Karatepe

(Turkic, “black hill”). (1) A hill in southern Turkmenia, located 4 km south of the Artyk railroad station, where the habitations of settled farmers dating from the Aeneolithic (fifth to third millennia B.C.) have been discovered. The area measures approximately 15 hectares. Excavations were carried out in 1952 and between 1955 and 1963. Pottery with monochrome paintings, figurines of standing women, and copper tools were found in the lower layers. The middle layers contained two-color painted pottery and multichambered mud-brick houses. There are parallels between the stratigraphy at Karatepe and that at Anau and Namazgatepe. Several multichambered houses, which were the living quarters of extended-family communities, were unearthed in the upper layer, which dates from the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third millennium B.C. Among the objects found in these houses were vessels with geometric patterns and drawings of people, animals, and birds; terra-cotta statuettes of male and female deities; stone seal-amulets; and copper implements. The materials at Karatepe indicate the connection between the Aeneolithic in southern Turkmenia and similar remains in Iran, Afghanistan, and India.