THE CULTURES OF THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGE IN AZERBAIJAN
The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages
During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (the end of II millennium-the beginning of I millennium B.C.) prehistoric period collapsed intensively and initial state formations were established in the South Caucasus and in the north-western part of the Iranian plateau. Refinement of bronze reached its high level of development. Potter’s wheel was widely used in the process of earthenware manufacture. Wooden plow agriculture developed and threshing board began to be used for grain threshing. In the mountainous regions, stock-breeder tribes made significant progress in the animal husbandry, metal processing and farmer tribes on lowlands in gardening, wheat-growing, viticulture and wine-making. The important thing of this Age was the iron mastering. The monuments of this period are divided into some groups for their locations and cultures.
Khojaly - Gadabay archaeological culture
Khojaly-Gadabay archaeological culture was represented with the monuments widely spread in the areas surrounding the mountainous, foothills and north-western parts of Minor Caucasus and lowlands on the right bank of Kur River. There were burial mounds (kurgans) belonged to the patriarchs, stone-box graves with lots of equipment and ground burials among the monuments. In this Age, it is obvious that big tribes settled in the region and generalship highly developed. This culture is distinguished with bronze tools, weapons (wide swords, pole-axes, different daggers, tubular spears, arrowheads and battle pitchforks), stone, wooden and bone articles, including bronze adornments (bracelets, earrings, rings, various pendants), agate, paste etc. beads, black-gray earthenwares with geometrical (sometimes with human and animal descriptions) patterns.
Nakhchivan archaeological culture
This archaeological culture dispersed in Nakhchivan and its adjacent regions. Distinctive articles of material culture of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Nakhchivan are stone hammers, bush-shaped bronze maces, various bronze bracelets, pins, necklaces, and ceramics and so on. Most of the articles of Nakhchivan archaeological culture were ceramics. They consist of differently shaped polychrome patterned vessels. There is a noticeable similarity between the ceramics of Nakhchivan and the ceramics found in the monuments of the same Age in the districts of Urmia. Gray-black ceramic was discovered among material cultural samples of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Nakhchivan. It has the similar shape like polychrome vessels. They are pitchers, earthenwares, pails, bowls, “teapots” and other vessels decorated with superficial notches, plain and uneven scratch lines, triangles, rings and several geometrical figures. Alike articles were discovered in Hasanli, Goytepe, Khurvin and other monuments of South Azerbaijan.
Talish - Mughan archaeological culture
One of the archaeological cultures spreading in the territory of Azerbaijan during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages was Talish-Mughan culture. This culture dispersed in Mughan plain and Talish Mountains. The monuments of this culture were first studied by French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan in 1890-1891 and in 1941, on the basis of findings of Uzuntepe monument, they were identified as a separate archaeological culture by Azerbaijani archaeologist Ishag Jafarzadeh. The remains of this culture were found mainly from ground burials and stone-box graves. People were buried in these burials both alone and collectively. Corpses were disposed in bent and lying positions. The specific articles of Talish-Mughan culture are bronze and iron weapons especially swords, daggers with thin and saddle-shaped handles, gold and bronze adornments, gray vessels without ornaments. The founders of this culture were basically engaged in cattle-breeding in mountainous areas and farming on lowlands. Archaeological findings are the main indicators of the relations of those tribes with Western Asia.
THE TRIBES OF THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGE
Tribes
TThe necessary thing happened during this Age was the iron mastering. At the end of the 2nd and the beginning of 1st millenniums B.C. iron articles were used and found in the monuments of Azerbaijan. Development level of the tribes was unbalanced. The tribes settled in southern provinces made necessary achievements. They were neighbor with people who had been already living in the classed society or were going to establish that kind of society. Slavery existed in the social structure of these tribes. In this Age, the integration process of tribal groups was intensifying and the creation of tribal unions was going on. Archaeological cultures of different regions of the country reflect the relative tribal groups and unions.
Pintaderas
During this Age the rapid development of economy, the increase of manufactured products paved the way for the establishment of private property system in the second half of II millennium-the beginning of I millennium B.C. Pintaderas- large-scale clay stamps of this Age were discovered in the regions of Gazakh, Aghstafa, Gadabay, Qakh and Mingachevir. There were various descriptions on the square and round stamps. Description on square stamps reminds us of branched swastika (fylfot) while the description on the round stamps is like the Sun.
Military democracy
The tribal unions established in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages were governed by authoritative leader and commanders. Besides this, people’s assemblies were also formed during the same Age. Legislative bodies of tribal communities based on military democracy were composed of commander, council and people’s assembly. Thrones belonged to tribal leaders, slaves and companions- in arms, horses, many weapons found from the graves of this Age indicate the development of military democracy. The weapons made and utilized by ancient tribes include differently shaped swords and daggers, spears, arrowheads in South Caucasus type, maces, pitchforks, pole-axes, bracelets, belts, shields etc. Chieftains, reputable people, soldiers, slaves and so on were distinguished people in the society of this Age. Soon, a state, which was a new form of politically organizing of society, was founded.
Bronze belt
The inhabitants of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages utilized bronze belts in the battles. These belts were wide and narrow and holes were opened from both sides for fastening their tips. Their surfaces were plain or were decorated with various descriptions. Decorating the belts was the sign of power. One of the most interesting belts was the belt found from ground burials of the Early Iron Age in Qazakh in 1963. The belt was decorated with description of wolf with big teeth, widely opened mouth, big claws and paws, fish drawings, geometrical patterns composed of strips like fir-tree. These strips consist of sunken notches minted head to head in a line forming an angle.
Intertribal relations
The development of agriculture in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages stipulated the increase of food products. It, in turn, led to the expansion of intertribal exchange and the diversification of relations. The semi-nomadic tribes played a necessary role in it. They always integrated with sedentary people, exchanged goods and were intermediaries for distributing the products. The main products for exchange were the cattle, wool, agricultural and cattle-breeding products and handicraft articles. The traces of exchanging products among the regions can be obviously observed in the monuments of the Age. Finding the earthenware from Gadabay that was characteristic for Dagestan and Northwest Azerbaijan is an obvious example of that fact. As well as local products, there were discovered the articles imported from Ancient near East countries, too. Potteries, dozens of bronze, gold adornments made in Western Asia differ from local products. The discovery of glazed crockeries made in Assyrian cities and found from the monuments of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Azerbaijan gives information about the relations of local tribes with Western Asia. The glazed crockeries imported to Azerbaijan date back to the 12th-8th centuries B.C. The bead with the name of Adad-nirari in cuneiform writing uncovered from Khodjaly burial mound number 11 testifies the relations with Western Asia, too. There are also a few cylindrical stamps among the imported products found from the ancient monuments of Azerbaijan.
THE LIFE OF TRIBES OF THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGES
Settlements
There was defensive wall around the settlements located in mountainous regions and on mountain-plain junction in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. There were a lot of settlements in the shape of hills with different scale in plain areas. Most of the settlements of this period are situated in Ganja-Qazakh plain. They include hills in Saritepe, Babadarvish, Nadirbaytepesi, Arachintepe, Yastitepe, Yukhari Goychali villages of Qazakh, upper layers of Shomutepe and Toyratepe, Sayfali, Bitdili settlements in Shamkir, settlements number 1 and 2 in Goygol and others. The area of those settlements is 1-1,5 hectares. In some regions, they are situated closely in form of group. Because of wars, the life condition in those settlements was so difficult that inhabitants were forced to leave. There were fire and destruction remains in many settlements especially in Toyratepe, Saritepe, IV Babadarvish and the settlement number 1 in Goygol. The architecture of this period is mainly characterized by rectangular houses built from stone using mud. These houses are in Baghdad style and half-drilled in some settlements. Saritepe settlement in Qazakh is located on one of the hills with the area of one hectare. The walls of the houses in Toyratepe (Aghstafa) and Mingachevir settlements were built from rods and plastered with mud. Mingachevir settlement was a huge residence in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The rectangular houses in the settlement of Nakhchivan were constructed from stones hardened with mud. The towers of this area were distinguished by their scale and amazing view. Adobes were widely used in the settlements of South Azerbaijan in the same Age. The buildings in Hasanli tower located in south-west of Lake Urmia were built of brick and were well-plastered. The foundations of ramparts were made of massive stone slabs and adobes.
Goygol tribal house
Among the habitations of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the settlement number 1 near Goygol has caused the great interest. The settlement with the area of three hectares was surrounded by defensive walls made of stones from three sides. The wall with the width of 6 meters was built of gravelly soil in the western side. The houses were constructed of stone in a rectangular plan. The length of some houses was more than 17 meters while the width was 7 meters. There is a hearth set with arch and chimney in one of the rooms of the house. These huge houses had the double-roof attic. The life lasted for a long period of time in the settlement. At first, it surrounded only the bank of the river and then expanded to the slope. The houses of the other periods here were too small. There were courtyards with stone fence in front of the houses.
City-towers
There were emerged urban settlements in Azerbaijan especially in Nakhchivan in the middle of II millennium B.C. Those settlements had ramparts accompanied with observation strongholds and defense system. These kinds of initial city-towers include Sadarak tower, Oghlangala, Shahtakhti, Chalkhangala, Galachig monuments in Nakhchivan and so forth. These towers with the areas of tens of hectares were ancient city-states. As a result of archaeological excavations, there was discovered city-tower architecture as well as many cuneiform writing samples in Oghlangala monument. Excavations carried out in the monument and findings of them prove the Oghlangala to be city-state in the type of castle and important administrative-political center.
Galacha (Cyclopean constructions)
One of the groups of the monuments widely spread in Minor Caucasus and Nakhchivan is composed of galacha (also called “cyclopean construction”). They were built of huge stones without using glue material. Those kinds of monuments include Nagharadagh in Kachbulagh plateau (Dashkesen), Chobandashi cyclopean construction, Pirgalacha in Gadabay region. Sometimes galachas were surrounded by double parallel walls seperated with a distance of 5 m from one another. The plans of galachas were different depending on the features of their location. Pirgalacha in Nagharadagh surrounds 4000 m2 area that was built of 2 lines of stone in inaccurately quadrangular form. In this Age, galachas were built in order to be defended and to live in.
ECONOMY IN THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGES
Farming. Big agricultural pitcher in Saritepe
Farming played an important role in the economic life of tribes of Azerbaijan in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. This field of economy dispersed mainly in valleys and plain areas. The planting area was irrigated with irrigation ditch. The wooden plough with animal was used for the tillage of the soil. Archaeological findings give detailed information about the development of the economy. The threshing boards found in the monuments indicate the development of farming culture. The threshing board discovered from burial mound number 2 in Khanlar is completely the same as the ones used in the villages of Azerbaijan until very recently. The remains of multi-row wild and cultivated barley, soft and hard wheat residues found in Saritepe settlement of Kazakh region are extremely important. The discovery of a carbonized bunch remains of grapes in earthenware in the settlement informs us of the existence of viticulture in this period. Saritepe grapes were of cultivated species and had big grapes. In some buildings of Saritepe were only discovered agricultural big pitchers. There were 15 big pitchers of such kind in one of them. The big pitchers were also utilized for storing the wine in Saritepe. 5 kg of petrified wine remains were found in the big pitchers. The height of one of them was 2.05 meters. While the neck of big pitchers was narrow, grain big pitchers had wide mouth. Clay lids were uncovered in this area, too.
Cattle-breeding
Cattle-breeding was also one of the leading fields in economy of Azerbaijani tribes during the Late Bronze- Early Iron Age. Cattle-breeding had two forms: sedentary and nomadic. Semi-nomadic people were principally engaged in the cattle-breeding. Cyclopean construction (galacha) on high alpine meadows belonged to these people. In summer they moved from winter pastures to those areas. Plenty of bones of small-horned animals found in the monuments prove that nomadic form of cattle breeding dominated. The variety of relief of Azerbaijan generally the South Caucasus, especially their highland, foothills and lowland areas were the main basis for the development of nomadic cattle-breeding. The structure of cattle-breeding was composed of bull, goat, sheep, horse, camel, pig, dog and other animals. There were found only the bones of goat, sheep and partly horse bones in the monuments of highland regions. Animal bones uncovered in the monuments of Aran regions included the bones of camel, buffalo and pig as well as the other domestic animals. In the Late Bronze Age, camel was also found in livestock of local people. Two camel skeletons were discovered in rich Garabulag mound burial near the town of Fuzuli. Some adornments in the grave belonged to camel demonstrate that the camel was means of transportation and vehicle. In summer the camel was taken to the mountain pastures together with the whole flock. Camel bones found from cultural layer of Dashlitepe cyclopean tower in Khachbulag plateau are the real example for it. In addition, some potteries show the development of cattle breeding. Churn, colanders and others are such kind of potteries. Those potteries were utilized for making various dairies.
Horse-breeding. Clay cart models
Horse breeding had a special role in the cattle-breeding of Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Using the horse in the vehicle made the movement to the plateau and winter quarters much easier. Therefore, there were horses buried with panoply in the burials. There were found 3 horse skeletons in Khanlar kurgan number 1, 8 horse skeletons in kurgan belonged to the chieftain in Borsunlu village of Terter and 16 horse skeletons from Sarichoban kurgan in Aghdam. The development made it possible to make means of transport-carts as well. Findings indicate wide usage of carts with slab wheel. Clay models of those wheels were discovered from archaeological monuments. Clay models of conical carts or carts in the shape of honeycombs with round wheels were discovered in Mingachevir. These models looked like the houses made on the carts of cattle-breeders during the period of movement to the mountains. In the second half of II millennium B.C. carts with spoked wheels were also used widely. There were descriptions of wheel with six or eight spokes on potteries discovered in Saritepe settlement. Description of the cart with spoked wheels, two horses and a warrior inside it on the bronze belt found out from the burial in Khachbulag is an obvious evidence to this fact.
HANDICRAFT IN THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGE
Metallurgy and metalworking
Azerbaijani people achieved to the high level of development in metallurgy and metal working in the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. The exploitation of rich copper mines of Azerbaijan began in this Age. Ancient masters added arsenic, antimony, mainly tin and rarely lead to the copper as an additive. Metal was dissolved in special round and elliptic furnaces. There was found metal, burned plaster pieces, ashes, fragment with metal remain on it around the furnaces. Finding stone mould used to make flat axe in Mingachevir and Shamkir proves the existance of metalworking workshops in these regions. There were discovered metalworking workshops in other settlements of Azerbaijan, too. In these workshops, the products were made not only to make the ends of people meet, but also for exchange. The buried treasure of pole axes found from different regions of Azerbaijan is a clear evidence to this fact also. Various methods and techniques were applied on bronze articles. They include metal casting in stone moulds and wax models, warm and cold metal forging, carving, etc. Most of the weapons were made in metal casting method. Bronze articles in moulds were decorated by minting and engraving methods. From the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., craftsmen began using iron to make metal articles. Article evidences confirm the fact of inheritance in the development of bronze and iron metallurgy. So daggers and swords with iron edge belonged to Talish-Mughan culture, including iron spears of Khojaly-Gadabay culture were in the same form of those bronze articles.
Pottery. Encrusted clay potteries
Pottery work had been developing in Late Bronze-Early Iron Age in Azerbaijan. The furnaces found from Mingachevir settlement and Neolithic potter furnaces had similar shapes. These furnaces paved the way for making a lot of different sized potteries as well as large furnaces discovered from all settlements of the Age. There were gray and black pottery fragments made in 450-500 degrees in and around the furnaces. Red painted earthenwares, as well as gray potteries, were made only in Nakhchivan and South Azerbaijan. The potteries were made delectably and mainly by hand and partially in potter’s wheels. Pottery products were made in the shape of animal, bird figures, topboot or pair potteries with links. There were depicted patterns and relief descriptions with carving method on some samples. White paste-encrusted clay potteries are highly appreciated among those potteries. In order to make artistic black earthenwares, potters of Khodjaly-Gadabay culture patterned the potteries with engraving descriptions and encrusted those carved parts with white substance. That kind of pottery was found from Goygol. There was depicted goat hunting scene on that pottery. The similar kind of potteries were also found from Ancient Mingachevir and other monuments.
Stone-working
Stoneworking also was a field of handicraft in Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. One of the innovations in this field was silver encrusting. Unlike ceramic potteries, animal drawings and geometrical descriptions were engraved on some stone potteries by filling holes with silver particles. Those patterned potteries were found in Ancient Mingachevir burial mounds. There were discovered stone potteries in the form of basin, pan, cup in Mingachevir, Khojaly, Gadabay, Ganjachay basin and other monuments. The basin found from Mingachevir had double handles in the form of ram head. The basin in the same form with one handle was discovered in Abbasli village near Ganja. Mace was made of marble and hematite and adornments of agate and chalsedony.
Weaving and leatherwork
Fabric traces and remains were revealed for several times in the monuments of Late Bronze-Early Iron Age. Painted fabric remains were found in Mingachevir. The discovery of the needles is the real fact of hand-spinning. These findings give information about the development of weaving in Azerbaijan in this period. Leatherwork also developed in this Age. Finding the models of top boots and shoes with curled-up toe (called “charikh”) and bronze owls testifies this fact. Additionally, it is supposed that clothes were made of leather. Relating to the usage of horses in a vehicle, different horse adornments were also made of leather.
SPIRITUAL CULTURE IN THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGE
Compared with previous periods, the population growth in Azerbaijan, the development of the economy, the application of several innovations in the handicraft and most importantly, the expansion of intranational and international inter-tribal relations had great impact on the spiritual culture. Among the monuments of this era, religious constructions are also noticeable. Ideological beliefs of Late Bronze - Early Iron Age tribes of Azerbaijan are reflected in these religious buildings.
Saritepe temple
In 1956, the Azerbaijani archaeologists discovered the ruins of the Saritepe temple, which was destroyed by fire in Qazakh region. The temple creates a complete picture of the spiritual life of the indigenous population. Temple consisting of several rooms, although all its rooms were not completely destroyed, there were discovered plenty of clay articles including snail figures inside it. There were no hearths or household articles in the temple chambers. In the temple built in the center of the settlement, there was a stele facing the door, slightly spaced from the rear wall and decorated with a painting. The priest standing behind it could observe each person entering the temple from 4 sides. One of the ends on the bottom of the stele was shaped as the ram and pork heads and the other end was in the form of bullhead. There was found a jug with a forked trunk and a snake description on it in the temple. There were flat plates on the floor. There were sacrificing vessels in some of them. In one of the vessels, there was a carbonized leafy grape bunch. The presence of the sun sign on clay vessels, various scenes on bronze belts, as well as on clay seals confirms the great importance of the worship of the Sun in the ideology of the ancient people.
Astral imaginations
During this period, beliefs in the Sun were also widespread. In the middle of the button found from Shamkir region, there was the sun sign, birds on the its edges and among them triangles (mountains), deer and goat images were depicted. Paintings of the Sun symbols were depicted on gray colored and painted vessels found in the monuments of Nakhchivan. They were described with crosses painted in the circle. The latter motif is particularly special for the Early Iron Age ceramics. The design of the beam-shaped lines is one of the characteristic motifs of the painted ceramics of this period. Some researchers associated the widespread fluting ornament with the belief in the Sun. The cromlechs found around the stone box graves were also connected with this belief.
Animal Faith
The animal worship in the ideology of the farmer tribes took a particular place in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Animal beliefs were related to both productivity and totemistic concepts. The animals' heads (rams, pigs, oxen) made of clay at the ends of wooden poles in the Saritepe temple are the main indication of this fact. Here was a bronze horse figure with a hook for hanging from the waist. There were found bronze pins with large and small horned animal heads in some of the monuments of this era. In Goygol region, the description of two people on the basin discovered from Kilikdagh standing in front of the animals raised their hands to the sky, probably is related to the idea of fertility and animal growth. Archaeological findings in the form of wild animals and birds, as well as decorating them with their images, derived from the totemistic imaginations. Previously, bird figures were one of the favorite paintings of painted and gray ceramics. It is also possible to see the traces of belief in bird on the bird figures used as an amulet. Researchers consider that the snake paintings on the vessels are the symbols of kindness. It is likely that the glass-shaped pendants, bracelets, and necklaces in twisted snake shape are related to the belief in the snake.
Tree of life
Among the ideological ideas of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the belief in the tree of life also had great importance. Cylindrical stamps found out in Nakhchivan monuments attract attention from this point of view. The illustrations of the tree of life engraved with these mythological drawings are particularly attractive. The stamp found in Shakhtaxti is a tree of life with long-shaped fruits and the description of a man praying on one side, and goat paintings on the other one. On the seal found in Dalmatepe, there are pictographs of goats standing on both sides of the tree of life, and the images of animals standing back to back were depicted on one of the seals found from Mardangol. The descriptions of the tree of life could be found among the Gamigaya paintings, too.
THE PETROGLYPHS IN THE LESSER CAUCASUS
Gamigaya
Gamigaya monument of Azerbaijan is famous for its rock carvings. Most of the petroglyphs were uncovered on the western and south-western slope of Gapichig peak- Garangush plateau. The drawings were carved on basalt rocks. All rock carvings were engraved with stone and metal tools using forging, drilling and polishing methods. Although Gamigaya rock drawings were schematic, paintings in a realistic style were discovered, too. About 1500 rock carvings were explored. Most of them (approximately 90%) are in Garangush plateau. There were revealed hundreds of animal paintings in Gamigaya. A majority of those paintings are schematic with single, two or a flock of goat paintings. The goats were drawn in the schematic and sometimes the realistic style directing to the right and left sides. Their body, feet, horns, tails were depicted with one and parallel lines. In some cases, there was revealed a silhouette drawing of the goat. Sometimes, large and even larger horns of the goat were in the shape of an arch. Those goat paintings are the descriptions of the mountain goat. One of the groups of animal paintings in Gamigaya consists of bull descriptions. One of the main features of Gamigaya bull descriptions is a fluffily depiction of their horns. Regardless of how their bodies were drawn, huge horns of bulls were depicted in the shape of a crescent. Paintings of bulls attached to the carts have been most discovered. They were depicted with a line in the schematic style and the horns directed forward and were in the form of the crescent. There were also paintings of bulls not attached to the carts. Horse paintings in Gamigaya were depicted as a vehicle. One of the horse drawings was engraved in the realistic style. The body and the tail of the horse were depicted with thick lines using the forging method. The head of human in the upright position sitting on the horseback bended a little bit down. The other drawings of human on the horseback are more schematic. The tail of the horse extended directly backward and its front legs directed a little forward so that these descriptions indicated the running position of the horse. Another description of 3 horsemen was carved on a rock in the schematic form. Using the horse as a vehicle in Gamigaya is confirmed by a fact that it is a description of the horse attached to the cart with the side-view. One of the main themes of Gamigaya rock paintings is human descriptions engaged in cattle-breeding. They were drawn with a baton in their hands and mainly with small-horned animals in pastures.
Kalbajar
Rock drawings were discovered in Kalbajar as well. Most of them were found in high mountain pastures especially in Gonaggalmaz valley on the Hill of Sarimsakhli Mountain. Approximately 3000 rock paintings were engraved on the rocks using forging and graphite methods. Many remains of flint tools were found in Chakhmag gaya located 100 m in the west from that mountain. These remains are of the tools used by ancient artists. Unknown paintings were mainly found in Yazyurdu, Takhta, Istisu, Zalkha, Alagol and other areas. However, paintings in Sarchalidagh draw the attention because of their plot and composition. Discovered paintings were carved on the smooth surface of black basalt rocks. Regardless of the sizes of stones, the drawings were distributed separately or in groups. Some of these scenes on the paintings reflect domestic-agricultural activity, hunting scenes of ancient people. Moreover, there were revealed worship drawings, descriptions of different animals, carts attached to the bulls, stigma and signs. Most of the petroglyphs were engraved with stone tools. As a result of research, in accordance with the plot, style and drawing method of the descriptions, it was identified that the most ancient drawings date back to the 3rd millennium B.C. The subsequent petroglyphs are referred to the 2nd-1st millennium B.C.
All these petroglyphs consist of zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and geometrical descriptions. A majority of descriptions are human, goat, deer, dog, fantastic animal descriptions and transcriptions. However, mainly goat descriptions were found among those drawings (separately and in groups). A part of rock paintings was dedicated to ritual dances during rites. Among the descriptions reflecting rites, human drawing with a tambourine in his hand and with animal looked like the goat had caused great interest.
Goyam
Numerous rock drawings were uncovered in Goyam mountains located in Western Azerbaijan (present-day Armenia). There exist as well as sanctuaries, an altar supposed for performing sacrificing ceremony and other religious rites.
South Azerbaijan
Rock drawings were found in Shakili dash, Mushiran, Gahgaha, Agha Murad, Ganaggiran mountainous areas in Ardabil region of South Azerbaijan (Iran). Some of those rock carvings are composed of goat drawings. The descriptions of the goat with crescent and half-arched horns engraved on these rock drawings are like the ones on the petroglyphs in the Lesser Caucasus. The rock carvings in South Azerbaijan date back to the 4th-3rd millennium B.C.
THE FUNERAL CUSTOM OF THE LATE BRONZE - EARLY IRON AGE
Underground burials: Burial No. 63
During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages underground burials were widespread in the territory of Azerbaijan. These types of graves were found in plains. The graves of this Age consist of rectangular or oval-shaped pits. There is no surface trace of them. The deceased people were buried in different positions and directions. The corpses were buried in a bent position on the left and right sides with various equipment (clay vessels, bronze weapons, decorative items, etc.). One of the underground burials belonging to the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age is a burial No. 63. This underground burial was discovered in the depth of 1.60 meters in Mingachevir in 1950. There were found different items such as clay potteries consisted of trays and jars, bronze bells, bronze bracelets, beads made of agate, sea shell, bronze and paste, bangles and remains of pendants. However, the most exciting finding is a turtle shell, which in the East was a symbol of eternity and immortality. It belongs to the IX-VII centuries B.C. The person buried in the grave was supposed to be a wealthy woman of the tribal aristocracy.
Burial mounds
The other group of the monuments of the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age is composed of burial mounds. The burial mounds of this Age are the heap of earth artificially placed over graves in the past and consist of different structures and high hills. The burial mounds were sometimes built of the soil or stone and, in many cases, of the mixture of stone and soil. As they were different, the grave chambers under them were also different. In order to bury the deceased people, sometimes, a special “room” with a circular fence was built under the burial mound, and in some cases, stone boxes were made. They were buried alone and collectively. In some burial mounds, the traces of burning customs had been discovered, too. Regardless of how the deceased person was buried, a common characteristic feature of kurgans was to inter a dead body with numerous equipment. It includes cattle, household items, decorations, personal costumes, weapons and other valuable things. Sometimes, one of the deceased's relatives was killed and buried together with equipment. During the period of class stratification when the chieftains died, burial of one or two of his servants with him was widely spread. These customs originated from the beliefs of the Khojaly-Gadabay tribes concerning the afterlife.
Stone box graves
Another kind of the graves of the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age is the stone box grave. These graves were typically characteristic for mountainous areas. The cemetery consisting of stone boxes had been found in the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan and Talish-Mughan regions. The stone boxes were made by digging a longish and rectangular hole, placing one or several stone slabs on its inner walls and covering with one or more stone slabs. The places dug for burials were not deep enough. Sometimes, the stones on the graves were mainly covered with a thin layer of soil. The stone boxes completely or partly made of pebbles were widespread. The eastern wall of the stone boxes was often built with such stones. Revealed stone boxes are in different sizes. Square and round stone graves were discovered, too. The dead men were buried in sitting or lying positions in these graves. Besides, the corpses were lain on the left and right sides and interred with different equipment. As a rule, there was buried one dead body in most of the stone boxes in Western Azerbaijan. Graves, in which the dead men were buried collectively, were also found. There is the same kind of equipment in the stone box graves with corpses both in sitting and lying positions.
Cenotaph (empty) graves
Cenotaphs or empty graves were less spread among the burials in the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age. Although there were not corpses in the graves, the equipment belonging to the deceased man was discovered there. For example, some of them are located in the Zayamchay necropolis.
Burial on the threshing board
These burials are also characteristic for the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age. The man buried on the threshing board was found in one of the graves around the burial mound No. 2 in Goygol. The skeleton was placed on the threshing board and six black clay pots, two of them near the head and the rest near the foot, were put around it.
