Residential Segregation at Köhne Shahar, an Early Bronze Age Settlement in Iranian Azerbaijan

Summary

There are some important differences between modern and ancient urban centers in terms of contextual variables and some social dynamics, however, theoretical frameworks derived from studies on social composition of modern urban centers can provide useful insights into the organizational dynamics of complex societies in the past. Hence, current understanding of the dynamics of residential segregations may enable us to address anthropological and archaeological questions. Our surveys and excavations at Köhne Shahar, an Early Bronze Age and Kura-Araxes settlement in Iranian Azerbaijan, demonstrated that a fortification wall separated a densely built citadel or inner town from the more sparsely built extramural area. Because of its social implications, understanding residential segregation at the site is very important. Understanding residential segregation at the site not only may shed some light on internal dynamics of the settlement and Kura-Araxes communities but also highland societies of the ancient Near East. This paper aims to address possible causes and consequences of residential segregation at Köhne Shahar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

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