The fi rst appearance of the Kurgan funerary tradition in the Northern Caucasus (Majkop- Novosvobodnaya), dates to the second half of the fourth millennium and records an impressive display and accumulation of wealth in the grave goods (mainly metal objects) which stress the emergence of radical social transformations in the communities of the region. But kurgans also signal a new approach to territory and a different conception of the landscape. The Arslantepe Royal Tomb (in the Upper Euphrates Valley, Eastern Anatolia), which is dated to 3100-2900 B.C., shows that far-reaching infl uences from the Northern Caucasus were already crossing the Greater Caucasus range and that they were being assimilated by the Anatolian power groups. The set of traits that the Arslantepe Royal Tomb shares with the funerary representations of the Northern Caucasian Kurgans (ritual, grave goods and eventually the location chosen for the burial) was the result of a symbolic and ideological selection performed by a local community and which was aimed at legitimising and justifying the current historical and political contingencies and the emergence of new images and power rules. What can be grasped of the general sense and cultural values of the phenomenon of the northern Caucasian Kurgans by means of an interpretation performed by an external (and distant) community?
The Arslantepe Royal Tomb and the “Manipulation” of the Kurgan ideology in Eastern Anatolia at the beginning of the third millennium
Palumbi G
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2011-01-01
Abstract
The fi rst appearance of the Kurgan funerary tradition in the Northern Caucasus (Majkop- Novosvobodnaya), dates to the second half of the fourth millennium and records an impressive display and accumulation of wealth in the grave goods (mainly metal objects) which stress the emergence of radical social transformations in the communities of the region. But kurgans also signal a new approach to territory and a different conception of the landscape. The Arslantepe Royal Tomb (in the Upper Euphrates Valley, Eastern Anatolia), which is dated to 3100-2900 B.C., shows that far-reaching infl uences from the Northern Caucasus were already crossing the Greater Caucasus range and that they were being assimilated by the Anatolian power groups. The set of traits that the Arslantepe Royal Tomb shares with the funerary representations of the Northern Caucasian Kurgans (ritual, grave goods and eventually the location chosen for the burial) was the result of a symbolic and ideological selection performed by a local community and which was aimed at legitimising and justifying the current historical and political contingencies and the emergence of new images and power rules. What can be grasped of the general sense and cultural values of the phenomenon of the northern Caucasian Kurgans by means of an interpretation performed by an external (and distant) community?I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
