Shengavit: A Kura-Araxes Center in Armenia
Costa Mesa, CA., Mazda, 2023, 298 + xii p. (In Armenian and English).
This book presents a comprehensive examination of Shengavit. The importance of the site of Shengavit, which is located in the neighborhood of the same name within the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, is its relation to the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition and societal form. The Kura-Araxes, which lasted from 3500 to 2500 BCE, is one of the cultural traditions in the very dynamic fourth and early third millennia BCE. In a landscape where most settlements were no larger than one hectare, Shengavit appears to have been a small center with some satellite settlements where intensive production of grains, organization to build a stone wall around the settlement that was still visible in the early 20th century CE developed. Excavation began there in the 1930s and continued until the 21st century CE. This volume is the first attempt to provide a complete analysis of the site’s remains in light of our broader understanding of cultural and societal evolution at this critical time in human pre- and early history. Accompanied by a web archive on the tDAR site, it can be seen as a critical resource for research on the Kura-Araxes and for those interested in the topic.
