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Cara depe ancient settlement.

Excursion trips on historical sights of Turkmenistan.

"Every image and each disappeared trace
In a tomb of time will lay down on thousands of years"

Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna).

Discovery and adventure tour to Turkmenistan.

The archaeological monument of an era of an eneolit, is in 4 kilometers to the north from the station Artyk (Kaakha etrap, Ahal Region). This eminence, divided by a hollow into two parts, with a total area of 15 hectares.
Height of east part of 11,5 meters, western - about 8 meters. The settlement is extremely rich with ceramics, a large number of burials with various gifts is found in it: household ware and tools, weapon, jewelry, terracotta figurines.
Archeologists (B. A. Kuftin, V. M. Masson, V. I. Sarianidi, I. N. Hlopin) opened planning of the whole quarters, in the center of the settlement the square surrounded from all directions with houses was located.
Quarters were grouped to massifs, and each house consisted of several rooms and a small internal court yard in which there were doors of all premises. Houses were adjoined by big shelters for the cattle.
Moderate climate had created conditions for the long life of this ancient settlement. Adobe dwelling houses and households were located here. The yards adjoining to houses were divided by narrow streets.
People of Kara-depe were engaged in agriculture and cattle-breeding. The artisans widely used copper, stone, bone, wood and clay. Archeological excavations testily to the fact that life here was already in III millenium BC. Historians call Kara Depe "the town of ancient artists". 
Windows in houses were not therefore streets reminded narrow gorges among continuous rows of monotonous clay walls. At a turn of the IV-III millennia BC Cara-depe reached the highest blossoming, but already in the first a floor. III thousand were thrown BC.
Cara-depe represented rather difficult public and economic organism which demanded some forms of government. Perhaps, it was the patrimonial settlement which was operated by the Council of Elders and occurring from one, often mythological ancestor and each big family had the patrimonial totem.
The feature of images noticed by archeologists on ceramics speaks about it: in one houses on ware drawings of exclusively spotty leopards, in other houses - only drawings of goats, in the third - cows, in the fourth - eagles, etc.
On an example Cara-depe is traced art of ancient farmers of the Southern Turkmenistan, it is visible how there was a mixture of two ceramic styles: geometrical and zoomorfny. Exactly from there is the most impressive collection of vessels to images of animals and birds.

Kara-depe Painted ceramics from the ancient settlement Cara-Dep. Hermitage. St. Petersburg.

Authority:
On materials of information department of the State committee of Turkmenistan on tourism and sport.