One central goal of archaeology is to understand how complex social entities such as "states" and "empires" arise. In the process marginal regions which lie outside centers of power must develop means to interact and deal with such larger neighbors. ("Tribal regions" in Northwest Pakistan provide one modern example.) This research examines one such case. Doing so in an archaeological context provides the advantage of tracing interactions over an extended period of time.
This project will explore the relationships between technology and politics by examining how ceramic technology in local centers in Naxçývan, Azerbaijan, at the periphery of the Urartian Empire (Middle Iron Age, MIA, 800-600 BCE), shaped life in the frontier. Urartu was the first empire to arise in the highlands of the Ancient Near East, encompassing much of Eastern Turkey, Northwest Iran, and the Southern Caucasus. What was the political relationship between the Plain, Naxçývan and Urartu? How did changing ceramic technology generate and/or reflect the development of new political relationships? Political context affects economic opportunities, consumer preferences, and labor conditions, which changes technology. In return, technological changes can alter political practices, as the desire for certain luxury goods, new food preparation methods, and previously unknown trade partners become essential to local communities.
The research will reconstruct ceramic production from the Early Iron Age (EIA, 1200-800 BCE) and the MIA, and observe which aspects of ceramic technology show discontinuous change. Ceramic production usually changes gradually over time, and abrupt change generally requires a catalyst related to social, political, and economic shifts. Abrupt changes in ceramic technology probably show that Sharur inhabitants were reorganizing certain aspects of life in response to Urartu. Ceramic samples will be studied from excavations of a fortress, a domestic settlement in the valley below, and survey of the surrounding area to investigate how artisans, pastoralists, farmers, and administrators negotiated imperial expansion through material culture. Ceramics will be analyzed using multiple methods including petrography, XRD, NAA, SEM, and radiography to investigate raw material acquisition, forming, decoration, and exchange. Studying the provenience of raw materials provides evidence for exchange networks, forming reveals organization of production, and decoration indicates symbolic positioning. By layering these data, it will be possible to reconstruct how people in this region engaged with Urartu as a vassal, neighbor, or antagonist.
The NSF grant will contribute to international collaboration between American and Azerbaijani archaeologists, with directors and team members from both countries working together towards common goals. The Naxçývan Archaeological Project provides resources to develop Azerbaijani archaeological research initiatives, facilitating Azerbaijani development of their own heritage including a site conservation plan. The project also provides training to undergraduate and graduate students from institutions throughout the United States. Research results will be presented at conferences for scholarly audiences, and public talks in Philadelphia and Azerbaijan. Ongoing excavation results are posted on the project website in English, Azerbaijani, and Russian. Finally, all results will be published in a monograph and as articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Human-technological relations are a pressing concern of the modern world, and archaeology is uniquely positioned to add data with time depth to our understanding of how these relationships function. Azerbaijan lies at the nexus of Asia and Europe, and deeper knowledge of ancient life at these crossroads makes it possible to contextualize modern processes of technological change and globalization in this politically critical region. By reconstructing past relationships between technology and power, this research will shed light on the modern dynamics of technological complexity.
