresses, as well as headdresses that merge with the hair, "Bactrian princesses" embody the ranking goddess, character of the Central Asian mythology that plays a regulatory role, pacifying the untamed forces.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Bactrian princess-AO 22918-IMG 0239-black.jpg|Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type; between 3rd millennium and 2nd millennium BC; [[Chlorite group|chlorite mineral group]] (dress and headdresses) and limestone (face and neck); height: 17.3&nbsp;cm, width: 16.1&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
Shaft-hole axe head with bird-headed demon, boar, and dragon MET 1982.5.jpg|Axe with eagle-headed demon & animals; late 3rd millennium-early 2nd millennium BC; [[gilt silver]]; length: 15&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Bactrian camel MET DP-14200-001.jpg|Camel figurine; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BCE; copper alloy; 8.89&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Monstrous male figure MET dp22227.jpg|Male figure; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; [[chlorite]], [[calcite]], gold and iron; height: 10.1&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Axe head MET 1989.281.39.jpg|Axe head; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; copper alloy; height: 2.8&nbsp;cm, length: 7.2&nbsp;cm, thickness: 1.8&nbsp;cm, weight: 82.5 g; Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Bactrian Princess"; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; grey chlorite and calcite; Barbier-Mueller Museum (Geneva, Switzerland).jpg|Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type; between 3rd millennium and 2nd millennium BC; grey chlorite (dress and headdresses) and calcite (face); [[Barbier-Mueller Museum]] ([[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]])

"Bactrian Princess"; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; grey chlorite and calcite; Barbier-Mueller Museum (Geneva, Switzerland) 1.jpg|Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type; between 3rd millennium and 2nd millennium BC; grey chlorite (dress and headdresses) and calcite (face); Barbier-Mueller Museum

Beaker with birds on the rim MET DT866.jpg|Beaker with birds on the rim; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; [[electrum]]; height: 12&nbsp;cm, width: 13.3&nbsp;cm, depth: 4.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Handled Weight LACMA M.2001.11 (1 of 3).jpg|Handled weight; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; chlorite; 25.08 x 19.69 x 4.45&nbsp;cm; [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (USA)

Seated Female Figure LACMA M.2000.1a-f (1 of 3).jpg|Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type; 2500–1500; chlorite (dress and headdresses) and limestone (head, hands and a leg); height: 13.33&nbsp;cm; [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (USA)

Vessel with Gilloche Pattern LACMA AC1995.5.7.jpg|Vessel with guilloche pattern; 2000–1500; chlorite; 3.33 x 6.67 x 3.81&nbsp;cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Kaunakes Bactria-AO 31917-IMG 0237.JPG|Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type; 2nd millennium BC; chlorite and calcite; Louvre

Seated Goddess, Western Central Asia, Bronze Age Bactria, late 3rd-early 2nd millenium BCE, chlorite and limestone, Miho Museum, Japan.jpg|Seated goddess, an example of a "Bactrian princess", Bronze Age [[Bactria]], Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, circa 2000 BC. [[Chlorite group|chlorite]] and [[limestone]]. [[Central Asian art]], [[Miho Museum]], Japan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inagaki |first1=Hajime |title=Galleries and Works of the MIHO MUSEUM |publisher=Miho Museum |page=45 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34579548}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tarzi |first1=Zémaryalaï |title=Les représentations portraitistes des donateurs laïcs dans l'imagerie bouddhique |journal=KTEMA |date=2009 |volume=34 |issue=1 |page=290 |doi=10.3406/ktema.2009.1754 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ktema_0221-5896_2009_num_34_1_1754}}</ref>

</gallery>

===Architecture===
[[File:BMAC bronze tools.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|BMAC bronze tools.<ref name="DB"/>]]
Sarianidi regards [[Gonur Depe]] as the "capital" of the complex in Margiana throughout the Bronze Age. The palace of north Gonur measures 150 metres by 140 metres, the temple at [[Togolok]] 140 metres by 100 metres, the fort at [[Kelleli]] 3 125 metres by 125 metres, and the house of a local ruler at [[Adji Kui]] 25 metres by 25 metres. Each of these formidable structures has been extensively excavated. While they all have impressive fortification walls, gates, and buttresses, it is not always clear why one structure is identified as a temple and another as a palace.<ref name="LambergKarlovskyArchaeology">{{cite journal |first=C. C. |last=Lamberg-Karlovsky |title=Archaeology and Language: The Indo-Iranians |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=43 |issue=1 |year=2002 |pages=63–88 |doi=10.1086/324130 |hdl=1808/21124 |s2cid=162536112 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> [[J. P. Mallory|Mallory]] points out that the BMAC fortified settlements such as Gonur and Togolok resemble the [[qila]], the type of fort known in this region in the historical period. They may be circular or rectangular and have up to three encircling walls. Within the forts are residential quarters, workshops and temples.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=72}}

The people of the BMAC culture were very proficient at working in a variety of metals including bronze, copper, silver, and gold. This is attested through the many metal artefacts found throughout the sites.<ref name="DB">{{cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Daniel |title=The rise of bronze in Central Asia: new evidence for the origin of Bronze Age tin and copper from multi-analytical research |journal=Frontiers in Earth Science |date=2023 |volume=11 |article-number=1224873 |doi=10.3389/feart.2023.1224873 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023FrEaS..1124873B }}</ref>

Extensive [[irrigation]] systems have been discovered at Geoksyur Oasis.<ref name="MassonThe" />

===Writing===
The discovery of a single tiny stone [[seal (emblem)|seal]] (known as the "Anau seal") with geometric markings from the BMAC site at Anau in Turkmenistan in 2000 led some to claim that the [[Bactria]]-[[Margiana]] complex had also developed [[writing]], and thus may indeed be considered a literate civilisation. It bears five markings which are similar to Chinese "small seal" characters. The only match to the Anau seal is a small jet seal of almost identical shape from Niyä (near modern Minfeng) along the southern Silk Road in Xinjiang, originally thought to be from the Western Han dynasty but now thought to date to 700 BC.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Colarusso |author-link=John Colarusso |title=Remarks on the Anau and Niyä Seals |series=[[Sino-Platonic Papers]] |volume=124 |year=2002 |pages=35–47 }}</ref>

==Archaeological interactions with neighbouring cultures==
{{Continental Asia in 2000 BCE|right|{{center|The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) and contemporary cultures {{c.|2000 BC}}}}|{{Location map~|Continental Asia|lat=38|long=64.5|position=left|mark=Red circle 50%.svg|marksize=20}}}}
BMAC materials have been found in the [[Indus Valley civilisation]], on the [[Iranian Plateau]], and in the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name="LambergKarlovskyArchaeology" /> Finds within BMAC sites provide further evidence of trade and cultural contacts. They include an Elamite-type cylinder seal and a [[Harappa]]n seal stamped with an elephant and Indus script found at Gonur-depe.{{sfn|Kohl|2007|pp=196–199}} The relationship between Altyn-Depe and the Indus Valley seems to have been particularly strong. Among the finds there were two [[Harappa]]n seals and ivory objects. The Harappan settlement of [[Shortugai]] in Northern Afghanistan on the banks of the [[Amu Darya]] probably served as a trading station.<ref name="MassonThe" />

There is evidence of sustained contact between the BMAC and the Eurasian steppes to the north, intensifying {{Circa|2000 BC}}. In the delta of the [[Amu Darya]] where it reaches the [[Aral Sea]], its waters were channelled for irrigation agriculture by people whose remains resemble those of the nomads of the [[Andronovo culture]]. This is interpreted as nomads settling down to agriculture, after contact with the BMAC, known as the [[Tazabagyab culture]].{{sfn|Kohl|2007|loc=Chapter 5}} About 1900 BC, the walled BMAC centres decreased sharply in size. Each oasis developed its own types of pottery and other objects. Also pottery of the Tazabagyab-Andronovo culture to the north appeared widely in the Bactrian and Margian countryside. Many BMAC strongholds continued to be occupied and Tazabagyab-Andronovo coarse incised pottery occurs within them (along with the previous BMAC pottery) as well as in pastoral camps outside the mudbrick walls. In the highlands above the Bactrian oases in Tajikistan, [[kurgan]] cemeteries of the [[Vakhsh culture|Vaksh]] and Bishkent type appeared with pottery that mixed elements of the late BMAC and Tazabagyab-Andronovo traditions.<ref name="DavidAnthony">David Anthony, ''[[The Horse, the Wheel and Language]]'' (2007), pp.452–56.</ref> In southern Bactrian sites like Sappali Tepe too, increasing links with the Andronovo culture are seen. During the period 1700 – 1500 BCE, metal artefacts from Sappali Tepe derive from the Tazabagyab-Andronovo culture.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kaniuth|first=Kai|title=The metallurgy of the Late Bronze Age Sappali Culture (southern Uzbekistan) and its implications for the 'tin question'|journal= Iranica Antiqua|volume=42|pages=23–40|year=2007|doi=10.2143/IA.42.0.2017869}}</ref>

New research in the [[Murghab River|Murghab]] region, in excavations at defensive walls of Adji Kui 1, showed pastoralists present, and living on the edge of the town, as early as the second half of the Middle Bronze Age ({{Circa|2210}}-1960 BC), coexisting with the BMAC population that lived in the 'citadel.'<ref>Cerasetti, Barbara, (2020). [https://www.routledge.com/The-World-of-the-Oxus-Civilization/Lyonnet-Dubova/p/book/9781138722873 "Who interacted with whom? redefining the interaction between BMAC people and mobile pastoralists in Bronze Age southern Turkmenistan"], in: Bertille Lyonnet and Nadezhda A Dubova (eds.), ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, '''p. 490:''' "...In the Murghab region, pastoralists are attested as early as the second half of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2210–1960 BCE). Evidence comes from the excavations made in three trenches just outside the defensive walls of the Bronze Age site of Adji Kui 1...There, the coexistence of the BMAC people living in the 'citadel,' as defined by G. Rossi Osmida (2003, 2007), with a pastoral population located on the edge of the town is clearly attested..."</ref>

==Relationship with Indo-Iranians==
{{See also|Indo-Aryan migrations}}

The Bactria–Margiana complex has attracted attention as a candidate for those looking for the material counterparts to the [[Indo-Iranians]]. This branch split off from the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]] and is associated with [[Indo-Iranian languages]].

For example, Sarianidi advocated identifying the complex as Indo-Iranian, describing it as the result of a migration from southwestern Iran. Bactria–Margiana material has been found at [[Susa]], [[Shahdad#Archaeology|Shahdad]], and [[Tepe Yahya]] in Iran.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} {{cn span |text=In contrast, Lamberg-Karlovsky did not see this as evidence that the complex originated in southeastern Iran. "The limited materials of this complex are intrusive in each of the sites on the Iranian Plateau as they are in sites of the Arabian peninsula." |date=October 2023}}

Mallory/Adams (1997) associated the Andronovo, BMAC and [[Yaz culture]]s with Indo-Iranian migrations, writing,
{{blockquote|It has become increasingly clear that if one wishes to argue for Indo-Iranian migrations from the steppe lands south into the historical seats of the Iranians and Indo-Aryans that these steppe cultures were transformed as they passed through a membrane of Central Asian urbanism. The fact that typical steppe wares are found on BMAC sites and that intrusive BMAC material is subsequently found further to the south in Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Pakistan, may suggest then the subsequent movement of Indo-Iranian-speakers after they had adopted the culture of the BMAC.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=73}}}}

Anthony (2007) sees the culture as begun by farmers in the [[Neolithic in the Near East]], but infiltrated by Indo-Iranian speakers from the [[Andronovo culture]] in its late phase, creating a hybrid. In this perspective, the [[proto-Indo-Aryan language]] developed within the composite culture before moving south into what is now Iran and then east into the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="DavidAnthony" />

===Possible evidence for a BMAC substratum in Indo-Iranian===
{{Main articles|Substratum in Vedic Sanskrit#Language of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC)}}
As argued by [[Michael Witzel]]<ref name="Witzel 2003">{{cite journal | title = Linguistic Evidence for Cultural Exchange in Prehistoric Western Central Asia | journal = [[Sino-Platonic Papers]] | year = 2003 | first = Michael | last = Witzel |volume = 129}}</ref> and [[Alexander Lubotsky]],<ref name = "Lubotsky 2001">{{Cite book | first = Alexander | last = Lubotsky | contribution = The Indo-Iranian substratum | title = Early Contacts between Uralic and Indo-European: Linguistic and Archaeological considerations. Papers presented at an international symposium held at the Tvärminne Research Station of the University of Helsinki 8–10 January 1999 | editor-first = Christian | editor-last = Carpelan | publisher = Finno-Ugrian Society | place = Helsinki, Finland | pages = 301–317 | year = 2001| contribution-url = https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/2691 }}</ref> there is a proposed [[substrata (linguistics)|substratum]] in proto-Indo-Iranian that can be plausibly identified with the original language of the BMAC. Moreover, Lubotsky points out a larger number of words borrowed from the same language which are only attested in Indo-Aryan languages and therefore evidence of a [[substratum in Vedic Sanskrit]]. He explains this by proposing that Indo-Aryan speakers probably formed the vanguard of the movement into south-central Asia and many of the BMAC loanwords which entered Iranian may have been mediated through Indo-Aryan.<ref name = "Lubotsky 2001"/>{{rp|306}} Michael Witzel points out that the borrowed vocabulary includes words from agriculture, village and town life, flora and fauna, ritual and religion, so providing evidence for the acculturation of Indo-Iranian speakers into the world of urban civilisation.<ref name="Witzel 2003" />

===Horses===
In excavations at [[Gonur Depe]], at a brick-lined burial pit, grave number 3200 of the Royal necropolis, a horse skeleton was found in period I, dated around 2200 BCE along with a four-wheeled wooden wagon with bronze rims.<ref name="Bonora">Bonora, Gian Luca, (2020). [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315193359-30/oxus-civilization-northern-steppes-gian-luca-bonora?context=ubx&refId=013cc55c-54f6-4b5f-b2ec-342bc8ae48f8 "The Oxus Civilization and the northern steppes" ], in ''The World of the Oxus Civilization'', Routledge, p. 749.</ref> Archaeologist Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento, mentioning N. A. Dubova's (2015) article, comments that this was an "almost complete skeleton of a foal" resting on the wagon with "wheels circled by bronze bands" and radiocarbon-dated to 2250 BCE.<ref name="Bendezu">Bendezu-Sarmiento, Julio, (2021). [https://www.academia.edu/48987305/2021_J_BENDEZU_SARMIENTO_Horse_domestication_history_in_Turkmenistan_and_other_regions_of_Asia_MIRAS_1_p_17_29 "Horse domestication history in Turkmenistan and other regions of Asia"], in MIRAS 1 (81), pp. 22–24.</ref> So he considers this horse and the wagon are "one and a half century prior" to similar burials of [[Sintashta culture]].<ref name="Bendezu" /> A stone statuette that seems to be a horse with saddle was found in burial number 3210 also in the Royal necropolis and was reported by Sarianidi in 2005, and in burial 3310 parts of a stallion's body were found, the stallion lacked its head, rump, and tail, and was considered as a cult burial of a domestic horse by archaeologist Sarianidi in his 2008 publication.<ref name="Bonora" />

==Genetics==
[[File:PC Analysis BMAC.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Genetic proximity of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (<small>{{Colorsample|#F0E68C	|0.6}}</small>) with ancient (colour) and modern (grey) populations. Primary Component Analysis (detail).<ref name="ZF">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Fan |last2=Ning |first2=Chao |last3=Scott |first3=Ashley |date=November 2021 |title=The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=599 |issue=7884 |pages=256–261 |bibcode=2021Natur.599..256Z |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04052-7 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8580821 |pmid=34707286 |quote=Representative qpAdm-based admixture models of ancient Eurasian groups (Supplementary Data 1D–I). |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
[[File:BMAC genetic profile.png|thumb|BMAC genetic profiles.<ref name="ZF"/>]]
In 2019, Narasimhan and co-authors analysed BMAC skeletons from the Bronze Age sites of [[Surxondaryo Region|Bustan]], [[Dzharkutan]], [[Gonur Tepe]], and Sappali Tepe. The BMAC population largely derived from preceding local [[Copper Age]] peoples who were in turn related to [[Iranian hunter-gatherers|Neolithic farmers]] from the [[Iranian plateau]] and to a lesser extent early [[Anatolian Neolithic Farmers|Anatolian farmers]], as well as [[West Siberian hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherers from Western Siberia (WSHG)]]. They are inferred to have formed primarily from Iran_N (60–65%) and Anatolia_N (20–25%) ancestries, with the remainder (~10%) being derived from a WSHG-like source. The samples extracted from the BMAC sites did not derive any part of their ancestry from the [[Yamnaya]] people, who are associated with [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]], although some peripheral samples did already carry significant Yamnaya-like [[Western Steppe Herders]] ancestry, inline with the southwards expansion of Western Steppe Herders from the [[Sintashta culture|Sintashta]] and [[Andronovo culture|Andronovo cultures]] towards Southern Central Asia at c. 2100 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Narasimhan |first1=Vagheesh M. |last2=Patterson |first2=Nick |last3=Moorjani |first3=Priya |last4=Rohland |first4=Nadin |last5=Bernardos |first5=Rebecca |last6=Mallick |first6=Swapan |last7=Lazaridis |first7=Iosif |last8=Nakatsuka |first8=Nathan |last9=Olalde |first9=Iñigo |last10=Lipson |first10=Mark |last11=Kim |first11=Alexander M. |last12=Olivieri |first12=Luca M. |last13=Coppa |first13=Alfredo |last14=Vidale |first14=Massimo |last15=Mallory |first15=James |display-authors=1 |year=2019 |title=The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia |journal=Science |volume=365 |issue=6457 |article-number=eaat7487 |doi=10.1126/science.aat7487 |pmc=6822619 |pmid=31488661 |quote=We infer three primary genetic sources: early Iranian farmer-related ancestry (~60–65%), and smaller proportions of Anatolian farmer- (~20–25%) and WSHG-related ancestry (~10%). |last16=Moiseyev |first16=Vyacheslav |last17=Kitov |first17=Egor |last18=Monge |first18=Janet |last19=Adamski |first19=Nicole |last20=Alex |first20=Neel |last21=Broomandkhoshbacht |first21=Nasreen |last22=Candilio |first22=Francesca |last23=Callan |first23=Kimberly |last24=Cheronet |first24=Olivia |last25=Culleton |first25=Brendan J. |last26=Ferry |first26=Matthew |last27=Fernandes |first27=Daniel |last28=Freilich |first28=Suzanne |last29=Gamarra |first29=Beatriz |last30=Gaudio |first30=Daniel}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Vikas |last2=Bennett |first2=E Andrew |last3=Zhao |first3=Dongyue |last4=Liang |first4=Yun |last5=Tang |first5=Yunpeng |last6=Ren |first6=Meng |last7=Dai |first7=Qinyan |last8=Feng |first8=Xiaotian |last9=Cao |first9=Peng |last10=Yang |first10=Ruowei |last11=Liu |first11=Feng |last12=Ping |first12=Wanjing |last13=Zhang |first13=Ming |last14=Ding |first14=Manyu |last15=Yang |first15=Melinda A |date=28 July 2021 |title=Genetic Continuity of Bronze Age Ancestry with Increased Steppe-Related Ancestry in Late Iron Age Uzbekistan |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=4908–4917 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab216 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=8557446 |pmid=34320653 |quote=The BMAC populations were previously shown to be primarily a mixture of Iranian (~60–65%) and Anatolian (~20–25%) farmer ancestries (Narasimhan et al. 2019). Some BMAC individuals were found to have high Yamnaya/Steppe-related ancestry, suggesting this ancestry began appearing in Central Asia by around ~4100 BP (Narasimhan et al. 2019). - We observe a greater genetic affinity of Uz_IA to present-day Europeans than to the present-day Uzbekistan populations (supplementary fig. S7, Supplementary Material online). This higher genetic affinity for European populations is due to the similar components of Anatolian farmer and Steppe-related ancestries observed both in Uz_IA and European present-day populations. Lower genetic affinity for the present-day Uzbekistan populations indicates substantial demographic changes through several admixture events over the past ~2,000 years whereby present-day Uzbekistan populations now show additional ancestries derived from East Asian and Siberian populations (Irwin et al. 2010; Yunusbayev et al. 2015).}}</ref> Succeeding cultures, specifically the [[Yaz culture]], was characterised by a combination of BMAC and Yamnaya/WSH ancestries, and associated with early [[Indo-Iranians]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Vikas |last2=Bennett |first2=E Andrew |last3=Zhao |first3=Dongyue |last4=Liang |first4=Yun |last5=Tang |first5=Yunpeng |last6=Ren |first6=Meng |last7=Dai |first7=Qinyan |last8=Feng |first8=Xiaotian |last9=Cao |first9=Peng |last10=Yang |first10=Ruowei |last11=Liu |first11=Feng |last12=Ping |first12=Wanjing |last13=Zhang |first13=Ming |last14=Ding |first14=Manyu |last15=Yang |first15=Melinda A |date=28 July 2021 |title=Genetic Continuity of Bronze Age Ancestry with Increased Steppe-Related Ancestry in Late Iron Age Uzbekistan |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=4908–4917 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab216 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=8557446 |pmid=34320653}}</ref> Narasimshan et al. (2019) found no essential genetic contributions from the BMAC in later South Asians, suggesting that the Steppe-related ancestry was mediated via other groups.<ref name="narasimhan" /> The male specimens belonged primarily to [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|haplogroup J]], specifically J* (3/26), [[Haplogroup J-M267|J1]] (1/26), [[Haplogroup J-M172|J2]] (7/26), as well as [[Haplogroup G-M201|G]] (2/26), [[Haplogroup L-M20|L]] (2/26), [[Haplogroup R2|R2]] (3/26), [[Haplogroup R1b|R1b]] (1/26), [[Haplogroup R (Y-DNA)|R*]] (2/26), [[Haplogroup H (Y-DNA)#H1a|H1a]] (1/26), [[Haplogroup P (Y-DNA)|P]] (1/26), [[Haplogroup Q-M242|Q]] (1/26), [[Haplogroup T-M184|T]] (1/26) and [[Haplogroup E-M35|E1b1b]] (1/26).<ref name="narasimhan">{{Cite journal |last1=Narasimhan |first1=Vagheesh M. |last2=Patterson |first2=Nick |last3=Moorjani |first3=Priya |last4=Rohland |first4=Nadin |last5=Bernardos |first5=Rebecca |last6=Mallick |first6=Swapan |last7=Lazaridis |first7=Iosif |last8=Nakatsuka |first8=Nathan |last9=Olalde |first9=Iñigo |last10=Lipson |first10=Mark |last11=Kim |first11=Alexander M. |last12=Olivieri |first12=Luca M. |last13=Coppa |first13=Alfredo |last14=Vidale |first14=Massimo |last15=Mallory |first15=James |date=6 September 2019 |title=The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia |journal=Science |language=en |volume=365 |issue=6457 |article-number=eaat7487 |doi=10.1126/science.aat7487 |issn=0036-8075 |pmc=6822619 |pmid=31488661}}</ref><ref>Narasimhan et al. (2019). File (aat7487_tables1-5.xlsx), Table S1, in Resources, "Supplementary Material."</ref>

Genetic data on [[Iron Age]] samples from modern-day [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]] confirm the admixture between local BMAC groups and [[Andronovo]]-related populations, at the end of Oxus Civilization. These Southern Central Asian Iron Age population derived around 57% of their ancestry from Western Steppe Herders (Andronovo) and c. 43% from the BMAC culture population. Modern day [[Tajiks]] and [[Yaghnobis]] were found to be direct descendants of the Bronze and Iron Age Central Asian populations, deriving ancestry from both the Yamnaya-like [[Western Steppe Herders]] and BMAC groups, and showing genetic continuity to historical [[Indo-Iranians]].<ref>Guarino-Vignon, Perle, et al. (2022). [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-04144-4 "Genetic Continuity of Indo-Iranian Speakers Since the Iron Age in Southern Central Asia"], in ''Scientific Reports 12, Article 733'', 14 January 2022.</ref> These Iron Age Central Asians also displayed a higher genetic affinity to present-day Europeans than present-day [[Uzbeks]], who harbour an additional component derived from an East Asian-like source "through several admixture events over the past ~2,000 years", absent from Iron Age Uzbeks and modern Europeans.<ref name=":0" />

==Sites==
'''In Afghanistan'''
[[File:Tepe Fullol bowl fragment (cropped), 3rd millennium BCE, National Museum of Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|[[Tepe Fullol]] bowl fragment, 3rd millennium BCE, [[National Museum of Afghanistan]].]]
*[[Dashli, Afghanistan|Dashli]], [[Jowzjan Province]]
*[[Khush Tepe]] (Tepe Fullol)

'''In Turkmenistan'''
*[[Altyndepe]]
*[[Gonur Tepe]]
*[[Jeitun]]
*[[Namazga-Tepe]]
*[[Togolok 21]]
*[[Ulug Depe]]
*[[Berdysyčran-depe]]

'''In Uzbekistan'''
*''[[Ayaz-Kala]]''{{Dubious|See: wikiproject Central Asia|date=January 2025|reason=Lack of sources and information on any settlement during this period but I am assuming good faith so warning people that this is dubious is the best solution.}}
*''[[Djarkutan]]''
*[[Koi Krylgan Kala]]{{Dubious|See: wikiproject Central Asia|date=January 2025|reason=Lack of sources and information on any settlement during this period but I am assuming good faith so warning people that this is dubious is the best solution.}}
*[[Sappali tepe]]

==See also==
* [[Indra]]
* ''[[Soma (drink)|Soma]]''
* [[Zoroaster]]
* [[Vakhsh culture]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation|last =Francfort|first =H.P.|title =Note on some Bronze Age Petroglyphs of Upper Indus and Central Asia|year =1991|journal =Pakistan Archaeology  |volume=26 |pages=125–135}}
* {{Citation|last =Francfort|first =H.P.|title =The central Asian Dimension of the Symbolic System in Bactria and Margia|number=259|year =1994|work=Antiquity|volume=28|pages=406–418}}
* {{cite book |title=The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia |last=Kohl |first=Philip L. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-139-46199-3 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia|year=1997|title=BMAC|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture]]|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=London|author-link=J. P. Mallory|isbn=1-884964-98-2|last1=Mallory|first1=J. P.|last2=Adams|first2=D. Q.}}
*{{cite book |title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization |last=Parpola |first=Asko |publisher=Oxford University Press Incorporated |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-022692-3 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
<!-- Missing image removed: [[File:BMACHead3rd-Early2ndMilleniumBC.jpg|thumb|BMAC head, 3rd-early 2nd millennium BCE.]] -->
*Aruz, Joan (ed), ''Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus'', pp.&nbsp;347–375, 2003, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC google books (fully online)]
* {{cite book |title=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate |author=Edwin Bryant |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-516947-6 }}
*CNRS, L'archéologie de la Bactriane ancienne, actes du colloque Franco-soviétique n° 20. Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1985, {{ISBN|2-222-03514-7}}
*{{cite book |title=Aryas, Aryens et Iraniens en Asie Centrale |last=Fussman |first=G. |year=2005 |publisher=de Boccard |location=Paris |isbn=2-86803-072-6 |display-authors=etal}}
*{{cite book |title=Early Contacts between Uralic and Indo-European |chapter=Indo-Iranian substratum |chapter-url=http://www.ieed.nl/lubotsky/pdf/Indo-Iranian%20substratum.pdf |last=Lubotsky |first=A. |editor=Carpelan, Christian |year=2001 |publisher=Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura |location=Helsinki |isbn=952-5150-59-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411120201/http://www.ieed.nl/lubotsky/pdf/Indo-Iranian%20substratum.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2008 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lubotsky |first=Alexander |chapter=What Language Was Spoken by the People of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex? |title=At the Shores of the Sky |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publisher=Brill |date=2020 |doi=10.1163/9789004438200_003 |series=Sinica Leidensia |volume=151 |pages=5–11 |isbn=978-90-04-43298-7 |editor1=Paul W. Kroll |editor2=Jonathan A. Silk}}
*{{cite book |title=Origins of the Bronze Age Oasis Civilization of Central Asia |chapter=Preface |last=Sarianidi |first=V. I. |editor=Hiebert, F. T. |year=1994 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-87365-545-1 }}
*{{cite book |title=Bactria: An ancient oasis civilization from the sands of Afghanistan |chapter=Soviet Excavations in Bactria: The Bronze Age |last=Sarianidi |first=V. I. |editor=Ligabue, G. |editor2=Salvatori, S. |year=1995 |publisher=Erizzo |location=Venice |isbn=88-7077-025-7 }}
*Forizs, L. (2016, 2003) [https://www.academia.edu/4277610/Ap%C4%81%E1%B9%81_Nap%C4%81t_D%C4%ABrghatamas_and_Construction_of_the_Brick_Altar._Analysis_of_RV_1.143 Apāṁ Napāt, Dīrghatamas and Construction of the Brick Altar. Analysis of RV 1.143] in the [https://tkbf.academia.edu/LászlóFórizs homepage of Laszlo Forizs]

==External links==
{{commons category|Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex}}
*[http://blacksandsfilm.wordpress.com/ Black Sands&nbsp;– A documentary about the Gonur Tepe archaeological site]
*[http://www.margiana.su/ Sarianidi archaeological expedition at Gonur Tepe archaeological site]

{{Central Asian history}}
{{Rulers of Ancient Central Asia}}
{{Ancient India and Central Asia|collapsed}}
{{Bronze Age footer}}
{{Afghanistan topics}}
{{Prehistoric Asia}}

{{coord|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex}}
[[Category:Bactria|*]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Bronze Age cultures of Asia]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Central Asia]]
[[Category:Bronze Age sites in Asia]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:23rd-century BC establishments]]
[[Category:Unclassified languages of Asia]]