This integration of earlier and new scholarship reconceptualizes the origins of civilization, challenging the received view that the ancient Near East spawned the spread of civilization outward from Mesopotamia to all other neighboring cultures. Central Asia is here shown to have been a major player in the development of cities.Skillfully documenting the different phases of both Soviet and earlier Western external analyses along with recent excavation results, this new interpretation reveals Central Asia's role in the socioeconomic and political processes linked to both the Iranian Plateau and the Indus Valley, showing how it contributed substantively to the origins of urbanism in the Old World. Hiebert's research at Anau and his focus on the Chalcolithic levels provide an essential starting point for understanding both the nature of village life and the historical trajectories that resulted in Bronze Age urbanism.

IllustrationsForewordPreface1. Anau North, an Introduction2. The Settlement History of Central Asia in the Village Period3. The History of Investigations at Anau North4. 1997 Excavations: Context of Deposition and Stratigraphy5. Radiocarbon Chronology6. Ceramic Complexes of Anau North and Relative Chronology7. Small Finds from Anau North8. Architecture at Anau North9. Burials10. The Use of Plants at Anau North11. Microscopic Analysis of Soils from Anau North12. Animal Herding, Hunting, and the History of Animal Domestication at Anau depe13. Prehistoric Behavior at Anau North14. The Evolution of the Settlement at Anau NorthAppendicesA. 1904 Excavations at Anau NorthB. Catalogue of Small Finds from the 1904 ExcavationsC. Botanical Data from the 1997 ExcavationsD. A Basketry/Textile Impression from Anau NorthBibliographyIndex